Director, Paid Leave Strategy & Consulting

Unum Group • Chattanooga, TN

26d

About The Position

When you join the team at Unum, you become part of an organization committed to helping you thrive. Here, we work to provide the employee benefits and service solutions that enable employees at our client companies to thrive throughout life’s moments. And this starts with ensuring that every one of our team members enjoys opportunities to succeed both professionally and personally. To enable this, we provide: 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 All the benefits listed above are subject to the terms of their individual Plans . And that’s just the beginning… With 10,000 employees helping more than 39 million people worldwide, every role at Unum is meaningful and impacts the lives of our customers. Whether you’re directly supporting a growing family, or developing online tools to help navigate a difficult loss, customers are counting on the combined talents of our entire team. Help us help others, and join Team Unum today! General Summary: The Director, Paid Leave Strategy & Consulting is a cross-functional leader responsible for driving strategic alignment, operational excellence, and subject matter expertise across the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) landscape. This role blends customer-facing consultation, regulatory expertise, and internal collaboration to deliver high-impact solutions that support both fully insured and self-insured programs. The role will have a challenging blend of front-end and back-end responsibilities. Accountabilities include leading Unum’s Benefits new statutory plans design and implementation, our corporate paid leave offering, Total Leave migration, and driving process improvement projects. This role ensures we are able to efficiently and accurately administer Paid Leave (statutory and corporate) in Total Leave. The role is highly visible to our internal business partners, which include Sales and Client Management, Products, Legal, Underwriting/Pricing, and Senior Leadership across the enterprise.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Minimum 7 years’ experience in PFML, disability, or leave management operations.
• Strong understanding of state leave laws and regulatory environments.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and driving strategic initiatives.
• Comfortable working in a dynamic, evolving environment with a mix of tactical and strategic work.
• Occasional travel may be required

Responsibilities

• Serve as a strategic advisor to customers during onboarding and implementation phases.
• Provide pre-customer consulting to help clients navigate the new state laws
• Deliver education and white-glove support for exemption filings and renewals.
• Provide ongoing subject matter expertise to clients navigating PFML complexities.
• Build and maintain deep expertise in PFML laws and state agency requirements.
• Represent the company in carrier advocacy efforts through ACLI and state trade organizations.
• Provide thought leadership on trends, compliance, and best practices in leave management.
• Create Unum’s Paid Leave strategy in conjunction with Unum’s overall leave strategy
• Provide thought leadership on trends and best practices in PFML / leave
• Make process decisions grounded in compliance, operational efficiency, and customer experience.
• Oversee annual reporting requirements for both fully insured and self-insured programs.
• Leverage internal data to support marketing efforts and articulate the value of private plans.
• Act as a connector across Legal, Product, Field, and other departments to ensure strategy alignment and drive impact.
• Shape and evolve the Leave Consultant role, including direct management of team members.
• Weigh in on Tier 2 exceptions and complex leave scenarios.
• Lead a high-performing team including: Paid Leave Consultants (PLCs) focused on onboarding and exemption support as well as post-go-live support and strategic claims workflows. PLA Manager and 4 Paid Leave Analysts (PLAs) supporting corporate leave reviews and service delivery.
• Foster a collaborative, agile team culture with a balance of strategic and tactical responsibilities.
• Represent Unum at industry conferences and events, sharing insights and innovations in PFML and drive revenue as a result.
• Participate in carrier advocacy via ACLI / state trade organizations.
• 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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director