Founded in 1920, Akerman is recognized as one of the nation's premier law firms, with more than 700 lawyers across the United States.
Akerman is seeking an HR Manager for Leave Administration & HR Operations. The HR Manager, Leave Administration & HR Operations is responsible for leading the firm's leave of absence, accommodation, and workers' compensation programs while serving as a key contributor across a broad range of Human Resources initiatives. Reporting to the Director of Human Resources, this role serves as the firm's subject matter expert on leave administration, ensuring compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws while delivering an exceptional employee experience.
In addition to overseeing leave and accommodation programs, this position supports staff compensation initiatives, HR operations, workforce planning, process improvement efforts, and strategic HR projects. The successful candidate is a proactive, hands-on HR professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment, takes ownership of responsibilities, delivers high-quality work, and consistently meets deadlines. This individual demonstrates sound judgment, a strong service orientation, and a commitment to collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
This role is ideal for a highly motivated HR professional who enjoys variety, embraces challenges, leverages technology to drive efficiencies, and makes meaningful contributions across the HR function.
Key Responsibilities:
Leave Administration, Accommodations & Compliance
- Serve as the firm's primary administrator for all leave of absence programs, including FMLA, state leave programs, disability leaves, military leave, and firm-provided leave benefits.
- Guide employees and managers through the leave process, including eligibility, documentation requirements, benefits continuation, and return-to-work procedures.
- Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local leave laws and regulatory requirements across all jurisdictions where the firm operates.
- Manage leave documentation, case tracking, reporting, and communications while maintaining confidentiality and data integrity.
- Coordinate leave-related payroll adjustments, timekeeping, PTO administration, and benefits continuation with Payroll and Benefits teams.
- Administer the ADA interactive process and partner with employees and managers to evaluate and implement reasonable accommodations.
- Manage workers' compensation claims and serve as liaison among employees, managers, medical providers, and insurance carriers.
- Monitor legislative and regulatory developments and recommend updates to policies, procedures, and practices to maintain compliance and reduce organizational risk.
Compensation & HR Operations
- Support the administration of staff compensation programs, including salary benchmarking, job evaluations, market pricing, salary structures, and annual compensation review processes.
- Maintain job descriptions and support compensation market surveys and data analyses.
- Partner with Talent Acquisition and hiring managers on compensation recommendations for new hires, promotions, transfers, and other employee actions.
- Conduct position analysis to determine appropriate pay levels and exemption status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
- Analyze HR and compensation data to identify trends, support decision-making, and promote internal equity and market competitiveness.
HR Partnership & Organizational Support
- Serve as a trusted resource for employees and managers regarding leave administration, accommodations, compensation, and general HR matters.
- Build effective partnerships across HR, Payroll, Benefits, Finance, Talent Acquisition, and other firm leaders to deliver high-quality HR services.
- Leverage AI-enabled tools, HR technology, and data analytics to improve efficiency, enhance service delivery, streamline processes, and support business decisions.
- Identify opportunities to improve workflows, increase operational effectiveness, and enhance the employee experience.
- Support HR projects, audits, workforce planning initiatives, policy development, system implementations, and other strategic priorities.
- Demonstrate flexibility and a willingness to support the broader HR team and organizational needs regardless of assignment.
- Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
- 5+ years of progressive Human Resources experience with significant responsibility for leave administration, accommodations, including experience managing leave of absence programs.
- Strong knowledge of FMLA, ADA, Workers' Compensation, HIPAA, FLSA, DOL, and state-specific leave laws.
- Experience supporting a multi-state workforce; law firm or professional services experience preferred.
- Experience with compensation administration, salary analysis, job evaluations, and annual compensation review processes preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to independently manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and deliver accurate, high-quality work in a fast-paced environment.
- Demonstrated ability to leverage AI-enabled tools and emerging technologies to improve efficiency, enhance employee service delivery, analyze data, and streamline processes.
- Strong analytical, organizational, project management, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to create reports, conduct analysis, and prepare presentations on reporting output.
- Proficiency with HRIS systems, Microsoft Office Suite, and advanced Excel skills.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships at all levels of the organization.
Success Profile:
The successful candidate will:
- Be recognized as a trusted expert and resource in leave administration and employee accommodations.
- Take ownership of responsibilities and drive projects to completion with minimal supervision.
- Demonstrate initiative, accountability, resourcefulness, and sound judgment.
- Work effectively both independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
- Deliver exceptional internal client service while maintaining professionalism, responsiveness, discretion, and confidentiality.
- Build strong relationships and credibility with employees, managers, HR colleagues, and firm leadership.
- Adapt quickly to changing priorities and willingly take on new challenges and responsibilities.
- Consistently meet deadlines, follow through on commitments, and maintain a strong sense of urgency and accountability.
- Balance attention to detail with a continuous improvement mindset, proactively identifying opportunities to enhance HR processes and operational effectiveness.
- Embrace innovation and leverage AI, automation, data, and emerging technologies to improve productivity, enhance the employee experience, and support informed decision-making.
- Contribute positively to a culture of collaboration, accountability, flexibility, and service excellence.
We offer an excellent compensation and benefits package. Please submit your resume and salary requirements. EOE
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