We are seeking an Occupational Health, Disability and Return-to-Work Specialist to strengthen Bridges Health’s approach to employee health, workplace accommodation, injury prevention and absence management. This is not solely a claims-administration position. The successful candidate will connect information about work, health and functional ability to help leaders make sound, timely and defensible decisions. You will manage complex disability and workers’ compensation cases, coordinate accommodations and return-to-work plans, support workers’ compensation objections and appeals, and use Physical Demands Analysis to identify suitable work and improve job design. The role is well suited to someone who can move comfortably between individual case management and broader organizational improvement. You will work closely with employees, operational leaders, Human Resources, Health and Safety, healthcare providers, unions where applicable, insurers and workers’ compensation representatives. What you will do Disability and absence case management
- Manage occupational and non-occupational disability cases from initial absence through recovery, accommodation and sustainable return to work.
- Maintain timely, respectful contact with employees and coordinate information among relevant internal and external parties.
- Review functional abilities and restrictions while protecting the confidentiality of personal medical information.
- Identify obstacles to recovery, accommodation or return to work and coordinate appropriate interventions.
- Develop, document and monitor individual accommodation, stay-at-work and return-to-work plans.
- Escalate complex, prolonged or high-risk cases and recommend appropriate next steps.
- Support consistent case documentation, follow-up practices and decision-making across the organisation. Workers’ compensation and appeals
- Coordinate workers’ compensation claims, including claim monitoring, correspondence, documentation and cost-management activities.
- Review claim decisions and files to identify factual, procedural or evidentiary issues requiring clarification or challenge.
- Prepare employer submissions, objections and appeal materials in collaboration with internal stakeholders and external advisers where required.
- Track appeal deadlines, evidence, decisions and resulting actions.
- Liaise with workers’ compensation case managers, adjudicators and return-to-work specialists.
- Identify claim trends, recurring barriers and opportunities for earlier organizational intervention.




- Ensure that the organization’s positions are accurate, evidence-based, procedurally fair and consistent with applicable requirements. Accommodation and return-to-work planning
- Lead collaborative accommodation and return-to-work planning based on functional abilities, job demands, available work and operational requirements.
- Translate medical restrictions and functional information into transparent workplace considerations without diagnosing medical conditions.
- Assess the suitability, safety and sustainability of modified or alternate work.
- Develop graduated return-to-work plans with defined duties, hours, restrictions, review dates and progression criteria.
- Monitor plans after implementation and adjust them when functional abilities, job demands or operational conditions change.
- Coach leaders on meaningful accommodation, suitable work and effective employee communication.
- Help resolve disagreements concerning restrictions, job suitability, modified work or return-to-work progression. Physical Demands Analyses and job-demand information
- Coordinate, conduct or quality-review Physical Demands Analyses for priority positions.
- Use PDA findings to compare job requirements with employee functional abilities and identify appropriate accommodation options.
- Ensure PDAs reflect the work as actually performed, including physical frequency, duration, force, posture, repetition, environmental conditions and relevant cognitive or psychosocial demands.
- Maintain an organized and current inventory of job-demand information.
- Use findings from PDAs and disability cases to recommend ergonomic, job-design or injury-prevention improvements.
- Help the organization move from generic modified-duty lists toward evidence-informed, job-specific accommodation planning. Organizational health and safety
- Partner with Health and Safety, Human Resources and operational leaders to identify patterns across injuries, absences, job demands and return-to-work outcomes.
- Contribute to occupational health, disability management, accommodation and return-to-work policies and procedures.
- Recommend preventive actions based on claims experience, case trends and job-demand findings.




- Participate in incident reviews when occupational-health, disability or return-to-work expertise is required.
- Develop practical tools and training for supervisors and leaders.
- Support organizational compliance with applicable occupational health and safety, workers’ compensation, accessibility, employment and human-rights requirements.
- Establish meaningful program measures and prepare reports for leadership while protecting employee confidentiality. What you bring
- Post-secondary education in occupational health and safety, disability management, occupational health, kinesiology, ergonomics, rehabilitation, nursing, human resources or a related discipline.
- 3+ year of demonstrated experience managing complex occupational and non-occupational disability cases.
- Practical experience developing accommodations, modified-work arrangements and graduated return-to-work plans.
- Experience interpreting or completing Physical Demands Analysis, job-demand assessments or comparable job-analysis tools.
- Working knowledge of workers’ compensation claims management, objections and appeals.
- Knowledge of occupational health and safety, disability accommodation, privacy and human-rights principles.
- Ability to interpret functional abilities information and compare it objectively with job demands.
- Strong investigative, critical-thinking, documentation and written-submission skills.
- Confidence working with employees, leaders, healthcare providers, unions, insurers and government or compensation-board representatives.
- Sound judgement and discretion when handling sensitive health and employment information. Assets
- Certified Disability Management Professional designation or equivalent disability-management training.
- Canadian Registered Safety Professional designation or recognized occupational health and safety certification.
- Certification or formal training in ergonomics, kinesiology, occupational health, rehabilitation or job-demand analysis.
- Experience preparing workers’ compensation appeal submissions or participating in appeal proceedings.
- Experience assessing psychosocial as well as physical job demands. If this opportunity interests you, we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every qualification. Relevant and transferable experience will be considered, with preference given to candidates who demonstrate experience directly applicable to the role. Pay: $65,000.00-$75,000.00 per year

Advantages:
- Flexible schedule Work

Location:
Remote

📌 Occupational Health, Disability and Return-to-work Specialist (Canada)
🏢 Bridges Health Services
📍 Canada