Sonya R. Jenkins-Gray Email & Phone Number

St. Louis, Missouri, Us

As the Director of Personnel for the City of St. Louis, I oversee the HR landscape, acting as a strategic partner in organizational restructuring and cultural development. My expertise is focused on ensuring HR compliance, enhancing employee engagement, and managing talent effectively while aligning our people strategies with the city’s mission and values. Additionally, I craft employment legislation, manage labor relations, provide legal interpretations, and serve as an expert witness in legal proceedings. Direct comprehensive HR operations for 5,000+ employees across 50+ departments, leading a team of 50 HR professionals while modernizing policies, processes, and digital infrastructure.Spearheaded enterprise-wide digital transformation initiative, implementing data analytics for retention, recruitment, and performance metrics, resulting in streamlined operations and data-driven decision-making.Reorganized the Employee Relations Department to incorporate proactive engagement strategies, reducing grievances by 25% and improving workforce satisfaction. Serve as chief negotiator for 13 labor unions, successfully negotiating complex agreements while maintaining positive stakeholder relationships and organizational stability.Transformed recruitment processes, eliminating 1,000+ application backlog and implementing the city's first comprehensive background check program through a strategic third-party partnership. Launched innovative city-wide job fair attracting 1,500+ participants and generating 900+ qualified applications, significantly expanding the talent pipeline.Developed and implemented the first standardized new employee orientation program, enhancing onboarding effectiveness and early employee engagement.Centralized FMLA administration to eliminate system abuse and ensure consistent policy application across all departments.

Saint Louis, Missouri, Us

Direct Report to President/CEO. Led comprehensive HR and Marketing/Communications strategy as a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, driving organizational effectiveness and employee engagement while ensuring regulatory compliance across all operations. Provided strategic workforce guidance to the President, Board of Directors, and executive leadership team, focusing on optimizing business decisions through the human capital lens.Successfully led the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, achieving a 100% workforce vaccination rate while maintaining employee retention through strategic support policies and engagement initiatives.Partnered with CEO and Board on critical business decisions, providing data-driven workforce insights and recommendations for HR Operations.Revolutionized talent acquisition and onboarding by implementing virtual modules and streamlined healthcare credentialing processes.Established metrics-driven HR framework encompassing recruitment, compliance, compensation, employee relations, L&D, and DEI initiatives.Enhanced HR forecasting and budgeting models, consistently achieving organizational objectives while optimizing resource allocation, Employee Experience & Engagement.Deigned and executed a comprehensive engagement strategy, including bi-annual surveys that demonstrated measurable improvements in workforce satisfaction.Modernized performance management and compensation review processes, ensuring timely execution and alignment with organizational standards.Served as the principal HR consultant for field clinics, providing strategic guidance and resolving complex employee relations matters. Maintained strict compliance with HRSA standards through meticulous personnel and credentialing record management.Implemented robust audit preparation protocols, ensuring consistent regulatory compliance.Developed comprehensive HR policies aligned with healthcare industry requirements and best practices.

Served as a key strategic partner to the Founder/CEO in building a comprehensive people-centric infrastructure for a high-growth medical supply retail and manufacturing organization. Led the development of enterprise-wide HR strategies while driving business growth through effective talent management and organizational development initiatives. Partnered with CEO to develop and implement "best in class" HR strategy recognized by investment groups for innovative approach and execution.Collaborated with Executive Vice Chairman to secure funding for operational expansion, including call center establishment and $3.5M facility acquisition.Played a pivotal role in $1.3B contract negotiations and awards, ensuring compliance and operational effectiveness.Established corporate governance frameworks and organizational structures supporting sustainable growth in HR Infrastructure & Policy Development.Architected comprehensive HR and administrative infrastructure, implementing robust governance frameworks, HRIS systems, and talent management programs.Developed innovative employment practices, compensation structures, and performance management systems, driving a strong employer brand.Created and implemented world-class onboarding experiences and employee engagement initiatives aligned with organizational values.Led the development of the organization's vision, mission, and core values, fostering an inclusive culture and driving workforce engagement in Financial & Risk Management.Selected and negotiated competitive insurance programs, including health and welfare, product liability, and D&O coverage.Established efficient payroll and timekeeping systems supporting organizational scalability.

Addlestone, Surrey, Gb

Strategic HR leader with proven success driving global HR initiatives across 35 countries and 13,000 employees in manufacturing and operations. Led comprehensive HR transformation and integration strategies for diverse business units serving the energy, automotive, airline, and food sectors. Expertise in managing complex international labor relations, including union and works council environments. Spearheaded HR strategy for a major merger between Automotive and Container Pooling Solutions, achieving 42% overhead cost reduction.Led acquisition and integration of Pallecon Division, contributing to 22% revenue growth for the Containers Business Unit.Implemented standardized global HR governance, ensuring consistency across policies, compensation, benefits, and talent management.Directed global HRIS implementation (Workday) and payroll systems (ADP) transformation.Successfully managed complex employee relations matters across multiple jurisdictions, including EEOC complaints and Works Council charges.Led international labor negotiations across Canada, Germany, Australia, Netherlands, and New Zealand.Developed a comprehensive global safety strategy, resulting in an 8% reduction in workplace incidents.Established consistent HR policies and practices across union and non-union environments.Created and executed an integrated global talent strategy encompassing workforce planning, development, and succession.Implemented a performance management system, achieving a 100% on-time completion rate.Established effective talent acquisition function exceeding global staffing requirements.Developed high-potential programs aligned with succession planning and annual talent reviews.

Washington, Dc, Us

Provided leadership, consultation, and strategic direction regarding all human resources initiatives and activities related to organizational development, employee relations and engagement, compensation, benefits, talent management, and major league baseball (MLB) compliance supporting food service, hospitality, ticketing, ballpark operations, marketing, player operations, etc. for 3000+ employees.Successfully influenced owners to align with the FLSA regarding unpaid vs. paid interns, eliminating the organization's legal exposure of over $1.2 million.Negotiated benefit rates, implemented on-line enrollment, and reduced costs by 6%.Quickly assessed management training needs, developed/executed regulatory training, and instituted monthly “Leadership Circles” that addressed management development needs, which increased productivity in departments with significant morale issues.In a culture that used promotions as the only method for salary increases, established administration methods that allowed for internal equity and established informal salary ranges that reduced the salary budget by 17%.Developed a new executive performance review process to drive business objectives, corporate change, and behaviors.Enhanced organizational talent by developing a talent review process, leadership development curriculum, and a formal succession process.Successfully developed and implemented a staffing plan that recruited 5600 food service and hospitality employees during baseball season.Led labor negotiations with UNITE, resulting in improved disciplinary process and maintenance of current wage structure for food service employees.Defeated organizing campaign by the International Association of Machinists (IAM) for hospitality employees.

Washington, Dc, Us

Reporting to the President responsible for providing Human Resources strategy and developing/leading change management initiatives supporting manufacturing operations, newsroom, sales and marketing, bureau offices domestic and international, circulation, and radio/television programs with 1800+ employees. As a result of my promotion, I assumed responsibility for Maintenance, Engineering, Security, and Information Technology.Served as confidant and advisor to the President and internal consultant for executive leaders, leading to the company's transformation into a multi-media and publishing company, including the successful launch of five new products, radio and television shows, brand initiatives, and circulation strategies.Eliminated benefit broker, resulting in a 23% decrease in benefit costs. Created an Ombudsman Program that reduced EEOC complaints by 95%.Designed and implemented a new performance management process, systematically upgrading the bottom 10% and raising the bar on overall company performance.Implemented a talent strategy that resulted in 100% retention of key executives while acquiring talent for mission-critical roles at an average of 45 days to fill, resulting in 15 key executive hires from major media companies.Successfully partnered with Editor to transition the newsroom from a traditional print reporting organization to a forward-thinking and skilled “breaking news” newsroom. Provided successful leadership, leading to outsourcing key functions, the shutdown of manufacturing operations, and staff reductions of 65%, with no legal implications by comprehensive needs analysis, organization design and development initiatives, and implementation of change models. Provided leadership for HR, security, safety, facilities and engineering teams of 36 professional and technical employees.

Us

Sought by the CEO to establish and lead the Human Resources function for a manufacturing and maintenance defense contracting start-up in support of US and Middle East operations. Developed deployment policies and processes supporting operation maintenance teams in Afghanistan and Iraq.Designed and implemented key processes related to succession management, performance, leadership development and assessment, competency management, change management and individualized and group-based learning development strategies and solutions.Worked collaboratively with the leadership team and influenced the realignment of functional responsibilities across the company, resulting in improved workflow efficiencies.Developed leadership and executive talent pipelines to support global business strategy with a strong technical competency in executive and leadership development and coaching solutions.Identified wage and hour compliance gaps and corrected them with a cost of $250,000 in comparison to government fines of $1,000,000.Provided leadership by establishing and executing the selection and hiring process, which resulted in onboarding 1500+ employees within eight weeks, exceeding the three-month goal.Led all employee relations and engagement activities, resulting in a 7% favorable increase with “I trust my Manager.”Correcting position classifications improved human resources record-keeping and reduced FLSA liability, leading to a successful Office of Federal Contract and Compliance audit.Created a comprehensive compensation system, including base pay ranges, bonus structures, and commission plans, which was integrated with the performance management system.Implemented a balanced scorecard with integrated KPIs leveraged by a variable pay structure for executive compensation to drive senior leadership alignment and overall financial performance.

Munich, De

Reporting to the President & CEO, led the formation of the Human Resources function for a joint venture green-field start-up manufacturing and distribution operation in the U.S. and Germany.

Charlotte, North Carolina, Us

Successfully provided HR leadership for a manufacturing operation located in the U.S., Mexico, and a greenfield start-up in India.

Minato-Ku, Tokyo, Jp