Manager, Leave Programs

Overview

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is one of the world’s leading international law firms. The Firm was established in 1884 and has approximately 2,000 lawyers. Headquartered in New York with offices in Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, Palo Alto, San Francisco, São Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., the Firm provides coordinated legal advice and transactional capability to clients around the globe.

The Human Resources Team partners with Firm and functional leaders to attract, develop, support, and retain exceptional talent across the Firm. The team plays a critical role in shaping a collaborative, high‑performing organization where employees are empowered to grow, make meaningful contributions, and build long‑term, rewarding careers. Within Human Resources, the Benefits function is responsible for delivering programs that support lawyers and professional staff throughout their careers.

The Manager, Leave Programs, leads the strategy, administration, and compliance of the Firm’s leave programs and workplace accommodation processes.

• Oversee and administer all U.S. employee leave of absence programs, including short/long‑term disability, parental leave, family leave, workers’ compensation, and other statutory or firm‑sponsored leaves, ensuring compliance with firm policy and all federal, state, and local laws.
• Oversee compliance with, and coordination of, state disability and paid family leave benefit programs in conjunction with FMLA, state and local leave protections and Firm leave policies.
• Monitor regulatory developments and proactively update programs, policies, and practices to maintain full compliance.
• Develop and maintain scalable processes, policies, and documentation to ensure consistent application across the Firm.
• Advise employees and managers on leaves of absence, leave entitlements, Firm policies, available benefit resources, and related procedures.
• Maintain and update end‑to‑end leave of absence communications, including tailored communications for employees and managers throughout the leave process.
• Conduct recurring leave status meetings with vendors regarding open cases, projects, and/or initiatives.
• Manage the end‑to‑end process for employees requesting workplace accommodations under the ADA and similar state/local laws.
• Partner with employees, managers, and HR to implement reasonable accommodations.
• Maintain accurate and complete documentation of accommodation requests, determinations, discussions, and follow‑up actions.
• Manage one direct report responsible for day‑to‑day administration of leave programs.

• Serve as primary relationship manager for third‑party leave administrator and related vendors.
• Work directly with vendors to ensure accurate documentation, communication, and timely resolution of cases.
• Establish performance metrics, conduct regular audits, and oversee service‑level agreements (SLAs).
• Lead issue resolution, escalations, and continuous improvement initiatives with vendors.

• Conduct audits and analysis of leave and accommodation data to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities for process improvement.
• Provide regular reporting and insights to HR leadership to support decision‑making and program enhancements.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, cost management, and employee outcomes.

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Preferred HR certification (PHR, SPHR, SHRM‑CP/SCP) or similar.
• Familiarity with Workday, ADP Payroll, and leave administration and reporting platforms.

• 7+ years of experience managing multi‑state leave and accommodations programs.
• Experience operating in large, matrixed, and/or global organizations; law firm or professional services experience is desirable.
• Extensive knowledge of FMLA, ADA, STD, LTD, and state paid leave laws, and workers’ compensation regulations.
• Demonstrated experience managing third‑party leave administrators.
• Strong analytical, project management, and problem‑solving…