Dental Wellness Advisor

POSITION SUMMARY

The Dental Wellness Advisor (DWA) leads the development and administration of HDS’s external member wellness program. This role is responsible for designing and implementing the SMILEWell program to align oral health with overall wellness, promote preventive care, and deliver value-added resources that improve members’ health outcomes. The Dental Wellness Advisor oversees strategic program design, educational campaigns, partner offers, and incentive-based initiatives that encourage preventive benefit utilization while ensuring compliance with all regulatory requirements and industry best practices.

Working across departments, the Dental Wellness Advisor collaborates with Sales, Marketing, Professional Relations, and the Dental Director to establish benchmarks, drive customer engagement, and deliver employer group wellness strategies that elevate HDS’s role as a leader in oral health advocacy. The position also represents HDS in the community, nurturing partnerships with healthcare organizations, wellness providers, and public health agencies to advance oral health awareness and adoption.

This role provides oversight on strategies that support the success of wellness programs and organizational objectives. Additional responsibilities include managing SMILEPerks and SMILEChampion initiatives, CAHPS survey, coordinating wellness events, producing wellness communications, conducting oral health research, and contributing to advocacy efforts during legislative sessions. The Dental Wellness Advisor serves as a trusted advisor and program ambassador, delivering impactful presentations, creating motivational content, and inspiring HDS members and employees to prioritize oral health as an essential part of total-body wellness

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Dental Wellness Programming

• Designs the SMILEWell program to promote understanding and adoption of preventive care, and health and risk management activities for internal and external customers. SMILEWell will include, but not limited to, Healthentic reporting, benefits utilization, and evidence-based guidance, oral and total-body health communications and collateral, preventive care information and campaigns, and complementary health-based product offers and services.
• Drives the SMILEWell program's strategy to meet commercial and public health goals set forth by HDS, and ensure the program is aligned with HDS strategic (commercial and mission-based) objectives, initiatives, values and vision.
• Collaborates with Marketing & Communications Specialist to develop wellness materials and videos, and implementation strategies based on the program's target audience (employer groups, members), customer experience data, and industry trends.
• Develops and establishes working relationships with customers, in conjunction with HDS Sales Team, to promote and sustain a work environment that encourages a good oral health lifestyle.
• Identifies, develops and provides: personalized information, methodologies, tools and program resources to customers to promote oral health and wellness, based on their organization's needs.
• Internal subject matter expert (SME) of HDS's Healthentic reporting product; assesses report integration into the wellness program's components, and works with Healthentic to determine programmatic and utilization strategies that reduce long-term costs for customer and HDS.
• Develops measurement system with Underwriting and/or Healthentic Analytics and Cohort Tracking (ACT) to routinely evaluate efficacy of the program's strategies that: improve program performance, utilization metrics, and perceived value for the customer; and encourage ongoing use of the program components, member plan benefits, and other established goals and desired health outcomes.
• Reports SMILEWell program's progress and challenges and makes recommendations for program improvements to best affect desired outcomes; executes approved recommendations.
• Coordinates and facilitates all dental wellness related activities for commercial customer groups in conjunction with Sales. Activities include but are not limited to oral health webinars or seminars, screenings, lunch and learn sessions, dentist presentations, etc.
• Delivers effective and engaging dental wellness presentations and is able to connect with audiences across various industries.
• Leads and coordinates the HDS SMILEChampion program for HDS participating dentists, recruiting, training, and maintaining a pool of presentation-ready dentists who can deliver professional and relatable oral health information to empower HDS members to prioritize their oral health and ultimately drive positive health outcomes. This program also builds member trust and value of our dentist network.
• Manages HDS SMILEPerks, the deals and discounts program for HDS members. Recruit and maintain SMILEPerks partners and ensure successful implementation and promotion of deals and discounts.
• Develops and tracks dental wellness goals and objectives with the Director of Marketing.
• Manages partnership with Teledentistry, sharing about this service with HDS members who are more anxious about seeing a dentist in person.
• Travel is required for this position. Must have a personal vehicle and valid driver's license to travel and deliver presentations or implement wellness tactics and support events in conjunction with the Marketing & Communications team and Sales department. Interisland travel will also be required upon approval by the Director of Marketing & Communications.

Marketing Research, Insights, and Advocacy

• Build and nurture partnerships with healthcare organizations, wellness providers, and community groups to elevate oral health as a critical component of oral wellness.
• Advocate for oral wellness and provide support for legislative sessions.
• Identify and share key wellness trends, analyze member behavior patterns, and monitor healthcare and wellness industry developments relevant to oral health. Deliver actionable insights that inform marketing strategies, engagement efforts, and the development of targeted campaigns that resonate with HDS members and stakeholders.
• Stay abreast of the evolving healthcare landscape, with a particular focus on dental and wellness sectors, including policy shifts, emerging technologies, and changing consumer expectations. Collaborate with the Engagement Specialist to provide updates, reports, and recommendations that help the Marketing & Communications team stay ahead of market dynamics and proactively adapt messaging, programming, and outreach strategies.
• Advise internal stakeholders on the selection, interpretation, and application of data, ensuring that wellness initiatives, and engagement campaigns are built on solid, evidence-based foundations that drive meaningful results.
• Other miscellaneous duties and responsibilities as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

To perform this job successfully, the individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, physical demands, and/or ability required to perform the essential duties of this job.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Public Health, Environmental Health Sciences, Community Health, Epidemiology, Health Education, General Education, Business or Marketing, or an equivalent combination of education, experience, and training preferred.
• All other Bachelor's and/or Professional degrees will be considered as well.

Experience

• Experience in project, organizational, or team management preferred.
• Experience with presentations, education and teaching, persuasive writing, and/or leveraging and aligning multiple stakeholder inputs (i.e. individuals, departments, partners, and customers) preferred, and/or any combination thereof.
• Experience in events management and logistics preferred.
• Experience with the development and integration of educational and/or awareness programs, presentations, or campaigns consisting of various components including but not limited to communications, promotional materials, information, research, distribution, incentivization, third-party services and features, and distribution preferred.
• Conceptual understanding of public health, changing behaviors, and/or worksite wellness administration preferred, but not required.
• Conceptual understanding of health insurance, medical, or oral health related fields preferred, but not required.

Mental and Communication Demands

• Duties require the use of initiative, good judgment, problem-solving, and work under minimum direction.
• Requires working under occasional deadlines or pressure; dealing with difficult people or situations involving complex issues; and establishing and maintaining cooperative and productive work relationships.
• Requires communicating clearly and fluently both orally and in writing; making announcements; giving directions or instructions to others; and seeking information from a variety of sources.
• Required to learn new information
• Ability to read printed materials and computer screens

Note : The above information in this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by an employee in this classification. It is not to be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications of employees assigned to this job. Hawaii Dental Service has the right to add to, revise, or delete information in this description. Reasonable accommodation will be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.