Leave of Absence Manager

About The Company

Pennant Services is one of the most dynamic and progressive companies in the rapidly expanding senior living, home health, hospice, and home care industries. Affiliates of Pennant Services operate 250+ senior living, home health, hospice, and home care operations across 19 states. These operations have no corporate headquarters or traditional management hierarchy; instead, they operate independently with support from the “Service Center,” a world-class service team providing centralized clinical, legal, risk management, HR, training, accounting, IT, and other resources. This allows on-site leaders and caregivers to focus on day-to-day care and business issues in their individual agencies.

Our culture is defined by our core values, “CAPLICO”: Customer Second, Accountability, Passion for Learning, Love One Another, Intelligent Risk Taking, and Celebrate Ownership. These principles foster excellence both personally and professionally and promote development that leads to continued success.

About The Opportunity

Pennant is seeking a Leave of Absence Manager to lead our Leave of Absence Team and drive exceptional employee experiences for service center and operational employees across Pennant's multi-state footprint. This position will lead the Leave of Absence team in developing and delivering consistent, compliant, and employee-centered leave and accommodation programs that support our growing organization while enhancing the employee and leader experience.

The qualified individual reports to Pennant's Director of Total Rewards and will support home health, hospice, home care, and senior living operations. The Leave of Absence Manager serves as Pennant's subject matter expert for leave administration and workplace accommodations, providing leadership to a team of leave professionals while ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local laws. This role partners closely with Human Resources, Legal, Benefits, Payroll, and operational leaders to manage complex cases, improve processes, and support a scalable leave administration function.

The position will be in-office at least 3 days a week with some travel expected.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team responsible for leave of absence administration and accommodation management.
• Oversee the administration of all leave programs, including FMLA, ADA, PWFA, USERRA, state and local leave programs, company leaves, and disability-related absences.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex leave and accommodation cases.
• Partner with operational leaders, HR resources, Benefits, Payroll, Legal, Workers Compensation, HRIS, and third-party administrators to ensure consistent and compliant case management.
• Develop and maintain leave administration policies, procedures, training materials, and employee communications.
• Oversee premium collection for direct bill and COBRA.
• Monitor regulatory changes and ensure organizational compliance with federal, state, and local leave and accommodation requirements.
• Analyze leave trends, case volumes, and operational metrics to identify opportunities for process improvement and enhanced employee experience.
• Manage relationships with third-party leave administrators and other vendors supporting leave and accommodation programs.
• Passionately embrace and practice our core values and guide and train the organization in the management of employee relations within those core values.
• Serve as a strategic partner who understands the unique needs of Pennant's home health, hospice, home care, and senior living operations.

Requirements

• 5+ years’ experience managing complex leaves in a multi-state environment, disability, and workplace accommodations, including administration of the ADA interactive process.
• 2+ years’ experience leading a team of leave administrators.
• Strong knowledge of FMLA, ADA, PWFA, USERRA, and state and local leave laws.
• Experience partnering with third-party leave administrators and vendors.
• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Extensive knowledge of state and federal employment compliance rules and regulations.
• Detail-focused with the ability to set appropriate priorities amongst multiple demands.
• Excellent listening skills and demonstrates professional empathy.
• Ability to provide direct, transparent feedback and develop relations of accountability within a shared resource role.

Preferred Qualifications

• Healthcare industry experience.
• Shared services or centralized HR operations experience.
• Experience with Workday HCM, including business processes, reporting, employee transactions, and leave management workflows.
• Experience with The Hartford’s leave administration platform.

Benefits

We are committed to providing a competitive Total Rewards Package that meets our employees' needs. Benefits include:

• A choice of medical, dental, and vision plans.
• Retirement savings opportunities through a 401(k), company match, and other features.
• Recognition programs, including our Moments of Truth Program, which celebrates employees' efforts and accomplishments.
• Professional growth and development opportunities, including free e-courses through our Learning Management System, training sessions, and seminars.

Location: Draper, UT