Leave of Absence Program Specialist

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.

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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 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.

Demographic Questions for Discord

We’d like to know a little more about you. Answering is completely voluntary, but we'll be forever grateful since the information will help us evaluate and improve our recruitment, diversity and belonging efforts. Whether or not you choose to answer the questions will not affect your job application with us. Any information you submit here will be kept secure, pseudonymized, confidential and completely separate from your personal data and job application. By answering this survey, you consent to our processing of your responses for the purposes listed above. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us.

• Gender Identity: A person's internal perception of their gender and how they label themselves (may or may not correspond to gender assigned at birth).
• Race/Ethnicity: A person’s racial or ethnic identity.
• Sexual Orientation: A person's sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted.
• Disability: A person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially, or occasionally, limits one or more of their major life activities.
• Military Service: A person who has spent time serving in any branch of the military (may be retired or active).

Voluntary Self‑Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self‑identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Discord’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

• A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.
• A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three‑year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.
• An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.
• An "armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Voluntary Self‑Identification of Disability

Form CC‑305

Page 1 of 1

OMB Control Number 1250‑0005

Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

• Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
• Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
• Blind or low vision
• Cancer (past or present)
• Cardiovascular or heart disease
• Celiac disease
• Cerebral palsy
• Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
• Diabetes
• Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
• Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
• Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
• Intellectual or developmental disability
• Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
• Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
• Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
• Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Neurodivergence, for example, attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
• Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
• Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
• Short stature (dwarfism)
• Traumatic brain injury

Disability Status * Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.