Absence and Disability Consultant

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

• 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.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in absence management, disability, leave administration, PFML, workplace accommodations, employee benefits, insurance, or a related field.
  

• Experience gained through consulting, employer absence management, insurance brokerage, an insurance carrier, TPA, technology provider, or another relevant industry supplier.
  

• Strong technical and operational knowledge across several key areas: short- and long-term disability; statutory disability; FMLA and state leave; ADA and accommodations; return-to-work/stay-at-work; claim administration; and absence technology and HR/payroll integrations.
  

• Demonstrated expertise in paid family and medical leave programs, including state-mandated programs, private plans, employer-sponsored paid leave, and coordination with disability, leave, and payroll.
  

• Understanding of carrier and TPA operations, including claim handling, clinical models, implementation, account management, service delivery, workflows, quality, performance metrics, customer experience, and continuous improvement.
  

• Experience supporting surveys, market research, benchmarking, or other structured research; working knowledge of questionnaire design, sampling, segmentation, cross-tabulation, and interpretation of quantitative and qualitative data.
  

• Strong analytical, writing, presentation, project-management, and client-facing communication skills, with the ability to convert complex findings into practical recommendations.
  

• Demonstrated commercial awareness and experience supporting consulting sales, account growth, opportunity development, proposal preparation, or related business-development activities.
  

• Proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint; experience with survey, data-visualization, or analytical tools is a plus. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant professional experience.