Ashley Verde

Canadian University Dubai (CUD) opened its doors in 2006 to bring the world-class Canadian education system to the dynamic city of Dubai. As the first licensed Canadian university outside of Canada, CUD is a pioneering initiative that was created to make a meaningful and lasting contribution to UAE society.
In my role as the HR and Admin Director, I report directly to the President. I manage a team of 7 in HR and is in charge of the Admin and Elementary staff. The team service 180+ Staff across the University.


Key Role and Responsibilities
►Managed the overall delivery of HR, Visa and Admin Services
►Manage the Business Plan of the HR Department
►Lead the manpower planning and budgeting process
►Support Hiring Managers in recruitment and ensures consistency of application of remuneration packages
►Evaluates the reward methodologies and advise on appropriate approach
►Own and lead the ongoing streamlining and digitization of the HR processes
►Lead and develop all policies and ensures robust processes are in place for policy evaluation and amendment
►Support senior leaders across the University in developing consistent ad effective organization design
►In charge of the overall Health and Safety of the University
►Provide advice, guidance and leadership to line managers on people management issues

Middlesex University Dubai is the first overseas campus of the internationally renowned Middlesex University in London. The campus, which opened in January 2005, has over 3, 000 students from over 100 nationalities and offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in a wide variety of subject areas.
In my role as an HR Manager, I serve circa 130 FT employees and 100 PT employees whilst reporting into the Pro-Vice-Chancellor in Dubai. The visa department also falls under my supervision as well as the Executive Office Staff.


Projects and Initiatives:
►Drafted their current and up to date Employee/Staff Handbook for Dubai employees
►Successfully implemented SAP HR for staff in less than 5 months (pending for one and a half year before I joined, the University does not have the expertise to implement SAP HR from scratch)
►Created the first Government Relations Manual for students and staff which details visa and immigration procedures in UAE
►Developed a new Performance Management System for both Academics and Professional Services Team
►Analyzed the key talents in the organisation and working on developing succession planning through employee development
►Review and revamp of the whole insurance scheme for Staff and Student
►Review and Development of Job Descriptions for All Staff (both Academic and Professional Services)

Duties and Responsibilities:
►Provides dynamic and effective leadership and day-to-day management of the department and operational activities
►Implement and maintain quality assurance protocols and standards in relation to HR
►Develops and Implements the University’s HR Strategy
►Supports the effective management of change across the University
►Develops all Human Resources policies and procedures
►Developed the current HR system and practices
►Ensures that the team take overall administrative responsibility for all stages of recruitment and selection process, as well as remuneration packages
►Provides guidance on issues relating to the equality and diversity agenda
►Undertakes appropriate risk assessment at departmental, functional and corporate level
►Take the lead role in formal disciplinary and grievance matters and advising on handling of serious employee relations matters and sensitive personnel cases
►Managed the full development of the integrated HR/Payroll system development in SAP
►Oversees the collation of HR Data
►Effectively communicate guidance and advisory material on various HR matters to management, departments and staff

Managing People
►Take overall responsibility for the management, appraisal and identifying staff development needs within the HR unit.
►Provide advice, guidance and leadership to line managers on people management issues
►Develop, quantify, evaluate and monitor appropriate set of performance indicators for the HR unit
►Direct the work of the HR unit to ensure delivery of its strategic and operational objectives

Service Delivery
►Set the overall standard for the HR service, monitoring service levels, whilst maintaining overall quality standards and balancing conflicting demands
►Assists in initiating and managing change within the institution including area of radical development
►Maintain an awareness of changing external requirements and ensure that the HR unit and the University responds to changes in context
►Constantly engage in a process of reviewing, modifying and monitoring the HR operation in order to improve the quality of service
►Manages the relationship with external legal advisors on personnel matter
►Participate in institutional committees and accepting chairing responsibilities when required
►Network on behalf of the University with external partners linked with Human Resources

Welfare and Work Environment
►Takes overall responsibility for the University Welfare and Work Environment Takes responsibility as a line manager for pastoral issues
►Take standard actions within the health and safety guidelines an where applicable adapt to the environment

Heriot-Watt University is one of Scotland’s leading providers in science, engineering, business management, languages and textiles, with six Schools; Energy, Geoscience Infrastructure and Society; Engineering and Physical Sciences; Life Sciences; Management and Languages; Mathematical and Computer Sciences; Textiles and Design - and a postgraduate Institute - the Edinburgh Business School.
In my role as an HR Manager, I serve circa 110 employees whilst reporting into the HR Director base in Scotland.
Current Projects and Initiatives
►Drafting the first Employee/Staff Handbook for Dubai employees (first of its kind since the University establishment in 2005)
►Aligning HR Strategy and Initiatives with University Goals, Strategy and Vision
►In charge of Local Benchmarking for employees - Hay Group
►Working with UK to enhance the current HRIS (Oracle)
►Aligning the University Letter of Appointment to the UK Contracts whilst keeping in mind the Local Labour Laws
►Facilitating the Organizational Development and Re-structuring for Dubai Campus
►Work closely with UK to make a job framework for the UK Campuses, Dubai Campus and Malaysia Campus
►In process of developing employee development plan and employee retention plans
Other Major Responsibilities
►Works closely with other campuses in UK and Malaysia in implementing projects and initiatives that supports University needs
►Maintain a close relationship with staff to ensure that University vision and strategy are taken into consideration in developing HR initiatives and HR standards
►Implements new policies and procedures and updates them accordingly based on organizational needs and statutory law
►Advisor to all staff on all HR related matter including but not limited to Learning and Development, Employee Relations, Rewards, Compensation and Benefits, Career Development and the like
►Responsible for all on-boarding of new staff, smooth transition of seconded staff (employee mobility) and exit of employees.
►Ensures that succession planning is in place for critical roles and identify key talents for the University
►Ensures that Performance Management policies and procedures are in place for all staff whilst reminding and assisting line managers in keeping SMART KPIs
►Manage the recruitment process of all positions from screening CV’s to interviewing, negotiating and sign off
►Audits monthly payroll for all Dubai staff
►Maintaining all employee information both manually and in the HRIS
►Responsible for the administration, compliance and security of accurate and complete HR records and compile metrics reports
►Facilitates the Grievance Process for all staff in Dubai Campus

In my role as an HR Consultant for the Middle East region, I serve circa 200 employees and supervise a team of two whilst reporting into the Regional HR Director. My role is focused on compensation & benefits, HR systems, policies and procedures, employee relations, all in addition to assist in driving a multinational culture and building a great place to work.

Key achievements include:
►Developed employee handbook and detailed HR policies & procedures manuals for UAE, Saudi & Oman.
►Built compensation structure & salary benchmarking (Hay Group).
►Managed a full automation cycle of the HR management system.
►Put up a labor law matrix document for reference & comparison between UAE, KSA, & Oman.
►Introduced an efficient PRO services system providing best services to the organization.

Other major responsibilities are:
►Acting as a business partner & advisor to all managers’ queries such as conflict management, career progress, disciplinary & grievance discussions.
►Managing the performance management process.
►Assisting with the recruitment process: conducting telephonic screening, shortlisting candidates, conducting initial interviews, and managing the offering process.
►Managing the on-boarding of new joiners.
►Providing advice to employees on issues related to their career progress and training needs as per relative competencies and gap analysis.
►Implementing Rewards & Remuneration strategy by collecting & analyzing data to set metrics, salary surveys, creation of positioning document to assist management on deciding on annual salary increments taking into consideration market trends, CPI & inflation rates, & statutory increases, and developing and implementing salary banding.
►Maintaining the SAP HR, uploading REM Data and new employees’ information & details.
►Responsible for the administration, compliance and security of accurate and complete HR records and compile metrics reports. (Includes employee turnover rates, recruitment details and expenses, training and development reports and all HR related data).
►In charge of HR audits and compliance with the labor law and corporate policies.

As an HR Generalist, I worked on developing job descriptions, conducting new hire orientation, preparing monthly and annual metric reports, and maintaining employees’ files and records. All in addition to providing support with regards to counseling on company policies, employees’ benefits, and evaluation programs.

Managing the full payroll administration for approximately 6, 500 employees covering general ledger up to final balance sheet entries. My role also covered updating the HRIS systems, distributing pay slips, preparing reports, in addition to resolving any queries related to payroll processing and assisting in audits.