The Sr. HR Shared Services (HRSS) Leave and Disability Manager will be primarily responsible for leading and managing the day-to-day administration of the Leave of Absence (LOA) & Disability processes for multiple lines of business across the Americas region (US, Canada, LatAm). The Sr. HRSS Leave and Disability Manager will lead a team of HRSS Specialists, ensuring that all deadlines are met, including but not limited to LOA case management, ADA and LOA tasks completion, LOA monitoring, audits and reporting. In addition, this position will serve as the subject matter expert for all LOA programs and serve as the point of contact for leadership and Legal on escalated matters and policy interpretation. A successful team member will be extremely detail oriented, flexible with continuous process/system changes, possess a problem-solving mindset and enjoys creating order from ambiguity. Responsible for developing and implementing centralized management of Leaves, process efficiencies and optimizations. Ensures company compliance with federal, provincial, state, and local laws and regulations regarding job-protected and/or paid leaves and reasonable accommodations. Serves as the primary escalation point of contact for all communications with employees, management, vendors, and HR regarding all Americas administered leaves of absence and related processes, including eligibility, compliance, and disability.

• Oversees administration of federal, provincial, state, local and company leave of absence policies and short-term and long-term disability programs including eligibility, intake, case management, return-to-work, issue resolution, escalations and vendor management.
• Hire, trains and develops the HRSS LOA Specialists and Associates by providing tasks, monitoring performance, department distribution and personal development plans.
• Interprets and clarifies Gilead’s LOA policies to address inquiries from employees, managers, and HR partners
• Manages service provider relationships with the leave of absence and disability administrators to ensure proper administration of leaves of absence consistent with applicable laws and company policies.
• Manages and provides direction on denied leaves of absence. Oversees the return to work process including timely and accurate entries into the HRIS system for assigned region and/or countries.
• May provide direction to other departments including IT, security, payroll and HR to resolve matters impacted by an employee’s leave of absence
• Collaborates proactively with internal business partners to provide subject matter expertise and counsel. Work with partners to identify solutions and to ensure that quality, professional and timely assistance is provided to our employees
• Participates in audit processes to ensure data accuracy and plan administration compliance. Identifies information and system audit opportunities. Identifies trends, sees issues through to resolution and escalates potential issues
• Prepares and conducts training for employees and managers on leave of absence policies and programs.
• Identifies gaps or opportunities for improvement to the leave of absence process and recommends solutions. Partners with HR technology team to streamline processes, leverage automation and workflow to demonstrate positive business impact
• Identifies and immediately escalates potential opportunities for risk/exposure to the organization during the completion of assigned duties
• Participates in the selection of third-party leave administration partners and the evaluation of vendor performance.
• Partners effectively with the Director of HR Shared Services on ways to create efficiencies and provide additional services as needed within HR Shared Services
• Lead, inspire, mentor, and develop HR team members, openly sharing your knowledge and expertise to support and develop competence among the HR shared services team to answer questions
• Leverage data for staffing and resource allocation decisions for optimal performance of systems and make performance improvement recommendations
• Assist with reporting and auditing and other operational support of HR programs including, but not limited to Leave Programs and Absence Management activities
• Actively participates in cross functional projects and leads components of HR related projects
• Performs other duties as assigned

Knowledge, Experience, And Skills:

• Working knowledge and understanding of HIPAA, FMLA, CFRA, PDL, PFL, USERRA, ADA, ADAAA, and other applicable legislation
• Effective collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders using strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong organizational, negotiation, critical thinking, analytical, creative problem solving, and presentation skills
• Ability to use independent judgment to manage and impart confidential and sensitive employee information
• Strong data analysis skills, including excel skills such as pivot tables and v-lookups
• Ability to gather data, compile information, and prepare reports/presentations
• Ability to perform in a fast-paced, deadline-intensive environment and effectively manage a high volume of work with strong attention to detail
• North America, South America and Multi-state large employer experience (up to 10,0000 employees)
• Ability to create and maintain professional relationships within all levels of the organization
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment and perform tasks independently under minimal direction
• Ability to communicate with and relate to individuals of diverse disabilities and backgrounds
• Ability to gather data, compile information, and prepare reports/presentations
• Ability to build positive relationships at all levels and influence others in a cross-functional environment
• Experience leading business process improvement activities
• Ability to prioritize workload to complete assigned deliverables within the allocated timeline
• Proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Outlook

Basic Qualifications:

• High School and Eleven Years’ Experience OR Associate Degree and Nine Years’ Experience OR Bachelor’s Degree and Eight Years’ Experience OR Masters’ Degree and Six Years’ Experience
• 7-10 years’ of progressively increasing experience administering in Leave & Disability Programs or Accommodations
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in people management
• Minimum of 6 years’ of experience using HR an Payroll systems (e.g. Workday, SAP, Ultipro, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Lawson, ADP, Safeguard)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certified Professional in Disability Management (CPDM) certification, Certified Leave Management Specialist (CLMS), Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS), SPHR, PHR, or similar certification is a plus
• Experience with Workday and ServiceNow is highly desired