[Hiring] Senior Associate, Integrated Absence Product Manager @New York Life

Role Description

The Senior Associate, Integrated Absence Product Manager is responsible for bringing strong expertise to advance the strategy, design, and execution of New York Life's Group Insurance integrated absence and accommodations solutions. This role partners across Operations, Digital, Technology, Clinical, Compliance, Distribution, and Implementation teams to deliver market-leading leave, disability, and ADA experiences for employers and employees.

This individual will recommend future-state product capabilities, identify operational efficiencies, translate business needs into product requirements, and support the development of scalable solutions that improve customer experience, operational effectiveness, and market competitiveness.

What You’ll Do

• Product Delivery:
  • Independently lead the development and execution of an assigned integrated absence product roadmap.
  • Analyze market trends, customer feedback, broker insights, and competitive landscape to identify opportunities for innovation.
  • Exercise judgment in analyzing market trends and evaluating product enhancement opportunities.
  • Serve as a subject matter expert in integrated absence management.
  • Lead cross-functional product initiatives involving Operations, Technology, Digital, Clinical, Compliance, and Distribution.
• Product Development & Execution:
  • Independently gather and document business requirements for assigned initiatives and enhancements.
  • Partner with technology teams to translate business requirements into user stories and functional specifications.
  • Facilitate product discovery, design, testing, and implementation activities.
  • Provide data-driven recommendations to inform prioritization decisions.
  • Lead the cross-functional coordination of user acceptance testing and implementation readiness activities.
• Operational Excellence:
  • Partner with Operations teams to identify process improvement opportunities.
  • Drive assigned initiatives and enhancements, including evaluation of operational impacts.
  • Design scalable workflows that improve consistency, efficiency, and customer outcomes.
  • Represent Product by demonstrating advanced expertise during initiatives.
• Digital Experience & Innovation:
  • Collaborate with Digital and Technology partners to enhance self-service capabilities.
  • Provide product expertise and best practices to support development of employee and employer portal experiences.
  • Support AI and automation initiatives that improve customer and operational outcomes.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  • Build strong relationships across Product, Operations, Technology, Compliance, Legal, Clinical, and Distribution teams.
  • Provide inputs to facilitate stakeholder alignment and decision-making.
  • Prepare executive communications, presentations, and recommendations.
  • Lead the coordination of working groups and deliverables across small-to-medium sized projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience in:
  • Product Management
  • Absence Management
  • Disability Insurance
  • Leave Administration
  • ADA Accommodations
  • Employee Benefits
  • Business Analysis
  • Process Improvement
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience translating business needs into requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Customer-centric with the ability to identify opportunities.
• Data-driven and execution-focused professional.
• Collaborative continuous improvement champion.

Requirements

• Preferred experience in Group Benefits, Leave Management, Disability, or ADA.
• Knowledge of:
  • FMLA
  • ADA
  • Paid Family & Medical Leave programs
  • State disability programs
• Experience with digital product development and customer-facing technologies.
• Experience working in Agile environments.
• Familiarity with absence administration platforms such as FINEOS, Workday, Dayforce, or similar systems.

Benefits

• Full package of benefits for employees, including:
  • Leave programs
  • Adoption assistance
  • Student loan repayment programs
• Annual discretionary bonus eligibility.
• Incentive program participation.