Merle Ray / Page 1

Merle E. Ray

3202 Chalfont Dr  Houston, TX 77066  (281) 827-4396 

Global Strategic Leadership

Senior Human Resource Management

Financial Reporting & Fiscal Accountability

Organizational Development & Process Improvement

Talented, results-producing Senior HR Management & Leadership Professional witha proven record of accomplishment in leading comprehensive growth strategies in support of business goals and objectives; expertise in directing the creation of human capital, operations, finance, and management tools and steering the execution of such programs via technology; demonstrated success driving growth in targeted markets throughkey relationships with stakeholders and implementation of strategic projects:

  • Budget & Financial Reporting
  • Organizational Development
/
  • Systems Alignment
  • Business Process Design
/
  • Cultural Transformation
  • Change Management

  • HR & ER Management
/
  • Project Management
/
  • Talent Management

  • Strategic Positioning
/
  • SAP FICO & HR
/
  • Talent Acquisition

  • Coaching & 360 Feedback
/
  • Performance Management
/
  • Competency Mgmt

Professional Experience

THE NOBLE GROUPS, Houston, TX

Best practices organizational development, strategy, funding,developmenttools & consulting firm.

Executive Project Management & HRConsultant,Independent Contractor,2003 – Present

  • Provided business growth & performance deliverables as an independent project manager.
  • Led Performance project for the West Region of a $3B annual gross revenue client with 8,000 employees, 800 Leaders in a $9B company.
  • Developed profitability, feasibility, & growth plans for private sector business owners & non-profits.
  • Administered and assisted clients in negotiation of project contracts ranging from $30k to $3M.
  • Specialized in return on investment strategies, design, evaluation, outcomes and impact measurement.
  • Forecasted, collected and analyzed benchmarks, trends, supply & demand, and profitability.
  • Consulted with executives, stakeholders, and planning boards, employers and regional communities.
  • Researched, developed, provided customizations for technology & non-technology projects.
  • Facilitated executive leadership discussions aligning goals & objectives with positive ROI.
  • Wrote business plans and grant proposals for government and private-entity funding projects.
  • Served as HR expert on a team of independent consultants facilitating project lifecycles.
  • Consultedprospects of SAP on FICO financials implementation, configuration & design.
  • Demonstrated SAP to clients subject to FAS 123R Year-End Reporting and CD&A Reporting.

ADMINISTAFF of TEXAS, Houston, TX

Publicly traded - New York Stock Exchange;NOT a staffing co;Prev.Fortune 500;Nation's leading professional full-service PEO; Complete human resources HR financial services department providing a comprehensive range of best practices human resource strategiesfinancial management solutions for America’s fastest growing businesses. (120,000 employees nationwide; 6,200 clients)

Senior HR Specialist/Manager, Corporate HR Performance/DirectoreHR Services, 1998 – 2003

  • Hired to lead transformation and business process redesign to a world-class HR function.
  • Senior HR consultant directly assigned to10,000 work site employees and 250 client owners.
  • Executive compensation & strategic HR consulting for clients in highly entrepreneurial environment;
  • Assigned to the company’s largest clients that had 1000+ employees generating $1B+ revenue.
  • Process champion and HC expert on Employee Self Service project serving 120,000 employees.
  • Conducted compensation and HR consulting with clients that had more than 1000 employees.
  • Partnered with the company’s top sales teams to articulate and sell HR profitability to client owners.
  • Developed models for measuring client ROI and organizational performance.
  • Provided leadership to transition teams with client organizations undergoing merger or acquisition.
  • Led the primary vision, strategy, & development of the company’s largest acquisition.
  • Senior leadership director reporting to Exec VP of HR Services and to Exec VP of Sales/Marketing.
  • Served as expert on strategic human capital projects and new company acquisitions.
  • Created Administaff’s HRPowerhouse (now HRtools.com) resulting in $6.25M eBusiness initiative.
  • Interacted with management to coordinate the generation, review approval of potential property.
  • Collaborated with negotiations team to support deal structure in negotiations.
  • Managed the procurement of technical data and coordinatedfeasibility with business unitpersonnel.
  • Administered recruiting of expatriates, national talent acquisition and retention of top performers.
  • Traveled 35% (US & Puerto Rico); Promoted twice in 5 years on Corporate Level reporting to Execs

GULF COAST REGIONAL BLOOD CENTER, Houston, TX

“Commit for life.”The Blood Center is a leading Texas Medical Center institution; Provides blood blood products for more than 170 hospitals in 25 counties and is recognized worldwide for its state-of-the-art technologies, QA,highly acclaimed management expertise. (600+ employees regionally; Operations budget of $120 million.)

Director, Human Resources & Employee Relations1985-1998

  • Reported to the Exec VP of Administrative Services; Owned the overall management of the corporate HR function consisting of: Total Rewards, including Executive Compensation, BenefitsPlan Design/Administration, Retirement Plan; Fiscal Reporting & Accountability; Recruiting & Retention; Employee Relations; Training & Development; Performance Management; Payroll; Safety & Workers Compensation.
  • Owned the Summary Plan Description process; Compensation, Discussion and Analysis (CD&A) disclosure process for highly compensated employees & executives; Annual Total Reward Statements process; Drafted & updated revisions; Reviewed with legal; Obtained executive approval for release; Audited the entire compensation & benefits programs and disclosures before release to ensure accuracy; Managed vendor relationships; Made presentations to executives & board committees.
  • Led the strategic development of operating plans & performance metrics for HR function.
  • Assessed impact of current programs; proposed new programs supporting strategic initiatives.
  • Coachedmentored team of 88executives and leaders in world-class health care institution.
  • Successfully led the company’s first leadership & cultural transformation process.
  • Advised senior management; instrumental in leading the organization in business process redesign.
  • Designed compensation and benefits plans working directly with CFO & Chief Operating Officer.
  • Responsible for fiscal accountability and financial reporting of all compensation & benefit plans.
  • Responsibility for bi-weekly payroll, monthly auditing, general ledger, & account reconciliations.
  • Owned HR compliance, performance management, and organizational development processes.
  • Promoted into this position while carrying out HRIS, benefits & compensation responsibilities:
  • Served as business process analyst for major HRIS and payroll system implementations.
  • Owned wage & salary analysis making key recommendations to executives and senior management.
  • Managed the overall wage & salary budget, compensation structure, and rewards practices.
  • Led transformation from legacy IT systems to systems integrating payroll, benefits HR function.
  • Served as HR Information System Administrator training users & customizing the system design.
  • Purchased software systems automating processes in benefits, payroll, etc.
  • Researched, analyzed, and compiled data annually to make key strategy recommendations.
  • Traveled 15% (Regionally); Promoted 3 times in 13 years reporting to all Senior Executives & Board

…Continued…

OTHER EMPLOYERS

University of Texas, Health Science Center, HR Generalist, 1984-1985

Sakowitz Specialty Stores, INC., Senior Personnel Clerk 1981-1984

Education & Credentials

Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Institute, 2009-Present

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Leadership, College of Biblical Studies, Houston, TX, 2003

Senior Professional in Human Resources(SPHR), HRCredentialing Institute, 2001-2005

Public Administration (Major), Texas Southern University, Houston, TX, Jan 1985

Honors Graduate, Mary Brantley Smiley High School, Houston, TX, May 1981

Technical Skills
  • Strong Knowledge of Various HRIS Systems Implementation, Configuration & Design with extensive experience in Requirements Gathering, Scenario Testing, Writing Functional Specifications, Creating Training Material and Knowledge Transfer to Employees.
  • Strong Analytical, Presentation & Organizational Skills.
  • Strong Computer Applications: MS Office, Visio, MSProject and Outlook
  • Knowledge of SAP FICO; Currently in training for hands-on configuration of SAP FI/CO - GL, AR, AP, CO, CCA, and PCA. (ECC 6.0) (Previous working knowledge & exp with SAP R/3 4.6c)
  • Experience with Payroll Systems: ADP & Ceridian
  • Advanced Knowledge of Various Other Systems such as:Benefits, Real Estate, Client Relationship Management, Donor Relationship Management

References

Available Upon Request