Operational Readiness Lead, Absence & Disability Programs - 20587

Description and Requirements
The Team You Will Join
On MetLife's Global Customer Service and Operations (GCSO) team, customer care is built on trust, empathy, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Whether guiding customers through life's important moments, solving challenges, or simplifying processes with innovative technology, you'll help deliver a differentiated experience grounded in operational excellence. Backed by a collaborative team, you'll play a vital role in strengthening the way we care and advocate for millions worldwide. Here, making a real difference isn't just a goal - it's what we do, one conversation at a time.
The Opportunity
The Operational Readiness Lead, Absence & Disability Programs is responsible for driving excellence across Absence, Leave, Disability, and Paid Family Leave programs while ensuring operational readiness for business transformations, migrations, system implementations, and process changes. The leader provides strategic direction, people leadership, technical expertise, coaching, and oversight to ensure compliant claim administration, workforce readiness, customer experience excellence, and successful delivery of migration initiatives.
Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of claim, absence, or operational professionals through coaching, performance management, and talent development.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders on absence and leave operations, workforce readiness, process optimization, and risk mitigation.

• Lead cross-functional initiatives and represent the business area during strategic planning, projects, and transformation efforts.

• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, customer focus, engagement, accountability, and sound decision-making.

• Provide subject matter expertise for FMLA, ADA, state leave, PFML, disability, ERISA, and company leave programs.

• Monitor quality, audit, and authority review results to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.

• Lead operational readiness activities supporting system migrations, platform conversions, organizational changes, and process transformations.

• Develop readiness plans that include training, communication, stakeholder engagement, risk assessments, testing support, and adoption strategies.

• Assess workforce readiness and capability gaps; implement coaching and development plans to prepare teams for future-state operations.

• Establish success metrics and monitor post-migration performance and quality.

• Collaborate with project teams to ensure business requirements, operational impacts, and change management considerations are appropriately addressed.

Required Qualifications

• Extensive experience in Absence, Leave Management, Disability Claims, or related operations.

• Demonstrated people leadership experience with responsibility for coaching, development, and performance outcomes.

• Strong knowledge of FMLA, ADA, state leave laws, PFML, disability programs, and regulatory frameworks.

• Strong analytical, communication, stakeholder management, and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to influence at all organizational levels and successfully lead through change.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading operational readiness, change management, system implementations, or migration initiatives.
• Catalyst & Legacy claim system experience
• Abstraks experience

The expected salary range for this position is $64,800 - $88,000 . This role may also be eligible for annual short-term incentive compensation. All incentives and benefits are subject to the applicable plan terms.
Benefits We Offer
Our U.S. benefits address holistic well-being with programs for physical and mental health, financial wellness, and support for families. We offer a comprehensive health plan that includes medical/prescription drug and vision, dental insurance, and no-cost short- and long-term disability. We also provide company-paid life insurance and legal services, a retirement pension funded entirely by MetLife and 401(k) with employer matching, group discounts on voluntary insurance products including auto and home, pet, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and accident insurance, as well as Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and digital mental health programs, parental leave, paid time off, paid holidays, volunteer time off, tuition assistance and much more! For more information regarding MetLife's U.S. benefits, please click here .
About MetLife
Recognized on Fortune magazine's list of the "World's Most Admired Companies", Fortune World's 25 Best Workplaces™, as well as the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®, MetLife, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world's leading financial services companies; providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers. With operations in more than 40 markets, we hold leading positions in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
As part of our New Frontier strategy, MetLife is building an AI-enabled, people-centered future. We're looking for people who bring curiosity, adaptability, and a growth mindset as we use AI to enhance how we serve customers, support communities, and evolve the way work gets done. At MetLife, AI is a responsible partner that supports human judgment, creativity, and continuous improvement while helping us build trust, inclusion, and long-term value.
Our purpose is simple - to help our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world at large create a more confident future. United by purpose and guided by our core values - Win Together, Do the Right Thing, Deliver Impact Over Activity, and Think Ahead - we're inspired to transform the next century in financial services. At MetLife, it's #AllTogetherPossible . Join us!
MetLife is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment decisions are made without regards to race, color, national origin, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status (although applicants and employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States), uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law ("protected characteristics").
If you need an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at [email protected]. This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application process.
MetLife maintains a drug-free workplace.
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liabilities.
This posting is for a current vacancy and is anticipated to remain open for at least 60 days from the listed posting date.