Leave Specialist - Contractor

About this role

Grow Therapy is on a mission to serve as the trusted partner for therapists growing their practice, and patients accessing high-quality care. Powered by technology, we are a three-sided marketplace that empowers providers, augments insurance payors, and serves patients. Following the mass increase in depression and anxiety, the need for accessibility is more important than ever. To make our vision for mental healthcare a reality, we’re building a team of entrepreneurs and mission-driven go-getters. Since launching in February 2021, we’ve empowered more than ten thousand therapists and hundreds of thousands of clients across the country and insurance landscape. We’ve raised more than $328Mm in funding, including our Series D, at a $3B valuation from Sequoia Capital, Transformation Capital, TCV, SignalFire, Menlo Ventures, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, and others.

Employment Type: 1099 Contractor
Hours: Approximately 25 to 40 hours per week, with flexibility based on leave volume
Duration: Initial 3 to 6 month engagement, with potential for extension
Compensation: $50 to $70 per hour, depending on experience.

THE OPPORTUNITY

As we continue to grow, we're looking for an experienced Leave Specialist to independently own the day to day administration of our leave of absence program.

This contractor will serve as Grow's primary leave administration expert, partnering closely with employees, managers, People Operations, Employee Relations, Payroll, and our third party leave administrator to deliver a compliant, seamless, and compassionate leave experience.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

As our Leave Specialist, you'll own the end to end administration of employee leaves of absence, ensuring an exceptional employee experience while maintaining compliance with federal, state, and local leave laws.

Responsibilities include:

- Serve as the primary point of contact for employees navigating leaves of absence, providing timely, compassionate, and knowledgeable guidance.

- Manage the full lifecycle of employee leaves from intake through return to work, including medical, parental, family care, personal, military, and other protected leaves.

- Partner closely with our third party leave administrator (Sparrow) to ensure accurate case management, documentation, and employee support.

- Review leave documentation and coordinate next steps while ensuring compliance with applicable federal, state, and local regulations.

- Coordinate accommodations and return to work processes in partnership with Employee Relations and People Business Partners, including fitness for duty documentation and workplace accommodations where applicable.

- Partner with Payroll and People Operations to ensure accurate pay, benefits, and employment status throughout each leave.

- Maintain accurate records and documentation within Rippling and other internal systems.

- Respond to employee and manager questions regarding leave policies, eligibility, timelines, and processes.

- Monitor active leave cases and proactively manage key milestones, deadlines, and required communications.

- Identify opportunities to improve workflows, documentation, templates, and automations that increase efficiency and enhance the employee experience.

- Support reporting, audits, and compliance activities related to leave administration.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

- 5+ years of dedicated leave administration experience supporting U.S. employees.

- Experience independently managing end to end leave administration for a multi state employer.

- Strong working knowledge of FMLA, ADA, CFRA, PWFA, USERRA, state paid family and medical leave programs, and other applicable leave laws.

- Experience partnering with third party leave administrators such as Sparrow, Sedgwick, Lincoln Financial, The Hartford, or similar vendors.

- Strong understanding of the intersection between leave administration, payroll, benefits, and HR operations.

- Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple concurrent leave cases.

- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with a high degree of empathy and professionalism.

- Ability to exercise sound judgment while handling confidential and sensitive employee information.

- Comfortable working independently in a fast paced, high growth environment.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Experience supporting organizations with 500+ employees.

- Experience using Rippling or a similar HRIS.

- Experience improving leave processes, documentation, or operational workflows.

- Experience partnering closely with Employee Relations teams on complex leave and accommodation cases.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Within your first 90 days, you'll:

- Independently manage Grow's leave administration program with minimal oversight.

- Deliver a timely, compliant, and high quality leave experience for employees and managers.

- Maintain accurate documentation and ensure all leave cases are managed proactively.

- Build trusted partnerships across People Operations, Employee Relations, Payroll, and our external leave vendor.

- Recommend and implement process improvements that strengthen compliance, improve efficiency, and create a better employee experience.

WHY JOIN GROW

At Grow Therapy, we're building thoughtful, scalable people programs that support our employees through every stage of their journey. This role is an opportunity to have a meaningful impact during some of the most important moments in an employee's experience while helping us continue to build best in class people operations.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a 1099 contract position, and as such, does not include benefits provided to full-time employees.

Full Time Employee Benefits:

- Health Benefits: Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life, and disability coverage.

- Grow for Grow: No cost access to therapy through the Grow platform (available to US employees)

- Financial Wellness:…