Leaves and Accommodations Manager

Responsibilities

• Manage the day-to-day administration of the organization’s integrated leave, workplace accommodations, and Workers’ Compensation coordination programs, including FMLA, state and company leaves, ADA accommodations, return-to-work processes, and related case activity.
• Serve as a hands-on subject matter expert and primary point of coordination for employees, managers, HR Business Partners, Legal, Risk Management, and third-party administrators throughout the full lifecycle of leave, accommodation, and Workers’ Compensation-related matters.
• Facilitate and document the interactive process for workplace accommodation requests, including those connected to leaves of absence, medical restrictions, return-to-work needs, and Workers’ Compensation claims, ensuring a compliant, empathetic, timely, and solutions-focused approach.
• Monitor and manage case activity across automated and manual processes, including leave approvals, accommodation requests, medical documentation, extensions, return-to-work plans, claim status updates, and case closures.
• Manage relationships with third-party leave and accommodations vendors (e.g., LOA administrators, disability carriers), including performance monitoring, service-level agreement (SLA) oversight, issue escalation, and continuous improvement to ensure high-quality, compliant, and employee-centered service delivery.
• Collaborate with Legal, Compliance, Risk Management, HR, and business leaders on complex or high-risk cases, including accommodation feasibility, undue hardship analysis, leave exhaustion, job protection considerations, return-to-work planning, and Workers’ Compensation-related matters.
• Maintain accurate, timely, and detailed documentation of case activity, communications, decisions, internal analysis, approvals, denials, follow-up actions, and related records in accordance with company standards, vendor processes, and applicable legal requirements.
• Ensure consistent administration of federal, state, and local leave, accommodation, and Workers’ Compensation requirements, including ADA/ADAAA, FMLA, state-specific leave and disability regulations, company leave policies, and applicable Workers’ Compensation obligations.
• Analyze case trends, vendor performance, process gaps, and employee/manager experience to identify opportunities for operational improvement, risk mitigation, policy clarification, system enhancements, and program effectiveness.
• Prepare monthly absence reporting.
• Develop and deliver guidance, tools, training, and resources for managers, HR teams, and other stakeholders to promote consistent application of leave, accommodation, return-to-work, and Workers’ Compensation processes.
• Support ongoing administration and continuous improvement of the established enterprise leave and accommodations model, ensuring processes remain scalable, compliant, clearly documented, and aligned to business needs.
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• HS Diploma or GED (required) and seven (7) years progressive HR experience providing support to employees and management on disability accommodations and leaves of absence, as an accommodations specialist, analyst, or business partner (required) - or - Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a directly related field preferred and five (5) years of progressive Human Resources, leave administration, accommodations, employee relations, or related experience supporting employees and management with leaves of absence, disability accommodations, return-to-work processes, and complex case management (preferred)
• Specific experience in education, or other highly regulated field, and multi-site, multi-state environments (preferred)
• Experience administering or coordinating integrated leave and accommodation programs, including FMLA, state and local leaves, company leaves, ADA/ADAAA accommodations, medical restrictions, return-to-work processes, and related documentation
• Experience partnering with third-party administrators, vendors, or internal/external claims partners to support leave, accommodation, disability, or Workers’ Compensation-related case activity, issue resolution, escalation management, reporting, and service delivery
• Experience supporting Workers’ Compensation-related accommodation, restriction, claims coordination, or return-to-work processes (preferred)

Skills

• Independently manage complex tasks and projects
• Coach and mentor junior team members
• Analyze problems, evaluate alternatives, and implement effective solutions
• Present ideas in a compelling and structured format to diverse audiences
• Demonstrate refined listening skills and emotional intelligence
• Facilitate training sessions and cross-functional meetings
• Drive consistent results in a fast-paced environment
• Leverage enterprise-level tools and systems to streamline processes
• Create new and better ways for the organization to succeed
• Develop people to achieve their goals and support organizational success
• Navigate complex policies, processes, and organizational dynamics with ease
• Work independently, escalating complex or high-impact issues
• Drive innovation to improve organizational success
• Develop others to achieve individual and organizational goals
• Navigate complex organizational dynamics with confidence
• Perform effectively amid uncertainty and ambiguity

Abilities

• Ability to manage complex, sensitive, and time-sensitive leave, accommodation, and Workers’ Compensation-related matters with empathy, professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment
• Ability to balance employee experience, business needs, compliance obligations, operational consistency, and risk management in day-to-day decisions
• Ability to collaborate effectively with employees, managers, HR partners, Legal, Risk Management, vendors, and other stakeholders to support timely and consistent case resolution
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple cases, deadlines, follow-ups, and stakeholder communications in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to facilitate sensitive conversations, de-escalate concerns, and guide employees and managers through difficult or ambiguous situations
• Ability to develop and deliver clear guidance, tools, resources, and training to support consistent adoption of leave, accommodation, return-to-work, and Workers’ Compensation processes