Workday

Senior Benefits Program Manager - Absence

Workday$117K — $175K *
Business Services
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5-7 years of managing absence programs in a high-volume, fast-paced environment (tech industry preferred).
  • Experience with statutory leave of absence requirements in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica.
  • Ability to articulate legal requirements and common regulatory filings for U.S. plans.
  • At least 2 years of supporting non-absence benefits across the Americas.
  • Prior experience using Workday Benefits and Absence administration.

Responsibilities

  • Manage and develop best-in-class absence programs enhancing Workday’s employee experience.
  • Contribute to continuous improvement and innovation efforts within the Benefits Team.
  • Analyze data and trends to present actionable insights to stakeholders.
  • Create a strategic vision for supporting People Leaders in absence program management.
  • Partner with vendors for quality service delivery on absence programs.
  • Develop strong relationships with cross-functional partners for collaboration on improvement opportunities.
  • Monitor program effectiveness, ensuring compliance and adjusting as necessary.

Benefits

  • Flexible work arrangement requiring at least 50% in-office time quarterly.
  • Access to a comprehensive employee benefits package that emphasizes well-being and financial security.
Full Job Description

About the Team

The Benefits Team at Workday plays a pivotal role in fostering the well-being and financial security of our employees. This dedicated team is responsible for the full lifecycle management of our comprehensive employee benefits programs. This encompasses the strategic development, seamless implementation, and diligent ongoing administration of a wide array of offerings, including robust health and wellness initiatives, competitive retirement savings plans, generous paid time off policies, and various other crucial employee support programs designed to meet the diverse needs of our workforce.

A key focus of the Benefits Team is to ensure our programs remain competitive within the market, are fully compliant with all legal regulations, and are effectively communicated to our employees. This involves proactively staying informed about evolving industry trends, skillfully negotiating coverage and costs with external carriers and brokers and fostering strong collaborative relationships with internal stakeholders. Ultimately, the team's efforts directly contribute to attracting and retaining top talent by providing a valuable and supportive benefits package that underscores Workday's commitment to its employees.

About the Role

This is an individual contributor role on the Americas Benefits team, partnering closely with cross functional stakeholders to ensure robust and holistic program management, execution, and support for employees in the Americas region (US, Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica). As a Program Manager assigned to Absence, you'll be responsible for:

  • Manage and develop best-in-class programs that amplify Workday’s culture and enhance the experience for all Workday employees.

  • Contribute individually and as part of a successful team that drives constant improvement and innovation to ensure a positive experience for employees.

  • Analyze data and trends and provide insights, actionable recommendations, and present findings to stakeholder and leadership.

  • Create strategic vision for People Leader enablement to enable them to successfully support their Workmates and manage their functions as it relates to absence programs.

  • Partner with vendors to ensure that in-scope services are delivered in a quality and responsive manner.

  • Develop strong working relationships and collaborate with a cross-functional group of partners, both internal and external to identify and prioritize opportunities for improvement and collaboration to meet internal business needs. 

  • Actively monitor the effectiveness of new and existing programs and recommend changes as needed.

  • Ensure compliance with all state, provincial, and federal regulations.

  • Create an internal plan advisory committee, manage quarterly briefings, and document recommendations and updates for stakeholders.

About You

If you are a creative and innovative thinker who is skilled at deep data analysis, capable of taking a vision and putting it into action and are willing to challenge traditional ways of providing leave of absence and time off programs, with experience managing multiple stakeholder demands in a lightning-fast and constantly evolving environment, we’d like to talk to you.

  • Strong personal leadership skills, demonstrating a high level of accountability and ability to build strong working relationships with internal and external partners. 

  • Robust program management skills including financial analysis, competitive benchmarking, employee feedback assessments, and vendor management.

  • Experience navigating complex regulations, compliance requirements, and technical documentation. 

  • Experience presenting data and insights 

  • Able to effectively communicate ideas, insights, and recommendations to both technical and non-technical leaders, employees, and business partners verbally and in writing. Being bilingual is a plus!

Basic Qualifications
  • 5-7 years experience managing absence programs in a large high volume, fast paced environment, (tech industry strongly preferred)

  • Extensive experience with statutory leave of absence requirements and employer programs in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica. 

  • Must be able to describe legal requirements and protections for each country

  • Must be able to describe the most common regulatory filings for U.S. plans

  • At least 2 years experience supporting non-absence benefits (health, welfare, and retirement) across the Americas

  • Has used Workday Benefits and Absence administration in prior roles, including use of Journeys and other Workmate and People Leader experience functionality.

Other Qualifications
  • Highly organized, outstanding time management and task prioritization abilities

  • Able to effectively troubleshoot complex workflows and resolve issues quickly

  • Comfortable navigating ambiguity, uncertainty and change

  • Intermediate proficiency in project management and productivity tools (Outlook, G Suite, Zoom, etc.)


Workday Pay Transparency Statement

The annualized base salary ranges for the primary location and any additional locations are listed below.  Workday pay ranges vary based on work location. As a part of the total compensation package, this role may be eligible for the Workday Bonus Plan or a role-specific commission/bonus, as well as annual refresh stock grants. Recruiters can share more detail during the hiring process. Each candidate’s compensation offer will be based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, geography, experience, skills, job duties, and business need, among other things. For more information regarding Workday’s comprehensive benefits, please .

Primary Location: USA.GA.AtlantaPrimary Location Base Pay Range: $117,000 USD - $175,600 USD


 

Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $111,200 USD - $197,500 USD

Additional Considerations:

If performed in Colorado, the pay range for this job is $117,000 - $175,600 USD based on min and max pay range for that role if performed in CO.

The application deadline for this role is the same as the posting end date stated as below:
 

06/05/2026



Our Approach to Flexible Work
 

With Flex Work, we’re combining the best of both worlds: in-person time and remote. Our approach enables our teams to deepen connections, maintain a strong community, and do their best work. We know that flexibility can take shape in many ways, so rather than a number of required days in-office each week, we simply spend at least half (50%) of our time each quarter in the office or in the field with our customers, prospects, and partners (depending on role). This means you'll have the freedom to create a flexible schedule that caters to your business, team, and personal needs, while being intentional to make the most of time spent together. Those in our remote "home office" roles also have the opportunity to come together in our offices for important moments that matter.

About Workday

Workday, Inc. is a provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources. The Company delivers financial management, human capital management and analytics applications designed for various companies, educational institutions and government agencies. As part of its applications, the Company provides embedded analytics that capture the content and context of everyday business events, facilitating informed decision-making from wherever users are working. Its applications include Workday Financial Management, Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) and Other Applications. It also provides open, standards-based Web-services application programming interfaces, and pre-built packaged integrations and connectors. Workday, Inc. is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.
Learn more about Workday
Size
15,932 employees
Market Cap
$42.2 billion
Industry
Net Income
-$282.4 million
Founded
2005
5 Year Trend
+26.7%
Revenue
$4.3 billion
NASDAQ

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