Jim Covington

*** ********** **. ******* ****, NY 14127

Email - ab861h@r.postjobfree.com Skype - James.Covington3rd

Landline - 716-***-**** Mobile - 763-***-****

Summary: Creative, customer focused Benefits professional with experience

across multiple industries, various environments, multi-state/multi-

site/multi-cultural locations, and international operations. A progressive

leader with cutting edge knowledge and skills who excels in building teams,

developing creative cost effective employee-valued benefit programs.

Moog Inc. East Aurora, NY

September 2011 to present

Manager, Retirement Programs and Special Projects

Responsible for Pension and 401(k) plan administration.

. Responsible for development of plan management cycle, creation of plan

amendments, board resolutions, investment policies, and "audit ready"

files.

. Leads cross functional PeopleSoft teams charged with such tasks as;

implementation of on-line annual benefits enrollment, and self-service

Profit Share elections

. Serve as the HR SME on the organizations' Merger and Acquisition team,

lead due-diligence and integration efforts.

Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar Doha, Qatar

April 2008 to August 2011

Manager, Compensation and Benefits

Responsible for compensation/benefits management and administration;

including classification review, starting pay for all staff new hires,

performance management and annual merit review.

. Served as SME on Qatar specific pay and benefits for SAP implementation

and on-going upgrades.

. Managed and administered the Qatar specific pay and benefit programs

(including foreign service pay supplement, relocation, housing, and

transportation allowances); assessed Qatar Foreign Service Benefits for

market competitiveness and comparison to best practices; designed,

priced, and recommended procedural and policy changes to maintain

competitive position.

. Managed the project to identify and implement competitive healthcare

benefits for non US Taxpayers working in Qatar. This resulted in a 75%

reduction in per head healthcare costs for employees enrolled in this

plan.

. Developed policies and procedures for Qatar specific compensation and

benefits programs; administered all employee benefit enrollment processes

and maintains employee benefit records.

. Responsible for the accurate and efficient delivery of compensation via

SAP HCM position entry, payroll approval, and regular auditing of

compensation related records.

Smart and Final Stores Commerce, CA

August 2005 to March 2008

Director - Compensation, Benefits, & HRIS

Lead and mentor the 5 member team responsible for the creation, design,

development, communication, and day-to-day administration of associate

benefit programs - health/welfare including medical, dental, vision,

pension and 401(k), compensation plans - base pay and other

incentive/variable pay programs and the HRIS package for 8,000+ employees

in 6 states.

. Led a senior operations management team in the development of a new

competitive pay program for store associates, saving the company $5.7M in

labor costs over the next 3 years.

. Developed a Step Increase program for a new warehouse that provided a

competitive wage structure to protect against union organization and at

the same time kept much of the favorable wage base of a non-union shop.

. Developed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis for annual shareholder

reports/proxy statements and assisted in the other reporting and/or

executive pay testing requirements.

. Coordinated the payment of stock options, restricted stock, ESPP, and

other stock awards to Executives and other employees when the company was

taken private in May 2007.

Automobile Club of Southern California Costa Mesa, CA August

2001 to August 2005

Manager, Compensation and Benefits

Led and mentored the 14 member compensation and benefits team responsible

for the design, development, and day-to-day administration of employee

benefit programs, retirement programs, lost time, workers compensation,

base pay, various commission and other incentive/variable pay programs for

8,500+ employees located in 4 states.

. Led the compensation staff in the complete review of the Club's market

pricing methodology and confirmed or re-matched all classifications with

in the organization.

. Led a cross-functional team in the design and cost modeling of new

commission and/or incentive plans for Travel Agents, Life Insurance

Agents, P & C Insurance Agents, and Call Center Representatives,

management and support staff.

. Headed a combined HR/Legal/Operations team in a comprehensive FLSA review

of all exempt classifications. This resulted in the reclassification of

over 500 employees and significantly reduced any potential wage/hour

class action law suits

. Developed a standardized communication format for commission and

incentive plans, this simplified "Comic Book" style also became a great

recruitment tool.

. Developed base pay recommendations and short/long-term incentive programs

for Executive Staff based on organizational and individual department

performance, including retention and severance plans.

Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America Cypress, CA

November 1990 to August 2001

Compensation and Benefits Manager

Led and mentored the team responsible for the design, development,

communication and day-to-day administration of compensation and benefit

programs for this nation-wide automotive wholesale and distribution

organization and the credit/finance subsidiary. Also manager and

administered performance management, lost-time, and workers' compensation

programs.

. Moved non-exempt employees from a traditional sick leave program to a

modified PTO program that resulted in a 20% reduction in paid time off,

increased customer service levels, reduced overtime and other premium

payments that resulted in annual savings of $250K+.

Led an HR/IT team in the selection, implementation, and customization of

the PeopleSoft HRIS package.

Developed a Floating Holiday program and for the Parts Distribution and

Call Centers, resulting in improved service to wholesale/retail customers

and annual savings of $500K+ in reduced overtime and other premium

payments.

Led an executive management team in the design, communication, and

implementation of a Broadband classification system that included a

variable pay plan for employees at all levels, providing the necessary

flexibility to develop and reward high performing and high potential

employees.

Developed base pay recommendations and short/long-term incentive programs

for executive staff based on organizational and individual department

performance that served as a substitute for equity.

Developed pay and benefit program for expansion of company operations into

Canada.

Prior HR Experience:

APP/EEO Administration, Associate/Labor Relations, Benefits, Compensation,

Expatriate Administration, Staffing, and HR Generalist with GM-Hughes

Aircraft Company and the Lockheed-California Company

Education:

MBA the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California

BS with emphasis in Manpower Management, California State University at

Long Beach

Special Designations and Honors:

. CCP & CBP designations from World-at-Work

. SPHR designation from Society of Human Resource Professionals

. Hay job evaluation system certified

. Masters' designation in Employee Benefits from the Benefit Management

Forum

. Member of the Technical Review Group for Workspan Magazine and other

World-at-Work publications

. Speaker the National PeopleSoft Users Conference

. Three time speaker at the World-at-Work National Conferences

. Three time speaker at the National Benefits Management Conference & Expo

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