Global Leave & Absence Specialist

About Ramboll

Founded in Denmark, Ramboll is a foundation-owned people company. We have more than 18,000 experts working across our global operations in 35 countries. Our experts are leaders in their fields, developing and delivering innovative solutions in diverse markets including Buildings, Transport, Planning & Urban Design, Water, Environment & Health, Energy, and Management Consulting. We invite you to contribute to a more sustainable future working in an open, collaborative, and empowering company. Combining local experience with global knowledge, we together shape the societies of tomorrow.

Ramboll in India

Ramboll has more than 1800+ experts working across five offices in India applying their passion to deliver innovative solutions in markets as diverse as Buildings, Transport, Planning & Urban Design, Water, Environment & Health and Energy. Founded in Denmark, Ramboll is a people company. We invite you to contribute to a sustainable future working in an open, collaborative and empowering culture.

About the team: You will be part of Ramboll's Global HR Operations team, which provides HR operations services to various countries across Ramboll using global HR applications (e.g., Workday).

As the Global Leave & Absence Specialist, you will be the specialist resource for leave and absence management within Global HR Operations. You will own the accuracy, consistency, and continuous improvement of leave and absence processes across the countries serviced, acting as the point of expertise for complex cases, process design, and Workday absence configuration — while also contributing to wider HR Operations service delivery linked to the employee lifecycle.

Main Role Responsibilities

• Leave & Absence Process Expertise: Act as the subject matter expert for leave and absence processes globally — including maternity/parental leave, sick leave, statutory and company-specific leave types, disability/medical leave, and other absence categories across multiple countries.
• Complex Case Resolution: Own and resolve complex or non-standard leave cases (e.g., extended medical leave, intermittent leave, leave-pay interactions, return-to-work scenarios), acting as the escalation point for the wider HR Operations team.
• Process Design & Standardization: Design, document, and continuously improve global leave and absence processes, identifying opportunities for standardization and automation across countries.
• Workday Absence Configuration: Partner with the HRIS/Workday team on absence plan configuration, testing, and troubleshooting; identify and raise system gaps or defects affecting leave processing, and support enhancement projects.
• Statutory & Policy Currency: Maintain up-to-date knowledge of statutory leave entitlements and regulatory changes across countries serviced, and translate these into updated processes, guides, and system configurations.
• Payroll Interface: Ensure leave data flows accurately into payroll, working closely with Global Payroll and in-country teams to coordinate statutory pay, unpaid-leave deductions, and return-to-work pay changes; validate absence data ahead of payroll cut-off dates and investigate and resolve leave-related payroll discrepancies.
• General HR Operations & Workday Support: Provide broader HR Operations process and Workday system support (service requests, data updates, change requests) as part of the team's day-to-day delivery.
• Query & Ticket Resolution: Handle and resolve leave and absence-related tickets and queries from employees, managers, and in-country HR teams, ensuring adherence to defined SLAs and turnaround times.
• ​​​​​​​Documentation & Training: Own the creation and maintenance of leave and absence SOPs, quick guides, step-by-step guides, and training materials for the wider HR Operations team to reference.
• ​​​​​​​Knowledge Sharing & Coaching: Act as the go-to resource for leave and absence questions across the HR Operations team, coaching colleagues on process nuances and edge cases.
• ​​​​​​​Stakeholder Engagement: Participate in weekly/monthly update calls with countries and the Global HR Operations team, representing leave and absence topics and providing status updates on ongoing initiatives.
• ​​​​​​​Benefits Coordination: Liaise with global and local benefits teams, insurers, and providers to ensure correct handling of benefits (e.g., income protection, disability, statutory entitlements) during leave, and keep employees informed of the benefit implications of their leave.
• ​​​​​​​Global Policy & Data Compliance: Support the harmonization of global and local leave and absence policies with People Advisory, legal, and payroll teams, and ensure all leave-related activities comply with data privacy and confidentiality requirements (including GDPR and local equivalents); support internal and external audits as needed.
• ​​​​​​​Vendor & Provider Liaison: Act as the primary point of contact for external vendors involved in leave administration, including payroll providers, benefit providers, insurers, and occupational health providers, coordinating on claims, certificates, and return-to-work arrangements.
• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Reporting & Analytics: Prepare regular and ad hoc reporting on leave trends, absence utilization, and payroll-impacting leave; analyze the data to flag risks and provide insights that support workforce planning, policy review, and wellbeing initiatives.

• HR Operations experience gained in an international, multi-cultural organization.
• 5-7+ years of experience in Global HR Operations, with demonstrated depth in leave and absence management across multiple countries.
• Hands-on experience administering and/or configuring leave/absence processes in an HRIS tool (Workday strongly preferred; PeopleSoft, Oracle, SAP, or similar also considered).
• Working knowledge of how statutory leave entitlements and practices vary across jurisdictions; exposure to multiple countries/regions preferred.
• Service-minded, with a strong understanding of good customer service in a shared-services/global environment.
• Experience working in a complex, matrixed organization.
• Systematic and structured working style with strong attention to detail, given the compliance sensitivity of leave data.
• Strong self-starter, comfortable operating as an individual contributor and subject matter resource without formal line management responsibility.
• Excellent communication and coordination skills; fluent in English, both verbal and written.
• Innovative and problem-solving approach, particularly for ambiguous or non-standard cases.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with a sense of urgency.
• Preferred Education & Certification: Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Employment Law, or a related field; a professional HR, payroll, or benefits certification is an advantage.
• Regional Breadth: Experience supporting countries across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific is highly advantageous.

 Personal Qualities

• Strong communicator, open, transparent, and takes initiative.
• Excellent interpersonal and active listening skills.
• Strong critical thinking, able to balance case-level detail with the bigger picture.
• Sound judgement and decision-making; takes ownership and accountability for the accuracy and compliance of leave and absence outcomes.
• Well-structured, organized way of working.
• Good negotiation and stakeholder-management skills.
• Applies an EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusiveness) mindset.
• Strong intercultural communication skills, comfortable working closely with different nationalities, cultures, and client groups.

Success Measures

• Accurate, compliant, and timely administration of leave and absence processes across all countries serviced.
• Reduction in payroll errors and discrepancies related to leave and absence.
• Improved employee and manager experience during leave processes.
• Reliable absence reporting and actionable insights delivered to HR leadership.
• Strong stakeholder satisfaction across HR, payroll, benefits, and business teams.

What we can offer you

Investment in your development

Leaders you can count on, guided by our Leadership Principles

Be valued for the unique person you are.

Never be short of inspiration from colleagues, clients, and projects.

The long-term thinking of a foundation-owned company

Work at the heart of sustainable change

Ramboll is a global architecture, engineering, and consultancy company. We believe that the purpose of sustainable change is to create a thriving world for both nature and people. So, that’s where we start – and how we work. At Ramboll, our core strength is our people, and our history is rooted in a clear vision of how a responsible company should act. Being open and curious is a cornerstone of our culture. We embrace an inclusive mindset that looks for fresh, diverse, and innovative perspectives. We respect, embrace, and invite diversity in all forms to actively cultivate an environment where everyone can flourish and realize their full potential.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion are at the heart of what we do

We believe in the strength of diversity and know that unique experiences and perspectives are vital for creating truly sustainable societies. Therefore, we are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive work environment where everyone can flourish and reach their potential. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and encourage you to contact our recruitment team to discuss any accommodations you need during the application process.
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.  

Ready to join us?

Please submit your application. Be sure to include all relevant documents including your CV, cover letter, etc.

Thank you for taking the time to apply! We look forward to receiving your application.