Leave and Disability Services Manager
- Summary
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King County Metro Transit has an exciting career service opportunity for an HR Manager with the Employee Services Division! The Leave and Disability Services Manager is responsible for providing leadership, direction, oversight, and support for Metro’s Leave and Disability Services programs, ensuring success of the overall process, compliance and execution of all protected leaves and accommodation processes for the Department. The person in this role will be responsible for delivering a consistently high-level of quality service to support Metro’s protected leave needs. This includes leading teams doing this work and partnering with employees, people leaders, Metro Divisions, and King County’s Department of Human Resources (DHR).
This recruitment will be used to fill one current career service position in the Employee Services division and may be used to generate a pool for similar Career Service, Term Limited (TLT), and Special Duty Assignment (SDA) openings in this division.
- Job Duties
Applying equity and social justice principles is a daily responsibility and a foundational expectation for all King County employees. In this role you will apply equity and social justice principles that exemplify shared values, behaviors, and practices to all aspects of the work. As the Leave and Disability Services Manager, you will:
Manage the teams and processes associated with disability, reasonable accommodation, and protected leave management to adhere with state and federal requirements and labor agreement provisions to ensure policies are applied accurately, consistently and equitable across the organization.
Coach teams, leaders, and others as to best practices related to protected leaves and providing reasonable accommodations under the ADA and other applicable regulations.
Provide leadership to team members - to both existing staff and new staff on processes and systems; working collaboratively with the team; evaluating individual and team performance, managing performance, including motivating people to perform, listening, providing feedback, recognizing strengths, and overcoming challenges.
Oversee the development and implementation of an Employee Services based, Metro-wide protected leaves and disability services program, ensuring consistent and equitable access to programs and entitlements.
Serve as a subject matter expert for the team on FMLA, ADA, and other pertinent laws and regulations, providing sound guidance and direction to the team on the most complex of leave and accommodation cases.
Manage complex policy exceptions and service issue escalations to root cause and resolution. Provide leadership for the coordination with DHR regarding short-term and long-term disability, as well as coordinate with Safety & Claims/Workers’ Compensation as needed for escalated or particularly complex issues.
- Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills
Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related area or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
We are looking for candidates who have:
- Experience administering requests for accommodations, leaves of absence, and FMLA.
- Extensive working knowledge of the leave requirements and other legal protections afforded by the FMLA, ADA, and other applicable laws including knowledge of EEO requirements and applicable employment laws.
- Experience preserving confidentiality of employee medical documentation and files. Ability to perform all tasks with integrity and extreme confidentiality, handling confidential information with the highest level of discretion.
- Excellent customer service and communication skills with an ability to answer questions tactfully and diffuse difficult situations with employees and managers.
- Demonstrated organizational skills including ability to prioritize workload, balance conflicting priorities, and attention to detail.
- Demonstrated working knowledge of Windows Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.).
Demonstrated ability to work well with people, lead teams, and manage collaboratively to achieve positive results, including the ability to be a strong collaborative partner, exercising a high level of tact, good judgment, discretion, diplomacy, and cooperative working relationships with diverse groups of people.
Skills in constructive conflict resolution and ability to work around obstacles to ensure success.
Experience preserving confidentiality of employee medical documentation and files. Experience performing all tasks with integrity and extreme confidentiality, handling confidential information with the highest level of discretion.
Demonstrated excellent customer service and communication skills with an ability to answer questions tactfully and diffuse difficult situations with employees and managers.
Demonstrate strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to effectively plan, set priorities, allocate resources, and manage complex tasks, including coordinating with individuals and teams across the Department.
Ability to anticipate, draw conclusions, and adapt to changing needs. Have the ability to identify gaps in processes, gather information from stakeholders, and develop plans to mitigate those gaps.
Familiarity with general human resources processes and procedures within the employee life cycle. Have strong delegation and time management skills.
Desirable Qualifications (not required):
- Experience supervising employees including performance appraisals, coaching, and constructive feedback.
Related vocational certifications such as Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC), Professional Human Resource designation (SPHR,PHR, SHRM-SCP, SHRM-CP, or IPMA-HR), Certified Disability Management Specialist(CDMS) or Registered Washington State Department of Labor and Industries Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC).
Experience with PeopleSoft Human Resources Software.
Experience working in the public sector, in a highly unionized workforce.
Experience in designing and/or providing ongoing training for management and staff regarding their roles, responsibilities and legal obligations on issues such as federal, state and King County leave benefits, medical absence and accommodation issues, and disability discrimination or harassment.
- Supplemental Information
Who May Apply
This position is open to King County employees and the general public.Work Schedule
The work week is normally 40 hours, Monday through Friday. Alternative work schedules may be possible. This position is exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and therefore is not eligible for overtime pay.
How to Apply
An online employment application at www.kingcounty.gov/jobs, answers provided to supplemental questions, and cover letter or letter of interest are required.
Union Membership
This position is not represented by a union.
Class Code: 117401 (Human Resources Manager I)Work Location
Primary location: King Street Center - 201 S Jackson St, Seattle
TEMPORARY TELECOMMUTING REQUIREMENT
The work associated with this position will be performed remotely, at least through July 5, 2021 in compliance with King County’s telecommuting mandate. It is possible that the work will be primarily performed remotely on an ongoing basis after July 5, 2021. Employees will be provided with a County issued laptop and must maintain a workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours. Employees must reside in WA state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements. There will be situations where the employee is required to report to a County worksite. Please note that when an employee conducts work that is likely to bring them in contact with another individual, safety precautions are required by the department in alignment with the Public Health Directive from the Seattle & King County Public Health Officer.
To support employees during this time King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely. The individual selected for this opportunity will be joining an innovative and progressive team. King County is doing its part to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and remains committed to reducing our carbon footprint.
For more information regarding this recruitment, please contact:
Beatrice Rice, Talent Advisor, berice@kingcounty.gov
Forbes recently named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.
Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.
Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles--we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.
King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer
No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.
To Apply
If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact your recruiter listed on this job announcement.
King County offers a highly-competitive compensation and benefits package designed to meet the diverse needs of our employees and support our employees' health and well-being. Eligible positions receive the following benefits and have access to the following programs:
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage: King County pays 100% of the premiums for eligible employees and family members
- Life and disability insurance: employees are provided basic coverage and given the opportunity to purchase additional insurance for both the employee and eligible dependents
- Retirement: King County employees are eligible to participate in a pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems and a 457(b) deferred-compensation plan
- Transportation program and ORCA transit pass
- 10 paid holidays each year (plus 2 personal holidays)
- Generous vacation and paid sick leave
- Paid parental leave, family and medical leaves, and volunteer leave
- Flexible Spending Account
- Wellness programs
- Onsite gyms and activity centers
- Employee giving program
- Employee assistance programs
- Flexible schedules and telecommuting options, depending on position
- Training and career development programs
This is a general description of the benefits offered to eligible King County employees, and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. If any information on this document conflicts with the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the CBA prevails. Also, in the event of any incorrect information in this document, applicable laws, policies, rules, CBAs, or official plan documents will prevail.
NOTE: Benefits for Term Limited Temporary (TLT) or Short Term Temporary (STT) positions, including leave eligibility and/or participation in the pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems, will vary based upon the terms and details of the position. Short Term Temporary positions are not eligible for an ORCA transit pass.
For inquiries about the specifics of this position, please contact the recruiter identified on this job posting.
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01Are you applying to this position as a Priority Placement Program Participant And Is this position the same or lower percentage of full-time when compared to the position held at the point of the notification of layoff AND Do you possess the skills and abilities to qualify for this position?
- Yes, I was given a layoff notice from my role at King County AND I am within two years of the effective date of my layoff. AND The position I was laid off from was the same or a higher percentage of FT status when compared to this one.
- No
02If you answered yes to the question above and you are applying for this position as a Priority Placement Participant, to be considered, you must provide the following three pieces of information in the space provided: 1. The title you held when you received your layoff notice 2. The department you worked in 3. The effective date of your layoffRequired Question