Photo By Edvin Hernandez | Zena Melaku, Director, SSP Enterprise Business Office.... read more read more
Sometimes, the best way to know if you love something is to try it. That was certainly the case for Zena Melaku, the director of Strategic Systems Programs’ (SSP) Enterprise Business Office (SPEBO).
As a child, Melaku was gifted in math and science, and she developed a burning passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It wasn’t until college, however, that she uncovered new ways to engage with STEM initiatives.
“I initially went into undergrad with the intention of pursuing engineering because of my admiration for STEM,” Melaku said. “My parents were always supportive of math and science, and one of my most memorable toys was a children’s microscope that I used to examine butterfly wings and various plant specimens. After some time, I realized I also had an affinity for psychology and business management, which began to compete with my appetite for engineering. Luckily, attending undergrad opened my eyes to the possibility of multi-disciplinary pursuits, and I was able to consider applying the business of people to a STEM-focused organization.”
She attended Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia, and graduated with her bachelor’s degree in psychology and business. Shortly after graduating in 2011, she began working as a government consultant for the U.S. Coast Guard. In this role, Melaku was responsible for providing audit support to the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General. It wasn’t until she started working as a contractor for Naval Sea Systems Command, and later SSP, that she learned about the role of civilians in the U.S. Navy.
A couple years later, in 2015, Melaku was offered a civil service job in SSP’s SPEBO Branch. She accepted the position and now, after almost 10 years at the command, she said she is still enjoying every minute of it.
“Since onboarding, I have had the opportunity to see first-hand what SSP does in support of our warfighters,” she said. “I have traveled to our field activities and program management offices across the country. The awesome thing about all of that was being able to see all the passion and pride everyone has for this very important mission – for strategic deterrence.”
As a committed life-long learner, Melaku has jumped at every opportunity to advance her education and leadership development skills within the command. For example, not only did she complete SSP’s yearlong Senior Leadership Institute Program, but she also took advantage of SSP’s Civilian Academic Degree Assistance Program to return to school for her master’s degree.
She enrolled at George Washington University (GWU) in Washington D.C., and studied organizational leadership and learning, while working full-time supporting the nation’s sea-based strategic deterrent.
“I am a big advocate of life-long learning,” she said. “I enjoy educating myself, whether that is informally or formally. Staying ahead of the curve has helped keep me prepared for promotional opportunities as they presented themselves at work, and so I just went for it. Ensuring I stay ready for the next thing is a core principle of mine, and that approach actually helped me accelerate my career and has led me to my current role as the Director of SPEBO.”
She graduated GWU in 2019, and is now involved in testing, implementing, and communicating workforce changes and trainings at SSP. This includes communicating significant changes of systems to the right audiences and informing them about how certain things like the Navy’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) can create meaningful impact. Navy ERP is the Navy’s financial system of record that enables the Navy to report financial data with improved data integrity and an increased cybersecurity posture. The business system equips the command to be prepared for financial audit requirements as well as the warfighter with real-time data to support emerging decisions, and directly contributes to both the mission of Strategic Systems Programs and the overall Navy’s ability to meet mission readiness.
So far, Melaku’s proudest achievement in her career has been being part of a team that led a major enterprise-wide transformation in the implementation of ERP at the command. Today, more than a decade since its addition, Melaku is leading the team responsible for the sustainment and modernization of the system.
“It was an effort to consolidate and streamline business tools from various systems into the Navy’s financial system of record, which is Navy ERP,” she said. “ERP is an integrated business management system that provides financial transparency and visibility across the Navy. Before this change, what we used was dispersed among several subsystems and our leadership did not have access to a one-stop shop to pull the necessary data they needed to execute their responsibilities. ERP increased our efficiency and now we have a duty to sustain and modernize it, as well as helping end users’ ability to carry out a wide array of functions such as financial management, supply, labor, accounting, and more. ”
In addition to those responsibilities, Melaku is also working on scaling the command’s artificial intelligence, aligning with one of the key enablers outlined in the Chief of Naval Operations’ Navigation Plan to expand the Navy’s warfighting ecosystem. Currently, she is researching the use of “bots” to automate basic functions and processes across various systems to save the command valuable man-hours.
“Our group is working to understand requirements to make these bots more efficient,” she said. “Our goal is to make operating business easier and to streamline the process to save time for users.”
SSP is responsible for sustaining strategic weapon system (SWS) on the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) and supporting the integration of the D5LE weapon system on the new Columbia-class SSBNs. Looking to the future, SSP is integral to nuclear triad modernization with development of the D5LE2 SWS and creating the regional strike capabilities with the development of the nuclear sea launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) and the non-nuclear hypersonic conventional prompt strike system (CPS).
| Date Taken: | 03.20.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.20.2025 15:16 |
| Story ID: | 493366 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 46 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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