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Leave of Absence Program Specialist

San Francisco Bay Area

Discord is used by over 200 million people every month for many different reasons, but there’s one thing that nearly everyone does on our platform: play video games. Over 90% of our users play games, spending a combined 1.5 billion hours playing thousands of unique titles on Discord each month. Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We are focused on making it easier and more fun for people to talk and hang out before, during, and after playing games.

The Total Rewards team at Discord is looking for a Leave of Absence (LOA) Program Specialist to champion our leave experience for Discordians across the U.S., Canada, and the Netherlands. You’ll manage the day-to-day operations of our LOA programs, support our people with care and empathy, and help shape the systems and policies that make our leave experience seamless.

This role combines hands-on administration, process improvement, and vendor partnership management — ensuring employees feel supported during some of the most important moments in their lives. You’ll work cross-functionally with Payroll, People Systems, People Partners, Legal, and our external vendor (Tilt) to keep every leave process running smoothly. This role reports into the HR Compliance Manager. 

This is a 9-month temporary full-time employee (TFTE) position with potential to extend. You'll be paid as a W2 employee with salary and benefits. Candidates must reside in or be willing to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties). Relocation assistance may be available. The hired candidate must be available to work West Coast business hours.

What you'll be doing:

Leave Administration

  • Manage day-to-day LOA operations, including responding to employee inquiries and concerns via Zendesk, Discord, and email.
  • Process Workday leave requests and ensure timely coordination with Tilt, Payroll, and People Partners.
  • Oversee requests related to SNOO rentals and baby box shipments.
  • Manage internal leave requests (sabbaticals, personal leaves, etc.) and maintain the LOA Asana board (to be phased out).
  • Ensure employees have clear and accurate guidance on policies, pay, benefits continuation, and return-to-work processes.

Program Management

  • Serve as the primary relationship owner with our LOA vendor, Tilt.
  • Draft and distribute our monthly Discord Digest (LOA communications and updates).
  • Partner with People Systems to develop and enhance Workday LOA tools (dashboards, automations, and reporting).
  • Launch and analyze biannual LOA experience surveys to measure and improve employee satisfaction.
  • Maintain and regularly update LOA-related standard operating procedure, Notion pages, and manager/employee resources.
  • Partner with Learning & Development to design and deliver LOA-related training for employees and managers.
  • Analyze LOA data and provide summary of leave trends to management.

Payroll Coordination

  • Prepare and audit biweekly LOA pay files to ensure accuracy and timeliness.
  • Partner with Payroll to troubleshoot discrepancies and confirm correct pay continuation.
  • Maintain internal standard operating procedures documenting LOA payroll processes.

Policy Stewardship

  • Act as the subject-matter expert (SME) for LOA-related policies, including U.S., Canada, and Netherlands programs.
  • Draft, maintain, and communicate updates to internal LOA policies in partnership with Compliance and Legal.
  • Collaborate with the HR Compliance Lead on regulatory reviews and policy alignment across geographies.

What you should have:

  • 2–3+ years of experience managing leave of absence and/or benefits programs in a fast-paced environment.
  • Strong understanding of federal and state leave laws (FMLA, CFRA, ADA/FEHA) and short-term disability processes.
  • Experience thriving in fast-paced, evolving startup/scale-up environments (Series A-C stage companies). You're comfortable with ambiguity and building structure rather than working within fully established corporate processes.
  • Exceptional communication skills — able to explain complex policies clearly and empathetically.
  • High attention to detail, organization, and confidentiality.
  • Experience handling multiple systems and stakeholders with efficiency and calm.
  • A love for process improvement and creating clear, human-centered experiences.

Bonus Points

  • Experience with Workday, Zendesk, Notion, Tilt, or CultureAmp
  • Familiarity with LOA Payroll administration or HRIS integrations
  • Knowledge of global leave frameworks, particularly in Canada and the Netherlands

Why You’ll Love Working Here

You’ll join a People team that deeply values empathy, transparency, and employee experience. We care for Discordians at every life stage — and this role plays a vital part in that mission. You’ll help us make sure every employee feels supported, informed, and cared for during moments that matter most.

This position is temporary. Candidates must reside in or be willing to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties).

The US base salary range for this temporary full-time position is $105,000 to $117,000 + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include benefits.

Why Discord? 

Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We're a multiplatform, multigenerational and multiplayer platform that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests. We believe games give us a way to have fun with our favorite people, whether listening to music together or grinding in competitive matches for diamond rank. Join us in our mission! Your future is just a click away!

Discord is committed to inclusion and providing reasonable accommodations during the interview process. We want you to feel set up for success, so if you are in need of reasonable accommodations, please let your recruiter know.

Please see our Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy for details regarding Discord’s collection and usage of personal information relating to the application and recruitment process by clicking HERE.

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