Development of Total Rewards and Benefits Strategy and Harmonized Rewards Framework for Oxfam International

Oxfam International is seeking to obtain external reward expertise relating to the confederation’s staff globally (OIS and Countries, Clusters and Regions). Our current reward principles and structures have been in place for many years and must be reviewed in a changed context. Today’s operating context is different – volatile, uncertain and unpredictable and Oxfam’s organizational strategy and aspirations have shifted in the context of its Global Strategic Framework and 2030 ambitions. It is in this light that we wish to invite external expertise to co create, a refresh and reframe our reward strategy and approaches.

This request for proposal (RFP) scopes at a headline level the opportunity to partner with us to design a new reward proposition within the context of major transformation ambitions in the Confederation. It is a foundational piece of work that will build on an existing discovery exercise. As well as addressing the very real and pressing remuneration and benefits challenges that the recruitment and retention environment currently presents across our operations. The review must take into account and contribute to the delivery of our broader HR, OD and Culture aspirations including emerging thinking around talent acquisition, development and global mobility across multiple locations and markets to help us realise our strategic ambition to become a Diversified global Network. It will take a participative approach involving key stakeholder groups from across the confederation and implementation will be phased over 12-18 months period.

Background:

Oxfam is a global movement working towards ending poverty and injustice. The Oxfam International Secretariat (OIS) is responsible for leading, facilitating, convening, and supporting collaboration among 21 Oxfam affiliates and other models of presence in 60 countries to increase their impact. Oxfam International is also responsible for the line management of 45 countries, including 4 Clusters and 5 Regional Platforms globally. The organization is seeking proposals to develop a Total Rewards and Benefits Strategy and a harmonized Rewards Framework for the organization’s 4,000 staff members it employs through multiple models in multiple geographies.

After a number of years of implementing our current Reward Framework; Reward has emerged as a key issue in our Global Staff Survey and in direct feedback from staff. In response, Oxfam aspires to develop and implement a comprehensive Total Rewards Strategy that is increasingly aligned with our confederation strategy, organization values and underpinned by our feminist principles. This work will enable the adoption of a consistent approach to developing remuneration and benefits that will attract and retain the best talent globally.

Examples of current issues include:

• Our current reward structures reflect traditional INGO sector approaches, lacking the broad and deep understanding of the Labour markets in which we operate to develop local propositions that are competitive and reflect the ever-broadening range of roles and evolving nature of work.
• We suspect grade drift and are unclear of the relative value of different jobs; our current JE system is outdated and time consuming and we are overdue for a re-program of job evaluations. Going forward we wish to partner with our managers to ensure jobs are consistently graded based on a methodology that reflects the nature of work as it is now and as it evolves into the future.
• We need our reward framework to support delivery of our talent strategy (yet to be fully defined), our evolving global footprint and our aspirations to decolonize our policy, process and systems.
• Reward has emerged as a key issue in our Global Survey and in direct feedback from staff.

Objectives:

1. Design a Total Reward approach that helps us to attract, motivate, and retain top talent by offering a compelling employee value proposition aligned with the organization’s mission and values, feminist leadership principles, and strategic ambition to decolonize our policy, process and systems.
2. Promote employee engagement and satisfaction through a supportive work environment and opportunities for personal growth.
3. Ensure fair and equitable pay for all employees through a harmonized job grading and evaluation system.
4. Develop comprehensive and sustainable benefits packages that meet the needs and preferences of employees in different locations, in line with the local labour law(s) and Oxfam’s affordability.
5. Encourage employee loyalty and reduce turnover through a commitment to continuous development and growth.
6. Develop the organization’s reputation as an employer of choice.
7. Streamline and simplify reward administration processes to reduce costs and ensure compliance with legal requirements.
8. Challenge our assumptions and historic reward structures by bringing in experience and learning from what others do and current reward thought leadership.
9. Develop deep and broad market understanding in the geographies where we work and provide the principles, tools, and approaches so we can develop compelling local employment propositions consistently and equitably, with appropriate governance and oversight, that enable us to resource an evolving range of roles and reduce or even remove reliance on expatriation and international reward packages wherever possible.

Deliverables:

• Develop a baseline of Oxfam’s current Total Reward view with a specific focus on remuneration, through a combination of a desktop review and discussions with key stakeholders, building on the existing discovery work.
• From the baseline review, develop the key pillars of a compelling Total Rewards Strategy and including components that work from Oxfam’s existing approaches and identify areas where we have gaps.
• Develop a comprehensive Total Rewards and Benefits Strategy and harmonised Rewards Framework that includes the following (aligned with a balance between business needs and market trends).
  • Establish a core set of principles, practices, and tools to develop a deeper understanding of our different labor markets and create reward arrangements that are appropriate to recruit, retain and develop in those different locations and markets across the ever-broadening types of roles and evolving nature of our work.
  • Review and redesign (or recommend suitable replacement) as appropriate a harmonized job grading and evaluation system with proposed harmonized pay ranges per job grade that considers the current and evolving nature of work and Oxfam’s values and principles.
  • Review and refresh our pay policy and guidelines for pay review processes.
  • Draft Oxfam’s global policy for minimum benefits.
  • Develop internal governance mechanisms for ensuring appropriate oversight that balances local autonomy and flexibility alongside compliance with the revised principles, approaches, and methodologies including decision making and an escalation process guideline.
  • Identify the systems (policies, processes, technology, and people) required to implement the rewards strategy.
• Establish a project plan with the OI P&C team to implement the strategy with recommendations for phased implementation of work.
• Develop a communications plan for implementing the strategy.
• Develop training materials for HR teams and managers to effectively implement the strategy.

Specifications:

The consulting firm must have:

• Significant experience in the design and implementation of Total Rewards Strategy and Frameworks for large organizations/INGOs operating across multiple countries including complex salary review processes.
• Demonstrated experience in the INGO sector, including reward methodologies as well as the ability to draw on and apply learning from broad cross-sector experience, cutting-edge thinking and trends in reward management and the evolving nature of work.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills
• Knowledge and understanding of Diversity and Inclusion and its relation to rewards including designing and delivering inclusive projects across multi-lingual organisations, and affinity with Oxfam’s feminist leadership principles and Diversity and Inclusion aspirations.
• The broad range and capabilities to resource a major project of this size and scale.
• A generalist background in HR would be an advantage.