Leave of Absence; LOA Manager

POSITION SUMMARY

The Leave of Absence Manager is responsible for the strategic oversight and day-to-day administration of Milliman’s leave of absence, disability, and paid time off programs across a multi-state workforce. This role serves as the organization’s subject matter expert on federal, state, and local leave compliance. The position leads a team of three leave analysts and ensures consistent, compliant, and operationally sound administration in a decentralized environment.

The ideal candidate combines deep regulatory expertise with strong operational leadership, thrives in complex and evolving legal landscapes, and can bring structure and accountability while maintaining flexibility across business units.

• Serve as the subject matter expert on federal, state, and local leave laws, including FMLA, ADA, PWFA, state paid family and medical leave programs, and related regulatory requirements, ensuring compliant leave administration across a multi-state workforce.
• Partner with Business Partners and oversee the ADA interactive process, including accommodation assessments, documentation standards, return-to-work coordination, and complex case determinations, ensuring consistent and legally sound outcomes.
• Oversee coordination of workers’ compensation cases with leave and disability programs to ensure proper benefit integration, compliance with wage replacement requirements, and effective return-to-work alignment.
• Partner closely with the Benefits Manager to align leave, disability, and health plan strategies, ensuring cohesive program design, vendor oversight, and consistent employee experience across total rewards programs.
• Monitor legislative developments and assess organizational impact, recommending updates to policies, procedures, and governance standards to maintain compliance in a decentralized organizational environment.
• Provide guidance on complex and escalated leave and accommodation cases, partnering with Compliance, Legal, HR Business Partners, and Payroll to mitigate risk and ensure consistent application of policy.
• Lead and develop a team of three leave analysts, establishing clear performance expectations, strengthening technical expertise, and ensuring high-quality case management and service delivery.
• Oversee day-to-day administration of leave and disability programs, including vendor performance management, escalations, data integrity, and service delivery standards.
• Design and maintain scalable leave processes and compliance controls that promote consistency across practices while respecting decentralized operations.
• Utilize reporting and analytics to monitor leave, disability, and workers’ compensation trends, identify risk patterns, and provide data-informed recommendations to leadership.
• Develop and deliver training and guidance to HR Business Partners, managers, and practice administrators to support consistent understanding and application of leave and accommodation requirements.

• The ideal candidate must have minimum 10 years of progressive experience in leave administration within mid- to large-sized, multi-state organization (2,000–5,000 employees).
• The ideal candidate must have minimum 3 years of direct people management experience.
• The ideal candidate must have deep expertise in federal and multi-state leave laws and regulatory compliance, including complex leave coordination and disability integration.
• Must have demonstrated experience managing escalated, high-risk, or complex leave cases with strong judgment and defensible decision-making.
• Must have experience of operating in a decentralized or matrixed environment.
• Must have strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and make data-driven recommendations.
• Must have proven ability to design and implement scalable processes and compliance controls.
• Must have a high degree of confidentiality, discretion, and independent accountability.
• Must have strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively influence and educate stakeholders at all organizational levels.

• PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP…