Associate Vice President, Benefits

Advocate Health; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Advocate Health seeks an Associate Vice President, Benefits to shape enterprise medical, dental, vision, pharmacy, and clinical well-being programs. This senior role oversees strategy, design, and performance across a large, complex organization and partners with health plans, PBMs, and administrators.

You will lead a high-performing team, translate healthcare trends into actionable recommendations, and influence executive-level decisions to sustain competitive, compliant benefit programs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive benefits experience in a large organization.
• 5+ years of leadership experience and team development.
• Deep experience with self-funded medical and pharmacy plan design.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, management, and performance of medical, dental, vision, pharmacy, and clinical well-being programs.
• Develop population health and care management strategies.
• Oversee vendor relationships with TPAs, PBMs, and health plans; drive SLAs and outcomes.
• Lead RFPs, contracts, implementations, and vendor transitions.
• Ensure regulatory compliance across ERISA, ACA, HIPAA, and related laws.

Skills

Leadership & people management

Strategic thinking

Vendor management

Regulatory compliance (ERISA ACA HIPAA

Communication & presentation

Financial analysis

Influence senior leaders

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/Finance/Business/Healthcare Admin

Master’s degree in business/healthcare administration

Tools

Workday

Oracle

SAP

Job description

Join Us in Redefining Care

At Advocate Health, we are committed to helping people live well by delivering exceptional care with compassion, innovation, and expertise. We are seeking an accomplished Associate Vice President, Benefits to lead the strategy, design, and performance of our enterprise medical, dental, vision, pharmacy, and clinical well-being programs.

As a key member of our Total Rewards leadership team, you will shape benefit strategies that support the health and well-being of our teammates and their families. You will bring together clinical, financial, operational, and market insights to deliver competitive, sustainable programs across a large, complex organization.

About This Opportunity

This is an opportunity to influence the future of health benefits at an enterprise level. You will oversee a comprehensive portfolio of health and pharmacy programs, guide population health and clinical strategies, and manage critical partnerships with health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, third-party administrators, and specialty vendors.

You will also lead and develop a high-performing team while partnering with senior leaders to translate complex healthcare trends, financial considerations, and regulatory requirements into clear recommendations and thoughtful business decisions.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the design, ongoing management, and performance of medical, dental, vision, pharmacy, and clinical well-being programs.
• Develop clinical program and care management strategies aligned with population health priorities.
• Provide market expertise and strategic recommendations that shape the enterprise health benefits roadmap and broader Total Rewards strategy.
• Monitor healthcare, pharmacy, regulatory, and clinical innovation trends and translate emerging developments into actionable recommendations.
• Manage relationships and performance across medical, pharmacy, clinical, and point-solution vendors, including third-party administrators, carriers, pharmacy benefit managers, and specialty partners.
• Establish clear service expectations and drive vendor accountability through data-informed performance reviews, service-level agreements, and measurable outcomes.
• Lead requests for proposals, contract negotiations, implementations, and vendor transitions for health and pharmacy programs.
• Oversee pharmacy strategy, including formulary management, rebate contracting, specialty pharmacy, clinical trend management, GLP-1 medications, and biosimilars.
• Evaluate and integrate clinical programs, Centers of Excellence, care management services, and point solutions.
• Ensure program compliance with applicable federal and state requirements, including ERISA, ACA, HIPAA, HITECH, COBRA, MHPAEA, the No Surprises Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, and relevant pharmacy transparency requirements.
• Monitor emerging legislation and regulatory guidance and assess the potential impact on benefit programs and enterprise strategy.
• Apply strong analytical and financial capabilities to cost forecasting, healthcare trend analysis, vendor evaluation, and program performance measurement.
• Develop executive-level presentations that clearly communicate complex clinical, financial, and strategic information.
• Influence senior leaders and support enterprise-level decision-making through a collaborative, consultative approach.
• Select, coach, and develop a high-performing team, establishing clear objectives aligned with organizational priorities.
• Lead performance management, succession planning, talent development, and recognition within the assigned areas of responsibility.
• Support large-scale implementations, enterprise transformations, and merger and acquisition activity.
• Promote a culture of ethical conduct, accountability, continuous improvement, and exceptional teammate service.

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, finance, business, healthcare administration, public health, or a related field.
• Ten or more years of progressive benefits experience within a large, complex, multi-site organization.
• Five or more years of leadership experience, with a demonstrated ability to build, coach, and develop high-performing teams.
• Deep experience with self-funded medical and pharmacy plan design in a large-employer environment.
• Significant experience managing pharmacy benefit manager relationships, formulary strategy, rebate contracting, specialty pharmacy, and clinical trend management.
• Experience designing and evaluating clinical programs, care management strategies, Centers of Excellence, and point solutions.
• Strong understanding of medical and pharmacy benefit design, network management, clinical program strategy, and population health analytics.
• Working knowledge of applicable federal and state benefit laws and regulations, including ERISA, ACA, HIPAA, HITECH, COBRA, MHPAEA, the No Surprises Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, and IRS Sections 105, 125, and 129.
• Strong financial, analytical, and critical-thinking skills, including cost forecasting, trend analysis, vendor performance evaluation.
• Experience leading requests for proposals, contract negotiations, vendor implementations, and program transitions.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders and translate complex clinical and financial concepts for executive audiences.
• Experience supporting large-scale implementations, organizational transformations or merger and acquisition activity.
• Exceptional relationship-building, communication, presentation, and change management skills.
• A consultative leadership style with the ability to influence across functions without direct authority.
• The ability to navigate ambiguity, anticipate emerging issues, and solve complex problems.
• A strong commitment to teammate service and organizational values.

Preferred

• Master’s degree in business administration, healthcare administration, public health, human resources, or a related field.
• Certified Employee Benefit Specialist certification.
• Experience within a Fortune 500 organization or large, integrated health system.
• Experience working with HR enterprise resource planning platforms such as Workday, Oracle, or SAP.
• Experience with benefits administration systems and related technology platforms.

DISCLAIMER

All responsibilities and requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only responsibilities to be performed by an employee occupying this job or position. Employees must follow any other job-related instructions and perform any other job-related duties requested by their leaders.