Kim Jensen has been named Chief Human Resources Officer for the Avera Health system. She officially begins that role Dec. 30.
Avera Health President and CEO Bob Sutton says Kim brings numerous years of experience with HR leadership – and specifically more than 20 years of experience with Avera. She has been absolutely integral in centralization of HR that began in 2012 and has led several successful initiatives.
This is the top HR leadership position in the organization, and Kim has been serving as interim since June. She was named to this position after a national search process.
“I am honored and humbled by this opportunity, and excited to continue to be innovative as we serve existing and potential employees of Avera,” said Jensen. “I’ve always identified with the mission of Avera and I look forward to serving this mission for many years to come.”
Since 2012, Kim has been serving as Vice President of Talent Management. She created and implemented Workforce Career Services which includes career planning service and education outreach to build a pipeline for future workforce. She has championed standardization of employment practices and has implemented system-wide online performance reviews, the employee engagement survey, and more.
Kim joined Avera in 1997, serving as Vice President for Human Resources at Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton until 2012. She also worked over 10 years in Administration and HR for South Dakota Human Services Center.
