Absence Planning System & Support Specialist

New York Life•New York, NY

13h•$75,000 - $90,000•Remote

About The Position

New York Life Group Benefit Solutions (GBS) is seeking an Absence Planning System & Support Specialist to join our Implementation team. This role blends hands-on system configuration, client onboarding support, and structured testing to enable accurate, efficient, and scalable setup of employer leave and Short-Term Disability (STD) plans within our vendor partner platform (myLeaveGuide Pro). You’ll be a key client-facing configuration partner—working with employers and brokers, as well as Implementation Managers, account teams, product partners, and the vendor—to gather requirements, translate plan provisions into system configurations, validate accuracy, and continuously improve the setup experience.

Requirements

3+ years of experience with group insurance products; benefits administration, HRIS implementation, leave management, or configuration preferred.
Strong stakeholder management skills: able to coordinate inputs, negotiate priorities, and drive decisions to closure.
Ability to interpret leave and disability policies and translate requirements into system configurations.
High attention to detail with strong analytical and organizational skills.
Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills; able to explain complex plan provisions clearly.
Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint; familiarity with SharePoint, Salesforce, and collaboration tools is a plus.

Responsibilities

Lead client and broker working sessions to gather inputs, walk through the portal, confirm plan intent, and drive timely decisions.
Coordinate across internal partners and the vendor by documenting requirements, managing dependencies, and closing gaps that impact setup and timelines.
Gather and analyze plan, eligibility, and workflow requirements; translate into configuration-ready templates.
Identify data gaps and resolve them with stakeholders; track updates through final approval.
Improve and standardize the data collection process to reduce manual effort and rework across implementations.
Create and configure employer accounts in myLeaveGuide Pro in accordance with internal standards and client needs.
Configure custom benefits and employer-specific overrides; set workflow policies and document configuration rationale.
Execute structured testing and validation; manage access codes for testing and deployment.
Confirm benefit accuracy, eligibility rules, waiting periods, and job protection settings; update configurations based on results and feedback.
Maintain configuration and testing records; contribute to baseline templates, standards, and playbooks.