DIRECTOR OF ABSENCES & ACCOMODATIONS (HYBRID-CHARLOTTE, NC)

Job Summary:

The Director, Absences and Accommodations provides enterprise leadership for the organization’s leave and accommodation programs, including strategy, governance, operations, compliance, and continuous improvement. This role leads a team of leave and accommodation professionals and partners closely with HR, Legal, Employee Relations, Payroll, Benefits, vendors, and business leaders to ensure consistent, compliant, employee-centered, and operationally effective service delivery.

The Director is responsible for strengthening the end-to-end employee and manager experience across FMLA, ADA, STD, LTD, state and local leave programs, and related accommodation processes. This role will use data, technology, process discipline, and strong cross-functional partnership to improve service quality, reduce risk, and support business needs.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and lead the enterprise strategy for employee absences, leaves, and accommodations, ensuring alignment with business priorities, legal requirements, and employee experience goals.
• Provide leadership and oversight for leave and accommodation operations, including case quality, service delivery, escalation management, compliance, and process consistency.
• Lead, develop, and manage a team of leave and accommodation professionals, establishing clear expectations, coaching for performance, and building team capability.
• Strengthen governance for absence and accommodation programs, including policies, procedures, process controls, escalation protocols, compliance monitoring, and quality assurance.
• Provide strategic guidance on complex, sensitive, or high-risk cases, balancing employee needs, legal requirements, business impact, and organizational values.
• Drive continuous improvement of absence and accommodation processes, system workflows, reporting, and technology solutions to improve efficiency and the employee and manager experience.
• Monitor legislative and regulatory changes, assess organizational impact, and lead related policy, process, communication, and training updates.
• Develop, analyze, and report on operational metrics, trends, risks, and outcomes to improve performance and support business decisions.
• Partner with HR, Legal, Employee Relations, Payroll, Benefits, vendors, and business leaders to ensure consistent and effective leave and accommodation practices.
• Oversee compliance audits, quality assurance activities, and vendor performance to ensure adherence to regulatory, service, and organizational standards.
• Lead communication and training efforts to help employees and managers understand their rights, responsibilities, and available support related to absences and accommodations.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field required.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in leave administration, disability management, benefits, accommodations, or related HR functions.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive leadership experience managing teams, programs, and cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong working knowledge of FMLA, ADA, STD, LTD, state and local leave laws, and related accommodation requirements required.
• Experience managing leave vendors, leave management systems, audits, reporting, or process improvement initiatives preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Deep knowledge of leave, disability, and accommodation laws and practices, including FMLA and ADA.
• Strong enterprise judgment with the ability to balance compliance, employee care, operational needs, and business risk.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams, set clear expectations, build capability, and drive accountability.
• Strong communication and relationship management skills, with the ability to advise leaders and influence cross-functional partners.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, with the ability to use data and trends to improve outcomes.
• Operationally disciplined, with the ability to build scalable processes, governance routines, and quality standards.
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a complex, regulated environment while maintaining accuracy, consistency, and compliance.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, HRIS platforms, leave management systems, reporting tools, and related technology.