AVP, Absence Operations

Unum•Portland, ME

20h•Hybrid

About The Position

The AVP, Absence Operations, is a critical role in leading the delivery of Leave and Absence services in pursuit of Unum’s growth aspirations. The role is accountable for leading key elements of leave and absence operations that consistently deliver high quality outcomes, an exceptional customer and client experience, and operational excellence. This role involves the execution of complex operational activities on a daily basis and delivering consistent, high-quality service to our claimants and clients, in a way that drives the growth and financial outcomes needed. The AVP, Absence Operations leads our new segmented service model that is focused on delivering consistent, high-quality service and a great client, claimant, and employee experience. We are looking for individuals who bring deep operational experience, a track record of strong people leadership, and are at heart problem solvers. You will lead a large group of Absence and Leave specialists, manager, and directors in a fast-paced environment, and you will be frequently engaged with clients, brokers, and field partners to solve problems and help tell the Unum leave and absence story. And, if you want a role where you play a part in growing Unum’s business and you like to be in a space where what you and your team does every day is highly relevant to supporting Unum’s strategic goals, then this is it. In return you will join a high performing team of leaders who operate with a sense of clear purpose, a high degree of accountability and autonomy, and have exposure to both strategic and tactical opportunities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
10+ years of progressive experience in leading complex high volume operations that may include absence management, disability, or related operations
Demonstrated success leading enterprise wide operations with a strong emphasis on quality outcomes, customer experience, and regulatory compliance
Proven ability to design, scale, and sustain operations that consistently deliver fair, accurate, and timely claim decisions, resulting in strong customer, client, and employee outcomes
Familiarity with the absence management marketplace, regulatory environment, and end-to-end leave administration models, with a focus on quality assurance and risk mitigation
Track record of embedding lean management systems in a continuous improvement environment across teams through disciplined use of operational management systems, data, and customer insights
Demonstrated ability to balance customer-centric service delivery with productivity, cost efficiency, and growth objectives, without compromising quality
Experience leading digital and operational transformation initiatives that measurably improve customer experience, service consistency, and operational quality
Strong business and analytical acumen with experience managing customer satisfaction, quality, productivity, and financial performance metrics simultaneously
Ability to diagnose systemic operational issues, translate insights into practical improvements, and drive execution through leaders and frontline teams
Executive presence with the ability to influence cross functional partners and senior stakeholders in matrixed environments, particularly across technology, product, and client-facing teams
Experience partnering with technology teams in Agile environments to ensure solutions are designed and adopted with the frontline employee and customer experience in mind
Proven ability to attract, develop, and retain high performing leaders while building a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement
Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, including experience engaging directly with clients to address service quality, strategy, and escalations

Responsibilities

Leads enterprise Leave and Absence operations in support of growth objectives, delivering high-quality outcomes, exceptional customer and client experiences, and operational excellence.
Accountable for complex, high-volume, technology-enabled end-to-end operations, ensuring fair, accurate, timely, and compliant claim outcomes across all service lines.
Builds and scales a high-performing operations organization capable of operating effectively within a complex regulatory and operational environment.
Ensures strong people leadership, disciplined execution, and data-driven decision-making are embedded across operations to deliver consistent quality and customer experience.
Drives continuous improvement by leveraging operational data, customer insights, and performance metrics to improve service consistency, reduce complexity, and enhance customer and employee experiences.
Balances customer-centric service delivery with productivity, cost efficiency, and growth objectives to consistently achieve quality outcomes.
Partners with Sales, Client Management, Finance, and technology and change leaders to design and deliver operational solutions that prioritize frontline effectiveness and customer experience.
Delivers results aligned to enterprise performance indicators, including growth, customer satisfaction, quality, productivity, and financial performance, while proactively mitigating operational and compliance risk.
Ensures operational practices are in place to prevent, detect, and mitigate fraudulent or illegitimate claims.
Leads long-term strategic planning and near-term operational execution to enable sustained quality, strengthened client trust, and reduced unit cost over time.
May perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

Award-winning culture
Inclusion and diversity as a priority
Performance Based Incentive Plans
Competitive benefits package that includes: Health, Vision, Dental, Short & Long-Term Disability
Generous PTO (including paid time to volunteer!)
Up to 9.5% 401(k) employer contribution
Mental health support
Career advancement opportunities
Student loan repayment options
Tuition reimbursement
Flexible work environments