Manager, Absence Management Accommodation

Hackensack Meridian Health•Iselin, NJ

7d•$133,120•Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager of Absence Management Accommodation provides operational leadership and daily oversight for the company's integrated Absence Management Accommodations program (for disabilities, pregnancy and childbirth-related conditions, and religion). This role is directly accountable for the Accommodation Specialists team and will provide support for the leadership of the Accommodations Specialist team, which includes managing the full performance lifecycle (hiring, terminations, and professional development) and overall accommodations operations to ensure seamless process navigation for team members, operational leaders, and Human Resources. A key function of this position is to ensure the responses to HMH accommodations and the interactive process are compliant and consistent with federal and state regulations while fostering a positive and high-quality team member experience in balance with the operational needs of the organization. This position will also work directly with HMH's third-party absence administrator, Sedgwick, to understand and implement HMH policies and processes, and to resolve any questions, concerns, or issues. This is Hybrid Positon May require travel onsite across HMH locations several times a month for team meetings, trainings, learning sessions, and general AMO Accomodations team support.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Finance, or a related field.
Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible HR experience, with at least 5 years focused on accommodations (disability, pregnancy and childbirth-related conditions, and religion).
Subject matter expertise and knowledge of FMLA, NJFLA, ADA/ADAAA, NJLAD, NJ Safe Act, PWFA, PUMP, Worker's Compensation, and paid state leave benefit laws (ie., NJFLI), and how they all interact.
Strong ability to navigate complex stakeholder landscapes and influence leaders at all levels of the organization.
Proficiency with Google Workspace or Microsoft Office and HRIS systems of record.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in a related field.
Prior leadership or supervisory experience in a direct people leadership role, with accountability for hiring and performance management.
Prior direct experience managing absence and accommodations in a large-scale healthcare setting.
Proven experience in a direct people leadership role, with accountability for hiring and performance management.
DMEC Certified Leave Management Specialist (CLMS), ADA Coordinator Training Certification Program (ACTCP) or Job Accommodation Network (JAN) Certification.
HR Certification (SHRM-CP/SCP or PHR/SPHR).
Certified Employee Benefits Specialist or Certified Benefits Professional.

Responsibilities

Provides day-to-day support for the Accommodations Specialist team, overseeing the interactive process network-wide to ensure consistent application of policy and the laws.
Leads and executes network HR initiatives in the specialized areas of leave and accommodations along with strategies to drive and support HMH Team Members, as well as business needs.
Manages Accommodations functions to ensure consistent processes are maintained and necessary improvements are made while working collaboratively with the AMO, HR Operations, and Legal team to optimize the overall process and experience for Team Members.
Leads development of relationships with key stakeholders and supports the performance management process of the team members.
Serves as the subject matter expert on the life cycle from Accommodation assessments and analysis, challenging the status quo, prioritizing and managing workload, and making recommendations on how to improve process efficiencies.
Responsible for all Accommodation activities (for applicants and team members), ensuring compliance with HMH policies, procedures, and legal requirements, maintaining a high level of integrity at all times.
Documents, maintains, and develops process training materials and SOP documentation for the Accommodations process.
Navigates and coordinates complex accommodation cases across multiple stakeholders, including HR Operations, Operational Leaders, Team Member Relations, Absence Management Office, Legal, and HMH's third-party absence administrator, Sedgwick.
Manages and resolves escalated accommodation requests that are denied due to undue hardship or direct threat; manages highly complex assessments, ensuring consistency and compliance with regulatory requirements while mitigating organizational risk.
Serves as the direct leader for Accommodation Specialists, providing daily direction, oversight, and workload balancing to meet regional service-level commitments.
Owns the hiring process, including sourcing strategies and interviews; initiates and manages all personnel decisions, including hiring, disciplinary actions, and terminations.
Directly accountable for the performance management lifecycle, including setting measurable goals, conducting 1:1 check-ins, and completing annual performance evaluations.
Provides case-based coaching to build the team's skills in investigation, documentation, and consultation regarding accommodations.
Oversees the daily operations of the integrated Absence Management program for Accommodations, including leave of absence, disability management, and PTO programs relative to Accommodation requests.
Ensures all policies and procedures are up-to-date and conducts routine audits of databases to ensure compliance with federal/state laws and internal standards.
Establishes monitoring and reporting procedures using available programs, tools, and resources to ensure compliance, service, and timely follow-up.
Acts as a high-level liaison between applicants/team members, Sedgwick, Talent Acquisition, Employee (Team) Health, HR Operations, Team Member Relations, Absence Management Office, Operational Leaders, and Legal on post-offer accommodations and team member accommodations.
Partners with key stakeholders (AMO, TMR, HRIS, AMO Benefits) to ensure the accuracy of Accommodation data is tracked and preserved accordingly to allow for ongoing reporting, monitoring, tracking, and trending of data.
Reviews and recommends network-wide policies for absence management and accommodations to improve existing procedures in partnership with Team Member Relations, HR Operations, Absence Management Office, and Legal.
Models HMH values to foster an inclusive, high-performing team culture and psychological safety within the AMO.
Other duties and/or projects as assigned.
Adheres to HMH Organizational competencies and standards of behavior.