Associate Vice President

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.

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.

• 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…