Global Leaves and Accommodations Analyst

ABOUT THE TEAM OpenAI’s Benefits team helps attract, support, and retain the people advancing our mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. As part of the People team, we deliver benefits and experiences for a rapidly growing employee population in and outside the US. We partner across People, Payroll, HR Systems, Legal, and external providers to help employees navigate important moments with clear guidance and reliable support. ABOUT THE ROLE We’re looking for a Leaves & Accommodations Analyst to support the day-to-day administration of OpenAI’s leave of absence and workplace accommodations programs. You will coordinate assigned cases from intake through closure, keep records and documentation organized, and support accurate, timely handoffs across the teams involved. This is a hands-on, employee-facing role for someone who enjoys careful execution and helping people understand what comes next. You’ll follow established policies and workflows, take responsibility for routine case tasks, and recognize when a complex, sensitive, or unclear request needs guidance from the appropriate case owner. You will partner closely with HR Business Partners, Payroll, HR Systems, third-party administrators, and other members of the Benefits team. This role reports to the Senior Manager, Global Leave & Accommodation. IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL: - Coordinate assigned leave cases. Support intake, documentation follow-up, case tracking, return-to-work coordination, and closure for U.S. and international requests, including medical, parental, and statutory leaves. Use established workflows and seek guidance when requirements are unclear. - Help employees navigate the process. Provide clear, empathetic updates about required information, timelines, and next steps. Respond to routine employee and manager questions using approved guidance, and route questions outside your scope to the right partner. - Support the accommodations process. Organize required information, coordinate follow-ups, and document approved next steps for ergonomic, disability-related, and religious accommodations. Handle medical documentation only through approved confidential channels. Escalate eligibility questions, policy exceptions, legal requirements, and accommodation determinations to the appropriate case owner. - Keep case records accurate. Maintain leave and accommodations data in HRIS and case-tracking systems. Complete routine checks, investigate discrepancies with the appropriate partners, make approved updates, and support audits or testing with HR Systems. - Prepare reliable payroll handoffs. Check approved case and pay information, including company-paid time off, statutory benefits, vendor-reported events, and company top-ups. Flag discrepancies and cutoff risks promptly, and confirm that agreed corrections are completed. - Coordinate work across partners. Track outstanding actions with third-party administrators, vendors, HR Business Partners, Payroll, and HR Systems. Make next steps and handoffs clear, follow up on open items, and keep the case owner informed of blockers. - Stay on top of deadlines and requests. Keep case trackers current, prioritize routine work against established deadlines, and raise competing priorities or urgent employee needs to your manager early. - Improve day-to-day execution. Identify recurring issues and suggest practical changes to checklists, templates, and documentation. Help implement approved improvements that reduce errors and make the process easier for employees and partners. YOU MIGHT THRIVE IN THIS ROLE IF YOU: - Have hands-on experience supporting leave of absence, workplace accommodations, or related HR operations, including case administration, employee inqu