HR and Administrative Professional

Amanda Brigita D’souza

***.******@*****.*** · LinkedIn · +971********* · Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Career Synopsis

A result-oriented and competent HR and Administrative professional with proven experience in talent acquisition and management, employee on-boarding & exit, performance management, employee engagement, HR operations, HR policy formulation, employee relations, employee grievance handling, employee benefits administration, benchmarking and HR CSR. Possessing an overall work experience of 11+ years which includes 4+ years of progressive work experience in the HR domain and 7 years in Sr. Administrative roles across various sectors. A collaborative communicator; able to foster relationships across teams, levels of leadership, and vendors to promote synergy and drive positive change. An energetic and competitive achiever with the ability to successfully manage multiple priorities and thrive in a face paced environment. Constantly learns and self improves through practice.

Core Competencies

HR operations Talent acquisition & management Personnel management Employee engagement Policy creation and implementation Employee on-boarding and exit Performance management KPI formulation Competency mapping Employee benefits administration Employee grievance handling.

Skills

Collaborative communicator Negotiations Strong interpersonal skills Presentation skills Interviewing Typing Time management Organizational skills Proactive approach Ethical thinking.

Experience

BRS VENTURES Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Executive – HR and Administration Mar 2016 – Jul 2020

Managed talent acquisition & management along with HR Director, for diversified holding company consisting of corporate and 7 business units across various verticals such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, environment, real estate, hospitality and education spread across UAE and PAN India. Partnered with key leadership stakeholders to understand resourcing needs and administer effective strategies. Successfully closed various key positions for the group by 85%, ranging from junior to senior levels with an average time to fill of 1.5 months. Achieved 100% success rate by closing all 50 positions within one month ahead of schedule, in line with organization’s mission of establishing new businesses. Realized AED 300,000 approx. in overall cost savings for the group through direct hires sourced through head hunting, internal database and employee referrals.

Formulated manpower plan and budget along with HR Director for current and future business requirements for resource analysis and planning purposes.

Oversaw entire recruitment cycle from sourcing, interviewing to offer negotiations. Saved 25% recruitment cost through effective negotiations.

Formulated job descriptions to accurately reflect updated roles and responsibilities in line with business needs.

Conducted technical assessments & reference checks of prospective candidates. Maintained excel tracker of resumes received and interviews conducted, updated databank of candidates’ resumes to build talent pipeline for future hiring needs.

Prepared recruitment metrics such as cost to hire, time to fill, yield ratio, quality of hire etc. to analyse recruitment efficiency.

Administered entirety of new hire on-boarding, prepared welcome notes, provided orientation, and collaborated with internal departments (PRO and IT) for visa, EID, work permit processing, IT assets request etc. to set-up new hire profiles in HRMS. Developed on-boarding and pre-onboarding checklists and processes to streamline on-boarding process and reduced on-boarding time by 30%.

Instituted 33 HR policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) from scratch, with corporate-wide scope and impact, which streamlined company processes and work practices by 70%.

Developed standardized HR templates such as candidate assessment, grievance form, new joinee application, exit interview form etc. which saved process flow time by 2x.

Established function-specific KPIs and leverage balanced scorecard for leadership evaluation. Formulated competency-based performance appraisal procedures such as employee self-appraisal and Line Manager’s appraisal to objectively monitor performance. Monitored and guided employees on appraisal process; counselled Line Managers on appraisal process, goal setting, assessing developmental needs and assigning ratings. Compiled appraisal summary report on employee performance ratings to discuss with HR Director on increments and promotions congruent with ratings.

Designed orientation programs and presentations for school students and college graduates.

Conducted research on industry best practices; understand current market trends to identify improvement opportunities to support HR strategy for raising organization’s employee value proposition (EVP). Conducted pay scale benchmarking exercise for formulating grading structure. Prepared high level HR reports and metrics such as HR MIS, absence rate metrics, attrition and retention analysis reports and other adhoc reports as directed to drive corporate decision making.

Led employee engagement through morale building activities such as birthday celebrations, team building, quarterly lunch etc. Promoted corporate social responsibility to take care of employee’s health and wellbeing through targeted initiatives such as fitness plans, health talks, medical check-ups & vaccination drives. Conducted employee engagement surveys to gauge pulse of the organization, collated & analysed responses, and recommended actions. Improved engagement score from 2.5 to 4 through acting upon feedback gathered. Compiled cost analysis reports for engagement activities conducted to show trends for management review. Saved 75% of costs against budget allocated for engagement initiatives through judicious planning.

Spearheaded HR administrative tasks such as rolling out corporate HR related internal communications and announcements; preparing various HR related correspondences such as offer letters, employment contracts, appraisal letters, recruitment agreements, experience certificates etc., liaising with travel agents for hotel, flight bookings and visa processing, preparing up to date organization structures and HR related presentations, maintaining and tracking HR department’s petty cash, liaising with insurance brokers for administering group medical and life insurance coverage.

Served as part of the project team for furnishing date and information for HRMS implementation at corporate office. Centrally catered to employee service requests, managed employee leave, attendance, payroll, ESS, and end of service computations through HRMS. Thus, implemented paperless HR system and reduced HRs manual efforts by 80%.

Maintained employee relations through grievance handling, advising and guiding employees on internal HR policies, processes and best practices.

Managed seamless employee exit procedures, conducted exit interviews to gather key insights, identified areas of improvement with proposed recommendations to HR Director.

Participated in routine HR audits for continuous compliance with internal and regulatory guidelines and requirements.

TECHNIP FRANCE Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Executive Assistant to COO Nov 2014 – Jan 2015

Managed daily administration and coordination of calendar entries to include meetings, invitations, and responses.

Compiled and drafted significant financial and operational documents, project letters and monthly business operational (BOR) reports on behalf of COO.

Scheduled annual and monthly cross-location department meetings; prepared meeting presentations, and internal communications. Coordinated all travel and logistics arrangements for COO such as domestic and international travel arrangements, trip planning, site visits etc., which reduced COO’s manual efforts by 60%.

Closely partnered with HR to schedule interviews for COO of prospective Project and Engineer Manager candidates; created talent pool of potential Project Manager profiles for future requirements. In coordination with learning and development, arranged yearly Project Management Seminar through drawing up participants’ list, sending invitations, managing internal communication and preparing seminar presentations.

Granted approval authority over leave, IT, general service, travel requests, expense notes, and invoices on behalf of COO.

Project Department Secretary Dec 2013 – Oct 2014

Coordinated operational and project management efforts over four major oil and gas engineering projects. Executed administrative functions to include meeting and travel arrangements, weekly and monthly status reports generation, and maintaining office inventory for project taskforce. Received Certification of Appreciation for successful execution and administration of project tasks.

Oversaw entirety of incoming client communications for distribution as per Project Director’s mark-up, drafted outgoing correspondences, engineering documents and scope of work on behalf of Project Director.

Established project filing procedures within electronic Project Correspondence Database and hard copies.

Collaborated across departments and on-site personnel to compile project-related documents for client distribution. Maintained updated department floor plan and allocation of available project taskforce resources.

Planned weekly toolbox sessions; compiled meeting agendas, presentations, and meeting minutes.

Updated timesheets for project and on-site staff in MCRS software.

LAFARGE INDIA Mumbai, India

Senior Officer Secretary Apr 2011 – Aug 2013

Officer Secretary Sep 2009 – Mar 2011

Promoted from Officer Secretary to position of increased scope and responsibility due to exceptional individual performance. Served as an Executive Secretary and first-line-of contact for Country Head Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and two Vice Presidents.

Oversaw daily administrative processes to include scheduling of appointments/meetings, calendar management, drafting correspondences, travel arrangements, and events coordination. Routed inquiries, answered questions, and provided excellent client service. Documented 70% reduction in time constraints for senior leadership through effective and efficient calendar management, administrative support, logistics coordination, and travel arrangements.

Managed executive emails and responded to business partners and clients on behalf of executives.

Collaborated closely with vendors to negotiate pricing and agreements for car rental, travel and hotel bookings for corporate tie-up.

Orchestrated seamless travel, transport, and accommodations arrangements for executives’ domestic and international travel.

Engaged with consulates to compile required documentation for timely visa processing in accordance with travel schedules. Prepared monthly expense statements, driver’s salary statements, travel expense claims etc., on behalf of executives.

In coordination with HR, facilitated performance appraisals of finance team on behalf of the CFO.

As a part of Lafarge Safety Committee, attended monthly safety meetings, and conducted safety inductions for visitors and new joinees. Successfully managed logistical arrangements of region-wide safety event with tight timelines. Subsequently, received significant positive attendee feedback and recognized with Certificate of Appreciation.

Updated internal intranet and vendor systems with legal documents, safety KPIs, and purchase orders.

Skilfully supported Industrial Relation team in preserving regulatory licenses and certifications by proactively communicating expiry dates of licenses.

TECHNIP FRANCE Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Project and Quality, Health and Safety Department (QHSE) Secretary Dec 2007 – Apr 2009

Drafted official letters, faxes, and emails,

Travel arrangements such as booking of flight tickets,

Scheduled client meetings, prepared agendas and minutes of meeting,

Arranged stationery supplies & maintained stationery register,

Coordinated with various departments, prepared company documents and electronically loaded them in the project correspondence database on lotus notes,

Entered man-hours of project personnel & filed regular correspondences. Maintained petty cash & prepared reimbursement statements,

Prepared weekly and monthly reports of ongoing projects for client review,

Assisted company auditors in drafting audit plans, audit report and audit summary for internal and external auditing purposes,

Maintained custody of ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:2004 & 18001:1999 certificates, and checked compliance of company documents with Technip’s quality standards.

Additional Professional Experience

Secretary / Receptionist – Al Nasr Irrigation & Contracting Co, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E (Jan - Apr 2007)

Freelance Sales Promoter – Proactive Advertising & Consultancy Ltd, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. (2004 - 2006)

Education & Credentials

Bachelor of Commerce

Madurai Kamaraj University India (2008)

Certifications

CIPD Level 5 Intermediate Diploma – AVADO Learning (anticipated completion: September 2020)

Microsoft Excel Masterclass for Business Managers – Udemy Learning Courses (2020)

Certified Human Resource Manager (CHRM) – International Qualifications Network (2013)

Diploma in Human Resource Management – Welingkar Institute of Management Studies (2012)

International Diploma in Office Administration & Secretarial Practice – University of Cambridge & Galaxy Computer Education and Training Institute (2005)

Certificate in Office Applications – Galaxy Computer Education and Training Institute (2004)

Technical Proficiencies

Windows 10 · Microsoft Office Suite · Lotus Notes · MS Outlook · HRMS · JD Edwards · Survey Monkey

Employment Law Knowledge

UAE Labor Law · DIFC Employment Law · DMCC Employment Legislations

Language Proficiencies

English (fluent) · Hindi (professional) · Arabic (basic)

Personal Details

17/03/1987 · Indian · Female · Married · Valid UAE Driving License

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