Compensation and Benefits Review - Consultant

Compensation & Benefits Consultant (Independent Contractor)

About Pharo Foundation

Pharo Foundation seeks to engage an independent Compensation & Benefits (C&B) consultant to perform a swift, impartial, and market-benchmarked evaluation of all employee benefits across its operating regions. The consultant will provide recommendations for a new global benefits framework, organized by role tier, to be implemented starting January 2027.

Scope of Work (SoW)

The consultant’s scope will cover four workstreams as follows:

1. Job Grading and Job Families (Tiers) Architecture

• Review and validate Pharo's existing job grading structure across all geographies.
• Propose a tiered benefits architecture of 3–5 bands aligned to role and compensation level.
• Benchmark against comparable international development organisations and private sector employers operating in the same markets.

2. Medical Insurance

• Assess adequacy of current medical cover by country; identify gaps against market norms.
• Evaluate insurance market options per country, including group schemes and third-party administrator (TPA) models (e.g. Independent Fund models).
• Recommend a hybrid or fully insured structure that mitigates provider overcharging risk in lower-capacity markets.
• Advise on minimum cover standards by tier (inpatient, outpatient, maternity, dental, optical).

3. Pension & Retirement

• Review employer contribution rates by country against local market benchmarks.
• Model the cost-to-organisation of implementing employer contributions in non-mandated geographies.
• Advise on scheme structure, vesting, and portability across borders where relevant.

4. Allowances and Other Benefits

• Review current allowances (telephone, travel, school fees) by country and grade.
• Identify rationalisation opportunities and misalignments with market practice.
• Recommend a consolidated allowances policy by tier.

Deliverables

• Inception Note confirming methodology, data requirements, and work plan – within 5 days of engagement start.
• Market Benchmarking Report (medical, pension, compensation, and allowances) by country – Week 3.
• Draft Tiered Benefits Framework with tiered band structure and costed options – Week 4.
• Final Report with recommended global benefits policy, implementation roadmap, and budget estimates – by end of August 2026.
• Presentation to Talent & Compensation Committee – September 2026.

Qualifications (Ideal Candidate)

The ideal consultant should possess:

• Strong professional background in compensation and benefits management practice and methodology assessment, with a track record of successful implementation of similar assignments.
• Proven experience developing compensation and benefits frameworks.
• Demonstrated experience facilitating similar assignments in the past 5–7 years.
• Familiarity with HR practices aligned to compensation and benefits management within the context of international, multisectoral organisations.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, communication, and organisational skills.
• Understanding of African labour market and legislative contexts is an added advantage.
• Ability to work collaboratively with the client to deliver the assignment in a professional and timely manner.

Engagement Details

This is an independent consultancy engagement. The timeline is defined by the deliverables above, with the final report due by end of August 2026 and a presentation in September 2026. Implementation of the new framework is planned for January 2027.