Consultant to Review Compensation Package and Benefits for Diakonia Staff in Lebanon

The previous salary scale review for the Lebanon office was conducted in 2017. Since then, the labor market in Lebanon has drastically changed with increasing unemployment, inflation, and the devaluation of the local currency. In addition to this, Diakonia has adapted its HR policies adopting unified “Global Conditions of Employment” that determine any benefits that Diakonia offers in addition to those mandated by local labor laws. The region is also undergoing a re-structuring process that may impact previous roles and responsibilities.

Purpose and Objectives of the Review

The purpose of this review is to:

1. Recommend Revisions to Diakonia’s existing Salary Scale in Lebanon (if warranted), including:
   1. Position mapping;
   2. Banding;
   3. Salary ranges;
   4. Benefits.
2. Review and provide recommendations on current compensation practices to ensure that they:
   1. comply with benefits outlines in the Global Conditions of Employment.
   2. comply with local labor law.
   3. Are comparable to practices of other comparable INGOs.

Approach and methods for data collection and analysis

The service will consist of the below steps:

1. Desk Review: The service provider shall conduct a desk review of background documents that include but are not limited to:
   1. Diakonia HR Policies including but not limited to the Global Conditions of Employment.
   2. The Salary mapping and Job Valuation Report conducted in 2017.
   3. Current salary settings guidelines for Diakonia in Lebanon.
   4. Current country office structure and job descriptions.
   5. Birches group salary survey reports.
   6. Compensation-related summary notes from different INGO coordination platforms (HR Forum, Lebanon INGO Humanitarian Forum).
   7. Publicly available information on the Lebanese labor market.
   8. Lebanese labor law.
2. Key Informant Interviews: The service provider shall conduct interviews to verify and validate information pertaining to the application of the labor law (benefits, tax reporting, social security, ect.) and practices of comparable INGOs. The interview may include:
   1. Diakonia finance and admin staff
   2. Diakonia contracted audit and payroll service providers
   3. Diakonia lawyer
   4. Lawyer(s) specialized in labor law
   5. Senior staff of comparable INGOs
3. Presentation of Initial Findings and Recommendations: After completing the analysis, the service provider shall present a summary of the analysis and the initial findings and recommendation to the country and regional management along with global HR staff for discussion and agreement.
4. Final Report and Revised Compensation Setting Guidelines: The final set of the service is to submit a (1) final report on the review and (2) revised Compensation Setting Guidelines for the Lebanon office.

The review and analysis will pay special attention to applicable currencies and exchange rates (currency of contracts, currency of payment, currency of tax reporting, ect.) and the revision of roles and responsibilities due to the regional restructuring process.

Time schedule

It is expected that a time and work plan is presented in the proposal. The new compensation setting guidelines are expected to be in place by mid-August 2021. The service provider will have to consider that some input from the Birches survey may not be available before July 2021.

The final documents shall be written in English and professionally proofread.

Qualifications

The review may be conducted by a single consultant or company with the following qualifications: 

• Competence and experience in compensation setting, HR practices, and labor markets with INGOs or similar entities.  
• Experience conducting similar customized compensation reviews.
• Knowledge of the Lebanese context/legislation is a plus.

A CV shall be included for the lead consultant and contain a full description of the consultant’s qualifications and professional work experience.

The service providers must be independent from the assignment and activities and have no stake in the outcome of the analysis.

Roles and responsibilities

The contact person at the Diakonia Country Office is Cederic Choukeir, while the regional office will have overall supervision of the process. The contact person should be consulted if any problems arise during the analysis process.

The service provider will arrange the logistics, booking interviews, preparing visits including any necessary security arrangements. Some assistance will be offered by the Diakonia country offices upon request. Diakonia will prepare the documents to read in advance.

Terms and conditions

The service provider is responsible for income tax and cost proposals should clearly indicate amounts pre and post taxes.

Costs should include all in country travel.

The service provider is required to sign and follow Diakonia’s code of conduct.