Health Improvement Manager - Rural Health Focus

Health Improvement Manager – Rural Health Focus

We believe health is shaped by the environments where we live, learn, work, and play. By partnering with communities, we can create healthier opportunities that focus not just on restoring health, but on sustaining it. Our goal is to give all Iowans and South Dakotans, not just Wellmark members, the opportunity to live long, healthy lives regardless of their income, education or background. Wellmark aims to build relationships, engage strategic coalitions, and create alignment on opportunities to help eliminate barriers to optimal health.

As a Health Improvement Manager, you will represent Wellmark with the intention of strengthening the health of communities across Iowa and South Dakota. You're energized by communities and committed to improving health outcomes through collaboration, data, and evidence-based action. This role is about understanding how health systems, insurers, government agencies, nonprofits, and community organizations intersect — and you can navigate those dynamics with confidence. You're a natural connector who sees patterns, relationships, and opportunities others miss. You bring healthy skepticism: you ask thoughtful questions, challenge assumptions, and push for clarity.

This position will work a hybrid schedule of at least 3 days (Tues-Thurs) in Wellmark's Des Moines office with 2 days remote option (Mon/Fri). You may be in-office Mondays/Fridays to meet business needs.

What you will do as a Health Improvement Manager:

• Rural Health & Community Expertise - Serve as a subject matter expert on rural health issues, applying analytical and evaluative skills to understand how federal and state policy, local government, nonprofit organizations, associations, and business groups influence health outcomes. Maintain a current, well reasoned understanding of how these entities shape opportunities and barriers in rural communities. Build and sustain relationships across systems, using strong communication and interpretation skills to align diverse stakeholders.
• Evidence, Insight, & Data Interpretation - Stay current on evidence-based and emerging practices in health improvement, evaluating the credibility and relevance of new research. Analyze and interpret health-related data to identify actionable, evidence-based solutions, drawing logical inferences that guide strategic decisions. Partner with the data and measurement team to evaluate program effectiveness, reflect on outcomes, and recommend improvements grounded in sound reasoning.
• Initiative Design & Implementation - Identify, design, and implement initiatives that address barriers to health and align with organizational strategy, using structured problem solving and critical analysis. Translate data, best practices, and community insights into clear problem statements and compelling, well-supported solutions. Motivate state and regional partners to adopt effective interventions through persuasive communication and evidence-based reasoning. Connect people, organizations, and ideas to build sustainable coalitions with measurable impact.
• Program & Partnership Management - Manage initiatives from concept through execution, applying evaluative judgment to partner engagement, technical assistance, and outcome reporting. Communicate progress and insights to leadership with clarity and precision, ensuring transparency and alignment across teams. Continuously refine programs based on data, partner feedback, and reflective assessment of what is working and why.
• Education & Capacity Building - Coordinate internal and external subject matter experts to deliver high-quality educational opportunities that strengthen partners' analytical and problem-solving capabilities. Facilitate or support training sessions that build critical thinking capacity across communities and organizations.
• Collaboration & Internal Alignment - Work closely within the Health Improvement team and other internal partners to ensure efforts are coordinated, mutually reinforcing, and grounded in shared interpretation of data and strategy. Contribute to a cohesive strategy that measurably improves the health of Iowans and South Dakotans.
• Representation & Internal Alignment - Represent Wellmark's health improvement work across Iowa and South Dakota with credibility, clarity, and strong communication skills. Build strong, memorable relationships with partners at all organizational levels, using thoughtful inquiry and reflective listening to deepen trust. Speak at state, regional, and local events, translating complex information into compelling narratives that resonate with diverse audiences. Collaborate with Communication Manager to develop effective messaging and promotional materials.
• Other duties as assigned.