People Specialist - Leave Specialist

Job Responsibilities

• Act as a primary point of contact between the company and the leave/accommodation and workers compensation programs to support timely, compliant, and effective workplace accommodations.
• Act as the primary internal point of contact for employees and managers regarding workers compensation, leave, and accommodation processes and timelines.
• Partner with People Advisors and leaders to lead interactive process conversations and implementation of accommodation as needed.
• Provide Employee Relations perspective on complex leave/accommodation-related issues that intersect with performance, conduct, or attendance.
• Work directly with the accommodations management vendor to review and adjudicate accommodations requests, including being the lead to engage employees in the interactive process to complete accommodation requests.
• Conduct vendor management of third-party leave and accommodations administrators ensuring quality service through regular reviews, issue escalation, and process improvement.
• Generate reports and maintain accurate leave records for payroll, benefits continuation, and compliance purposes.
• Create and maintain communications on leave for various internal channels and audiences, including employee knowledge base.
• Work closely with workers compensation carrier to oversee handling and resolution for workers compensation claims.
• Work collaboratively with Leave staff, and serve as the backup program manager and SME for leave programs such as FMLA, parental leave, other types of paid/unpaid time off, and workers compensation.
• Maintain highly accurate tracking of leaves and manage leave requests and documentation in HRIS or leave management system.
• Provide guidance with empathy, ensuring employees understand their options and feel supported throughout their leave.
• Collaborate with other People Team members and departments on end-to-end process and experience design.
• Recommend and refine the leave process, experience, and communications to positively impact the employee experience and employees feeling cared for before, during, and upon return from leave.
• Cook up coordination reentry processes to ease transitions back to work and ensure a positive reintegration experience.
• Create and deliver education on leave for supervisors, People Advisors, and team members.
• Prepare reports and analytics on leave metrics to support workforce planning, inform strategy, and benchmark.

Required Skills & Experience

• Three-plus (3) years of experience in US disability/leave administration or HR Compliance.
• Deep understanding and application of federal and state disability and paid family leave laws (i.e., ADA, FMLA, PFWA, CFRA, HIPAA, etc.) in a multi-state environment.
• Familiarity with California statutory leave and disability programs.
• Experience administering workers compensation plan and managing claims preferred.
• Independent worker who must be able to regularly exercise discretion, handle conflict, and be firm when required.
• Exceptional critical thinking and problem-solving skills, including the ability to analyze complex questions and determine the best course of actions or recommendation.
• Organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities on a timely basis in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to interact effectively with employees at all levels.
• Ability to take initiative and make decisions under pressure.