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The Manager, Leave Administration oversees the development, implementation, and coordination of the university’s leave of absence (LOA) management policies and procedures. This position ensures that the leave management team is performing effectively in their day-to-day operations and enables the HR Solution Center to operationalize leave administration through self-service system technology and customer support for leave matters. The Manager, Leave Administration will foster a team environment and a strong culture of customer service that will ensure program effectiveness and optimal service delivery in support of the HR organization’s strategy and objectives. This role will help enable USC’s vision while championing USC’s culture and values.

Minimum Qualifications

The candidate for the position of Manager, Leave Administration must meet the following qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in business, human resources, psychology, communications, or another related field, or equivalent experience.

• Seven or more years of experience in human resources or leave management.

• One or more years of experience leading teams in a management or leadership role.

• In-depth knowledge of Family Medical Leave Act, Military Leaves, and other applicable federal and state laws, as well as a willingness and ability to learn university leave policies.

• Ability to leverage legal resources and comprehend and interpret legal and medical terminology in order to make final decisions to approve or further investigate claims.

• Experience in leave administration in a high volume, fast paced environment.

• Experience ensuring compliance with applicable state and federal regulations.

• Experience managing a team by providing feedback, assessment, encouragement, and support to achieve goals and drive positive change.

• Demonstrated excellence providing personalized customer service.

• Demonstrated project management experience, providing effective oversight from inception to delivery.

• Demonstrated ability to effectively manage time, prioritize tasks, work independently and maintain confidentiality.

• Excellent communication and facilitation skills, proven track record of building strong collaborative relationships with senior stakeholders.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint).

Preferred Qualifications

The ideal candidate for the position of Manager, Leave Administration has the following qualifications:

• Advanced degree in business, human resources, law, psychology, communications, or another related field.

• Ten or more years of experience in human resources or leave management.

• Four or more years of experience leading teams in a management or leadership role.

• Experience in higher education.

• Prior benefits or leave administration management experience in a service center environment.

• Demonstrated experience building and managing exceptional teams and providing consistent feedback to achieve results in line with strategic goals.

• Experience working closely with senior leadership and executives, including identifying needs, developing action plans, identifying deliverables, and presenting results and recommendations.

• Ability to identify knowledge and resource gaps and comfort utilizing industry trends to create opportunities for development.

• Track record of positive influence of department culture during change through trust-building.

• Ability to train staff on emerging industry trends and ensure quality baseline of department knowledge.

• Certified Benefits Professional, Certified Employee Benefit Specialist, or Certified Compensation Professional, or other similar certifications.

• Any of the following certifications: CIPD, CPLP, ODCP, SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, SPHR.

Job Responsibilities

The candidate for the position of Manager, Leave Administration will be responsible for:

• Providing managerial support to LOA team. Serving as a main point of contact for all vendor relationships related to leave of absence administration. Overseeing the review and resolution of escalated personal and FMLA leave of absence cases. Maintaining compliance with state and federal regulations, updating university leave of policies as needed. Communicating understanding of the relationship between leave policy and business objectives to team members. Managing relationships between the university and any third parties, such as benefits consultants and administrators, to enable leave policy administration success. Serving as a subject matter expert for leave policy and programs in alignment and under the direction and guidance of HR and university leadership.

• Consulting with Solution Center on matters related to leave and communicating critical changes in a timely manner. Maintaining strong relationships with vendor partners to resolve and process issues successfully.

• Communicating with team members openly and transparently to maintain efficiency, resolve challenges, and socialize current progress. Communicating with HR Systems & Data Analytics team and vendors as needed to ensure accurate data reporting and tracking. Providing timely and constructive feedback to team members to maintain high performance. Maintaining open lines of communication with the HR division and the Office of the General Counsel.

• Regularly reviewing and revising leave administration policies and strategy as needed to ensure alignment with shifts in university strategies, priorities, and needs. Encouraging junior staff to share insights, observations, and recommendations and take calculated risks. Staying abreast with state and federal regulatory changes impact leaves and adapting university policy and process accordingly.

• Demonstrating aptitude for leveraging legal resources and interpreting medical terminology in making decisions to approve or further investigate claims. Analyzing program utilization and making recommendations on initiatives to improve cost effectiveness. Demonstrating fairness, impartiality, and integrity in decision making.

• Managing employee performance in a constructive and timely manner to promote growth and development. Developing trusting, credible relationships from demonstrated ethical judgment, behavior and practiced confidentiality. Promoting an environment that fosters inclusive relationships and create unbiased opportunities for contributions through ideas, words, and actions that uphold principles of the USC Code of Ethics.

• Understanding the alignment between leave policy and processes and the overall HR division’s strategy. Communicating understanding to direct reports to ensure a common team direction. Demonstrating, through words, actions, and ideas, alignment to USC’s strategic plan and the HR organization’s strategic plan. Enabling the university to fulfill its academic and people missions through enhanced HR service.

• Performing other related responsibilities as requested and when necessary. The university reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.

The annual base salary range for this position is $110,901.45 - $114,705.96. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

The University of Southern California is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Minimum Education: Bachelor's degreeAddtional Education RequirementsCombined experience/education as substitute for minimum educationMinimum Experience: 7 yearsMinimum Skills: Seven or more years’ experience in HR and leave management, with one or more years in a management role.In-depth knowledge of FMLA, military leaves and other applicable federal/state laws, as well as a willingness and ability to learn university leave policies.Experience in LOA administration in high volume, fast-paced environments.Ability to leverage legal resources and comprehend and interpret legal and medical terminology in order to make final decisions to approve or further investigate claims.Demonstrated excellence providing personalized customer service.Experience ensuring compliance with applicable state and federal regulations.Demonstrated project management experience, providing effective oversight from inception to delivery. Experience managing a team by providing feedback, assessment, encouragement and support to achieve goals and drive positive change.Excellent written and oral communication and facilitation skills, with a proven track record of building strong collaborative relationships with senior stakeholders.Demonstrated ability to effectively manage time, prioritize tasks, work independently and maintain confidentiality.Proficiency with Microsoft Office.Preferred Education: Master's degreePreferred Experience: 10 years

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