Sr. HR Generalist – Leave of Absence Case Management

Location: Remote / Offsite

Schedule: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CST (some flexibility)

Type: Contract

Overview

We’re seeking an experienced Sr. HR Generalist with deep Leave of Absence expertise to join a collaborative, service-oriented leave management team. This role owns a full leave caseload — managing requests from intake through return-to-work — for a primarily U.S.-based employee population, with occasional Canadian cases.

This is a specialized position. The team supports a high volume of active leave cases, and the successful candidate will bring hands-on LOA case management experience rather than general HR background.

What You’ll Do

• Manage an assigned leave of absence caseload through the full case lifecycle
• Review assigned cases in the case management system and determine leave eligibility based on established workflows
• Communicate directly with employees throughout the leave process, often during difficult personal circumstances
• Collect, review, and track required documentation
• Monitor leave status and coordinate return-to-work activities
• Identify, escalate, and resolve complex leave-related issues
• Partner with third-party leave and disability administrators to drive cases to resolution
• Navigate state-specific leave requirements and unique case scenarios
• Maintain recurring daily, biweekly, and monthly reports (approximately one hour per week)

  Common leave types include: parental, military, caregiver, disability, and medical leave.

  Examples of complex scenarios: employees on leave who miss a paycheck, determining whether an issue originated internally or with a third-party vendor, and responding to escalations from employees or HR partners.

  Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of Leave of Absence administration experience
• Direct LOA case management experience with ownership of cases through the full lifecycle
• Prior experience working within a leave management system
• Experience managing complex employee leave and disability cases
• In-depth knowledge of Leave of Absence and disability programs, including:

  ? Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

  ? Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and ADAAA

  ? State-specific leave laws and regulations

  ? Disability leave programs and administration

• Experience communicating directly with employees on sensitive leave matters
• Strong ability to prioritize in a high-volume environment and shift priorities as business needs change
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong relationship-building skills with internal stakeholders and business partners
• Strong understanding of core HR practices
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills — filtering, sorting, analyzing, and organizing large data sets
• Ability to navigate multiple web-based systems while managing a high-volume caseload

  Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field — or equivalent HR experience
• Professional HR certification: PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP
• Experience working with third-party leave and disability administrators (MetLife, The Hartford, or similar)
• Experience with PeopleSoft, Oracle, ServiceNow, or similar HR technology platforms
• Experience within integrated HRIS and case management environments
• Experience supporting both U.S. and Canadian employee populations

Who Thrives Here

The ideal candidate has already mastered core leave administration concepts and can step into a caseload comparable to experienced team members after onboarding. You bring a strong customer service orientation, comfort navigating complex employee situations, and the judgment to know when to escalate. Candidates with broad general HR experience but limited hands-on LOA administration will find the ramp-up challenging given the specialized nature of the work.

Onboarding

Independent case management is not expected on day one. New team members go through a structured onboarding program including process training, shadowing and rotation with existing team members, dedicated support resources, and a gradual transition of work over approximately six weeks.