[Remote] Global Leave & Accommodation Program Manager

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Zendesk is a customer service software company seeking a high-impact Global Leave & Accommodation Program Manager to lead their Global Leave and ADA/Accommodation strategy. This strategic role requires operational excellence and involves managing sensitive employee cases, ensuring compliance, and driving innovation within HR processes.

Responsibilities

• Own the Outcome: Lead the end-to-end strategy for US Leaves of Absence and ADA/Reasonable Accommodations
• Drive Scalability: Move us beyond manual processes by designing, automating, and implementing scalable workflows that reduce risk and improve accuracy
• Solve the Complex: Act as the primary point of resolution for the most sensitive and complex employee escalations involving work restrictions and medical privacy
• Tier 3 Escalations: Act as the subject matter expert for and respond to high-level Tier 3 leave tickets, ensuring sensitive escalations are handled with precision and empathy
• Partner with Leadership: Influence our HRBP, Legal, and Payroll strategy by providing data-backed insights rather than just administrative support
• Policy & Compliance: Regularly review and update policies and procedures to ensure they align with evolving business needs and global statutory changes. Proactively monitor platforms and professional networks to stay ahead of legislative updates
• AI & Innovation: Seek and implement opportunities to integrate AI models into Total Rewards and Leave workflows to drive efficiency
• Vendor & Operations: Manage relationships with leave vendors to ensure service levels meet expectations on outcomes. Coordinate closely with payroll, leave vendors, and People Service teams to ensure accurate pay and process execution
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Act as a trusted advisor to Legal and Employee Relations (ER), knowing when to scale issues and how to partner effectively
• Regional Maintenance: Keep Business Process Maps (BPMs) in regions updated as necessary

Skills

• 7–10 years of experience in Benefits, HRBP, and heavily regulated environments
• Deep background in FMLA, ADAAA, leaves, and reasonable accommodations
• Exposure to global leave regulations
• Proven track record of handling sensitive situations with empathy and confidence
• Operational rigor required to ensure all processes remain compliant, consistent, and audit-ready
• Ability to apply experience to leave and accommodation support, including leading or supporting employee relations investigations and providing recommendations on outcomes
• Expertise in leading and supporting reasonable accommodation and Leave of Absence (LOA) requests across a variety of jurisdictions and global statutory laws
• Passion and technical ability to identify HR Operational gaps in Total Rewards
• Forward-thinking technologist passionate about leveraging AI and modern tech to reimagine operations within the benefits space
• Ability to challenge existing workflows to build more intelligent, scalable solutions

Company Overview

Zendesk is a cloud platform that combines AI support agents, ticket management, messaging, and CRM tools for seamless customer service. It is a sub-organization of Hellman & Friedman. It was founded in 2007, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, with a workforce of 5001-10000 employees. Its website is https://www.zendesk.com/.

Company H1B Sponsorship

Zendesk has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships, with 15 in 2026, 50 in 2025, 69 in 2024, 37 in 2023, 92 in 2022, 93 in 2021, 44 in 2020. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role.