AJANI T. HAWKINS
Cordova,TN
Summary
Seasoned Human Resources professional with over 11 years of experience leading HR operations in federal and military environments. Skilled in employee relations, staffing, payroll, benefits administration, and compliance, with a proven ability to support and advise leadership on complex personnel matters. Known for streamlining processes, ensuring policy compliance, and handling sensitive information with discretion, while effectively supporting teams across multiple locations.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
HUMAN RESOURCES SPECIALIST / SUPERVISORY HR SPECIALIST (GS-0201)
Department of the Navy
Millington, TN
01.2022 - Current
- Lead comprehensive HR operations supporting 4,000+ employees and service members, including onboarding, promotions, separations, benefits, and pay administration.
- Serve as a subject-matter expert on federal HR policies, DoD regulations, and organizational procedures, ensuring consistent and compliant application.
- Advise senior leadership on employee relations issues, workforce needs, and personnel actions.
- Supervise and mentor HR and administrative staff; conduct performance evaluations and support professional development.
- Maintain highly confidential personnel records and ensure accuracy across multiple HR systems.
- Coordinate recruiting and onboarding pipelines across multiple U.S. states, territories, and international locations.
- Act as Defense Travel System Authorizing Official, overseeing approval of $5M+ annually in travel expenditures.
- Streamlined personnel action workflows, reducing processing time by 15% and improving benefits delivery.
- Implemented travel pre-submission checks, reducing processing errors by 20%.
- Maintained zero audit discrepancies across multimillion-dollar fiscal operations.
HUMAN RESOURCES SPECIALIST / PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATOR
U.S. Navy - Various Commands
01.2011 - 01.2022
- Delivered full-spectrum HR support across global commands, processing and auditing thousands of personnel, payroll, and benefits transactions.
- Managed workforce and manpower requirements for 1,000+ personnel across multi-site operations.
- Coordinated permanent change of station (PCS) transfers, entitlements, and relocations exceeding $200K annually.
- Supported training coordination, performance evaluations, and administrative compliance.
- Handled sensitive employee issues with discretion while maintaining adherence to policy and fairness standards.
Education
Human Resource Management
Old Dominion University
Personnel Specialist "A" School - undefined
DoD Purchase Card & Certifying Officer Training - undefined
Advanced Disbursing Operations & Pay Systems - undefined
Administration & Office Management (Advanced) - undefined
Skills
- Employee & Labor Relations
- Staffing
- Recruiting
- Onboarding
- Personnel Actions
- HR Policy Interpretation
- Compliance
- Payroll
- Benefits Administration
- Workforce Planning
- Position Management
- Performance Management
- Training Coordination
- Supervisory Leadership
- Coaching
- Confidential Records Management
- HRIS
- Systems Administration
- NSIPS
- DTS
- EAIS
- OAIS
- EMPRS
- TOPS
- MS Office
Websites
Core Hr Competencies
- Employee & Labor Relations
- Staffing, Recruiting & Onboarding
- Personnel Actions (Promotions, Separations, Discipline)
- HR Policy Interpretation & Compliance
- Payroll & Benefits Administration
- Workforce Planning & Position Management
- Performance Management & Training Coordination
- Supervisory Leadership & Coaching
- Confidential Records Management
- HRIS & Systems Administration (NSIPS, DTS, EAIS, OAIS, EMPRS, TOPS, MS Office)
Recognition
- Led payroll audits resulting in top-tier ratings.
- Awarded Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for outstanding performance.
- SHRM-CP or aPHR Certification - In Progress
Education And Professional Development
- Coursework in Human Resource Management, Old Dominion University
- Personnel Specialist 'A' School
- DoD Purchase Card & Certifying Officer Training
- Advanced Disbursing Operations & Pay Systems
- Administration & Office Management (Advanced)
Veteran Status
U.S. Navy (Active Duty 2011-2022); VEOA Eligible (5-point preference)
Security Clearance
Secret (inactive)
Geographic Preference
- VA, Hampton Roads region
- TN
Willing To Travel
True
Personal Information
- Title: Human Resources Specialist
- Availability: VA (Hampton Roads region) | TN
Awards
- Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal
- Good Conduct Medal (3rd Award)
- Meritorious Unit Commendation
- GWOT Expeditionary Medal
- National Defense Service Medal
Timeline
HUMAN RESOURCES SPECIALIST / SUPERVISORY HR SPECIALIST (GS-0201)
Department of the Navy
01.2022 - Current
HUMAN RESOURCES SPECIALIST / PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATOR
U.S. Navy - Various Commands
01.2011 - 01.2022
Human Resource Management
Old Dominion University