Absence Team Leader

New York Life•New York, NY

1d•$74,200 - $128,500•Remote

About The Position

Group Benefit Solutions delivers comprehensive insurance and absence management solutions for mid-sized and large companies. Our work fosters a healthier, happier, and more secure workforce, contributing to New York Life’s legacy of being there when we’re needed most. Here, you'll design, implement, and support these solutions directly impacting employees’ lives. At our core, we provide financial security and peace of mind to people through our absence, accident, disability, voluntary benefits, and life insurance solutions. Reporting to the Absence Claims Director, the Absence Team Leader is responsible for managing a team of Absence Managers whose key duties include administering Short-Term Disability (STD). The Team Leader ensures the team achieves established goals, meets published Quality and Compliance standards, and delivers a consistent, high-quality absence and disability claims experience. This role drives operational excellence through leadership, coaching, performance management, process improvement, and cross-functional partnership.

Requirements

HS Diploma or GED required; Bachelor’s degree strongly preferred.
5+ years of experience in the Absence/Disability industry required.
Strong preference for candidates with experience managing both disability and leave products.
Prior experience leading a team of direct reports strongly preferred.
Demonstrated problem-solving skills with a test-and-learn mindset.
Strong strategic and tactical capabilities.
Ability to understand, navigate, and articulate complex multi-product absence and disability scenarios.
Proven ability to deliver results with a sense of urgency.
Strong verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to encourage candor and foster an open exchange of ideas.
Effective at disseminating information to ensure staff can successfully fulfill their responsibilities.
Ability to prioritize critical objectives and focus on high-impact initiatives.
Ability to manage complex and escalated issues confidently and effectively.
Comfortable operating in changing and often ambiguous environments.

Responsibilities

Directly lead a team of Absence Claim Managers within the Absence Claims organization.
Foster a learning culture focused on coaching, accountability, regular feedback, and professional development.
Lead, mentor, and coach team members; develop succession plans and build bench strength to support business goals.
Remove roadblocks for the team; collaborate closely with the Absence Claims Director on customer, client, and organizational challenges.
Manage through change effectively, ensuring clear and ongoing communication as processes, systems, technology, or clients evolve.
Ensure execution and compliance of Short-Term Disability, Statutory and Paid Family Medical Leave processes.
Manage team performance and service delivery across multiple products in accordance with published Quality and Compliance standards.
Achieve overall quality review results (NQIT and TL/SCM reviews) within or exceeding standards.
Proactively analyze key metrics and performance reports to ensure consistent team and network performance.
Identify performance gaps and create timely action plans to drive continuous improvement.
Establish contingency plans to maintain service levels during staffing shortages, new business onboarding, system implementations, or other operational challenges.
Partner with Account Management, Sales, and internal stakeholders to deliver on service commitments.
Serve as escalation point for complex and sensitive absence and disability cases.
Maintain accountability for the claims and absence experience tied to a dedicated book of clients and customers.
Participate in client calls and meetings as needed.
Collaborate with peer leaders to drive consistency, share best practices, and enhance the overall claims experience.
Drive a culture of continuous improvement by identifying process gaps, inefficiencies, and service opportunities.
Lead root cause analysis and develop action plans to address performance trends.
Champion innovation and best practices across the team and broader organization.
Partner cross-functionally to streamline workflows and improve end-to-end operational effectiveness.