Senior Benefits Program Manager, Absence Management

Zillow

1d • $83,200 - $132,800 • Remote

About The Position

About the team The Global Benefits team designs and operates Zillow’s health, welfare, time off, and family support programs across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Serbia, and Germany, delivering a consistent, employee‑centered benefits experience that reflects our values of wellbeing, belonging, and financial security. Within that team, the Leave of Absence (LOA) group manages U.S. and global leave and disability programs, balancing compassionate support for employees with strong compliance, vendor governance, and cost stewardship. We partner closely with HR Business Partners, People Legal, Payroll, the Employee Service Center, and People Tech to simplify complex leave rules, improve internal and vendor workflows, and use data to guide decisions and continuous improvement. About the role We’re looking for a highly experienced leave-of-absence (LOA) professional who will use their experience and data-driven insights to inform decision-making, continuously improve processes, and deliver a best-in-class employee experience. In this role, you will partner with key stakeholders across the business, including HR Business Partners, People Legal, Payroll, and others to lead the following programs: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Short Term Disability (STD), Long Term Disability (LTD), and Parental Leave (Bonding).

Requirements

• Minimum 8 years of experience in benefits administration, preferably significant experience in LOA and/or accommodations programs and disability program management (experience at a global scale a plus).
• Strong knowledge of U.S. leave and accommodation laws and familiarity with global statutory leave laws.
• Strong analytical experience with the ability to effectively scrub data using Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets and create dashboards using third-party vendor business intelligence tools.
• Experience working with leave-tracking HRIS systems (e.g., Workday); knowledge of configuration systems preferred.
• Proven experience in scaling processes and being agile in a highly innovative environment.
• Ability to work independently at a senior level and influence without authority.
• Exceptional judgement, discretion, and ability to manage sensitive and confidential matters.
• Experience working in an LOA management environment with an external third-party administrator.

Nice To Haves

• Experience implementing LOA and disability vendors is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead LOA vendor implementations, day-to-day vendor management, and optimization to ensure high-quality case management and support services.
• Partner with Tech to configure and maintain Workday leave modules and integrations with third-party vendors (file feeds, return files, status automation, pay triggers, accumulators).
• Develop and track key metrics on leave incidence, denial rates, average duration, claim types, and accommodation trends. Build and implement dashboards to provide up-to-date, self-service resources. Provide regular reports and insights to senior leadership, and make data-driven recommendations to identify patterns and pain points and propose improvements.
• Translate complex leave rules (state programs, company top‑ups, concurrency with FMLA/ADA) into system logic and testing scenarios. Responsible for self-insured disability pay - troubleshoot systemic issues that create pay errors or inaccurate leave status and implement long-term fixes.
• Support employee inquiries. Lead compliance and policy governance for global LOA programs. Through feedback from stakeholders, design and continuous prioritization of improvements to features, standard operating procedures, and process workflows to ensure compliance, scalability, and employee-friendliness. Work cross-functionally to develop and scale policies and handbook updates. Lead change management and communications for LOA-related change initiatives. Educate managers and employees on program resources and responsibilities. Stay current with evolving federal, state, country, and local leave regulations to ensure ongoing compliance. Support LOA specialists as back-up for managing and resolving escalated issues and day-to-day claims management.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed