Senior Absence Management Partner

An overview of this role

As a Senior Absence Management Partner, you'll manage and coordinate GitLab's global time away programs and support team members throughout their leave journeys. You'll help ensure our programs and processes comply with employment laws, company policies, and relevant regulations while providing accurate, empathetic, and timely guidance during important moments in team members' lives. Your work will strengthen the team member experience through clear communication, sound judgment, and efficient leave processes.

What You’ll Do

• Manage the full lifecycle of GitLab's leave of absence programs, including documentation intake, leave wage reporting to non-US payroll teams, accurate case processing in Workday and related systems, and timely completion of requests.
• Monitor regulatory changes related to time away and translate them into policy, process, and handbook updates, identifying compliance gaps and involving the right stakeholders.
• Track leave requests across the internal human resources information system (HRIS), identify dependencies and root causes, and recommend improvements to compliance, reporting, and the team member experience.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for team members throughout departure, leave, accommodation, and return-to-work processes.
• Resolve complex time away questions in partnership with managers, People Business Partners, Legal, Payroll, Benefits, external partners, and other stakeholders, providing clear context and recommendations.
• Lead or contribute to cross-functional projects involving HRIS configuration, vendor implementation, and process redesign to strengthen program infrastructure and scalability.
• Maintain policies, processes, and guidance, and share practices that improve consistency and efficiency.
• Analyze leave volume and program data to identify operational risks, inform resourcing decisions, and recommend program improvements, including the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for documentation, reporting, workflow efficiency, and data quality while protecting privacy and compliance.

What You’ll Bring

• Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex concepts, provide context, and guide stakeholders toward sound decisions.
• Experience administering global leave and accommodation programs and resolving nuanced cases with cross-functional stakeholders and external partners.
• Problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, with the ability to evaluate information from multiple sources, assess trade-offs, and make recommendations that support team results.
• Strong organization, attention to detail, and the ability to independently manage a high volume of sensitive and time-critical work with consistent follow-through.
• Experience meeting strict deadlines, balancing urgent and important work, and driving issues to completion with persistence and accountability.
• Experience working in a changing global environment and building productive relationships across distributed teams and stakeholder groups.
• Workday experience, including supporting or informing leave type configuration and HRIS design decisions with People Tech, plus strong proficiency with Google Workspace.
• Experience using GitLab tools to maintain documentation and using AI tools responsibly to improve workflows, documentation, and reporting without compromising quality, confidentiality, or compliance.

About the team

The Absence Management team supports the full range of time away requests, including paid time off (PTO), public holidays, sick time, parental leave, and leaves of absence. You'll work closely with the team's manager and stakeholders across GitLab to support the consistent application of leave policies, compliance with legal requirements, and thoughtful guidance for team members and managers around the world. By managing the full lifecycle of absences together, the team helps create a supportive work environment where team members feel valued throughout periods of time away.

How GitLab will support you

• Benefits to support your health, finances, and well-being
• Flexible Paid Time Off 
• Team Member Resource Groups
• Equity Compensation & Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Growth and Development Fund
• Parental leave 
• Home office support

Please note that we welcome interest from candidates with varying levels of experience; many successful candidates do not meet every single requirement. Additionally, studies have shown that people from underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to a job unless they meet every single qualification. If you're excited about this role, please apply and allow our recruiters to assess your application.