Manager, Leave of Absence

Location: Remote - US

Department: People and Talent

Position Summary

The Leave of Absence Manager owns end-to-end administration of all employee leave programs — including FMLA, state-specific leaves (e.g., Pregnancy Disability Leave, domestic violence/safe leave, state paid family and medical leave programs), ADA accommodation-related leave, and company-provided leave policies. This role also serves as a cross-trained backup and active contributor to the Benefits team, supporting day-to-day administration of health, welfare, and retirement plan. The ideal candidate combines deep leave-compliance expertise with the versatility to step into benefits administration as workload and coverage require.

Key Responsibilities

Leave Administration (Primary Focus)

• Serve as subject matter expert and administer all leave types — FMLA, state family/medical leave, PDL, ADA-related leave, military leave, and state domestic violence/safe leave — ensuring compliance with federal and multi-state requirements for a remote workforce spread across the US.
• Track eligibility, certifications, and entitlement balances across concurrent leave types (e.g., FMLA running with state PDL or short-term disability).
• Manage intermittent and reduced-schedule leave requests, ensuring time is tracked in compliant increments and consistent with plan documents and applicable regulations.
• Coordinate with payroll, workers compensation carriers, and short/long-term disability vendors to ensure accurate pay, benefits continuation, and return-to-work processes.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for managers and employees navigating leave requests, providing clear, empathetic guidance while maintaining confidentiality.
• Monitor state and federal legislative changes affecting leave entitlements across all states where the company has employees, and update policies and processes accordingly.
• Own leave-related recordkeeping, reporting, and audit-readiness; prepare documentation for Director and/or Legal on complex or contested leave cases.

Benefits Administration (Cross-Trained / Secondary Focus)

• Support day-to-day administration of health, welfare, and retirement benefits, including enrollment, life-event changes, COBRA and vendor escalations.
• Partner with the Benefits team during Open Enrollment and audits, providing surge support as needed.
• Act as a cross-trained backup for benefits inquiries during team absences or peak volume periods.

Cross-Functional & Process Responsibilities

• Maintain and improve leave and benefits BPs, ensuring consistency across systems and vendor platforms.
• Maintain documentation / training for managers on leave and accommodation processes.
• Identify process efficiencies and support system implementations or upgrades related to leave and benefits administration.

Qualifications

Required

• 5+ years of progressive experience in leave of absence administration, with direct ownership of FMLA, disability, and multi-state leave compliance.
• Working knowledge of ADA interactive process requirements as they intersect with leave.
• Strong understanding of state-specific leave laws (e.g., pregnancy disability leave, paid family/medical leave, domestic violence leave) and how they interact with federal requirements.
• Experience partnering with payroll and third-party leave/disability administrators.
• Excellent judgment handling sensitive, confidential employee situations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex leave rules clearly to employees and managers.

Preferred

• Prior exposure to benefits administration — health & welfare plans and retirement plans.
• Professional certification such as CLMS (Certified Leave Management Specialist), CEBS, or PHR/SHRM-CP.
• Experience with HRIS and leave management systems (e.g., Workday or similar).
• Experience operating across with remote, national employee population.

• Work from anywhere in the US! Machinify is digital-first.
• Top Medical/Dental/Vision offerings
• FSA/HSA
• Tuition reimbursement
• Competitive salary, 401(k) with company match
• Additional health and wellness benefits and perks
• Flexible and trusting environment where you’ll feel empowered to do your best work