Absence and Disability Consultant

OVERVIEW

Absence and Disability ConsultantAbout Spring Consulting
Spring Consulting Group, an Alera Group company, provides specialized consulting solutions across employee benefits, absence and disability management, and risk management. The team partners with employers to develop effective strategies, evaluate programs and vendors, and implement solutions tailored to their workforce and business needs.
About Alera Group
Founded in 2017, Alera Group is one of the nation's leading independent insurance and financial services firms. We combine the strength of a national organization with the personalized service of local experts to help clients succeed across Employee Benefits, Property & Casualty Insurance, Retirement Plan Services, Wealth Services, and Human Capital Solutions.
Why Join Alera Group?

• Collaborate with purpose - Work alongside colleagues who believe the best results come from strong partnerships, shared expertise, and supporting one another.
• Build your career - Expand your expertise through meaningful work, continuous learning, and opportunities to grow across a national organization.
• Make an impact - Help clients navigate complex challenges while contributing to solutions that make a difference for their businesses, employees, and communities.

The Opportunity

The Absence Management Consultant is a mid-level consulting professional who partners with employers, carriers, third-party administrators (TPAs), brokers, technology providers, and other industry organizations to address complex challenges across absence and disability management. This role applies strong industry, operational, and analytical expertise across disability, leave administration, paid family and medical leave (PFML), workplace accommodations, and return-to-work programs.

The Consultant manages key components of client engagements, evaluates programs and operations, conducts research and market analysis, and translates findings into practical, actionable recommendations. This individual also develops high-quality client deliverables, builds strong client relationships, and contributes to practice growth by identifying emerging needs and supporting new business opportunities.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibilities

• Manage defined client project workstreams, including planning, information gathering, analysis, deliverable development, milestone tracking, and coordination of next steps.
• Assess carrier, TPA, employer, and supplier operations, including claim handling and adjudication, leave and PFML administration, clinical models, customer and claimant experience, account management, implementation, service delivery, workflows, quality, and performance measurement.
• Conduct stakeholder interviews, operational and claim reviews, process assessments, benchmarking, and other fact-finding activities; translate findings into clear business insights and actionable recommendations.
• Support the design and enhancement of disability, leave, PFML, accommodation, and related products and services, including product and market strategy, operating models, workflows, technology requirements, implementation approaches, customer experience, pricing and packaging considerations, build-versus-buy evaluation, and adjacent-market expansion.
• Support a diverse portfolio of advisory engagements, including regulatory monitoring and readiness, policy and plan filing support, product and service strategy, workforce capability and training development, strategic advisory retainers, operational and claim assessments, and specialized client needs that require cross-functional expertise.
• Conduct primary and secondary research, including surveys, interviews, market assessments, competitive analyses, and benchmarking. Contribute to questionnaire development, segmentation, data review, and interpretation of quantitative and qualitative findings.
• Develop executive-level presentations, reports, market studies, white papers, and other thought-leadership materials that clearly explain what findings mean and why they matter.
• Participate in client meetings, working sessions, conferences, and market-facing activities; build trusted stakeholder relationships and represent the practice effectively with clients and prospective clients.
• Identify and help develop new business opportunities by recognizing unmet client and market needs, expanding existing relationships, shaping practical consulting solutions, and contributing to proposals, scopes of work, pricing, capabilities presentations, and prospective-client discussions.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Qualifications