Request for Proposal - Compensation Study and Analysis

Project: Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is requesting proposals for consulting services to conduct a compensation study and analysis as described herein.

Start: On or around July 5, 2023

End: On or around November 1, 2023

Contact: Lloyd McIntosh, Director, Payroll, Benefits & Employee Wellness, lmcintosh@aiusa.org

(212) 633-4173

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA OVERVIEW

Amnesty International is the world’s largest grassroots human rights organization. Founded in 1961, we are a growing global movement protecting human rights for all people. Amnesty is ten million members and supporters strong, affiliated with seventy national sections in all regions of the world. In addition, the movement is guided by the International Secretariat (IS) and its Board of Directors.

AIUSA is the global organization’s presence in the United States. We are a 501c(3) generating close to $60M in revenues, employing over 100 staff, containing around 550 local and student groups, and have more than a million members and activists in all 50 states who we consider as part of the larger global movement . We engage people in the U.S. to fight injustice all around the world. We also work to defend and advance human rights here in the U.S. We are a democratically governed grassroots membership organization, which means that our members vote on key policy and governance issues (“resolutions”) and annually elect our Board of Directors.

AIUSA takes no position for or against any political ideology, party, candidate, or official – and we do not speak to whether any political system, like democracy, is better than another. Our sole purpose is the promotion and defense of freedom, equality, justice, dignity, and human rights worldwide.

STATEMENT OF WORK

AIUSA is seeking to partner with a consulting firm to revamp our current compensation strategies. Amnesty is deeply committed to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility (IDEA) and we want to ensure that those principles are integrated into the framework of our compensation practices. The last update to our salary structure was done in the Spring of 2014. Many of the positions evaluated at that time have been reviewed and updated when necessary. Some new positions have been created and have been incorporated into the structure. Other positions have been eliminated. Since the salary structure was last updated, inequities and salary compression have developed, and the criteria and weighting of various factors of the structure need to be updated. AIUSA has approximately 130 full-time staff members, almost half of which are covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement. All our employees either work fully remotely or have a hybrid work schedule.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the Compensation Study and Analysis is to address changes in AIUSA’s operations and staffing over the nine years, which may have affected the type, scope, and level of work being performed.

AIUSA’s objectives are to:

1.    Attract and retain qualified employees;

2.    Ensure positions performing similar work with essentially the same level of complexity, responsibility, and knowledge, skills, and abilities are classified together;

3.    Provide salaries commensurate with assigned duties;

4.    Clearly outline promotional opportunities and provide recognizable compensation growth;

5.    Provide justifiable pay differential between individual classes; and

6.    Maintain a competitive position with other comparable non-profit employers.

All work will be done with regular involvement of the Executive Team (department heads) and members of the People & Culture (PCC) Unit. Unit managers and other key staff may be involved as necessary. Regular presentations and meetings with these individuals or groups, incorporating their input into the process, are expected. Presentation to the Executive Team upon completion of the project is also expected.

SCOPE OF SERVICES

1.   Provide for a comprehensive evaluation of every job within AIUSA to determine relative value within the organization for internal equity and for the establishment of updated pay ranges and new step progressions within the ranges.

2.   Review all current job classifications, confirm, and recommend changes to hierarchical order of jobs using an equity-based evaluation system.

3.   Establish appropriate benchmarking standards and conduct/utilize external market salary surveys as needed for similar positions with comparable sectors and/or organizations.

4.   Identify potential pay compression issues and provide potential solutions.

5.   Analyze and recommend changes to the present compensation structure to meet market and equity analysis. This recommendation should include recommendations for individual positions, if needed.

INFORMATION MEETINGS

1.   At the onset of the engagement, Consultant will meet with the Executive Team to discuss the process and tasks to be performed in the study, to include reasonable dedication of key staff.

2.   Consultant to meet with People Leaders to explain study and process to be used.

3.   Towards the end of the engagement, Consultant will meet with the Executive Team to discuss the findings and implementation recommendations.

CLASSIFICATION STUDY

1.   Consultant to review current classification grade methodology and propose recommended strategies for AIUSA.

2.   Consultant to conduct interviews and/or job audits as appropriate. Interviews and/or job audits may be conducted individually or in groups based upon classification.

3.   Consultant to update job descriptions to uniformly reflect the distinguishing characteristics, essential job functions, minimum qualifications (education/experience and knowledge/skills/abilities), working conditions (physical demands, work environment, and travel requirements), and certification/licenses/registrations requirements for classification as needed. The job description update work will include a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) analysis for each position and determine exempt or non-exempt status.

4.   Consultant to finalize class specifications and recommend appropriate classification for each employee, including correction of identified discrepancies between existing and proposed classifications.

5.   Consultant to identify potential career ladders within the upgraded career levels.

6.   Consultant to submit recommendations for appropriate implementation measures for AIUSA.

7.   Consultant to provide recommendations for a maintenance process that AIUSA will use to keep the classification system current and equitable. The classification system should be provided in an electronic medium. Maintenance system should include annual activities, as well as the process AIUSA would use in the review of the classification of future jobs.

8.   Consultant to conduct a comprehensive training program for AIUSA to ensure that the staff can explain and administer the new system in the future. The training program should be clearly spread out in the proposal.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS STUDY

1.   Consultant to work with the Executive Team on determining AIUSA’s compensation philosophy and market position.

2.   Consultant to conduct a comprehensive compensation and benefits survey.

3.   Consultant to recommend appropriate salary range for each position based on the updated classification plan, the compensation survey results, and internal equity. Prepare a new salary structure and career level guide accordingly.

4.   Consultant to develop starting salary guidelines for new employees based on the new salary structure, equity, and relevant external market influences.

5.   Consultant to recommend implementation strategies including calculating the cost of implementing the plan.

6.   Consultant to identify any internal inequities based on the updated salary structure and recommend a course of action.

7.   Consultant to make recommendations and to provide implementation strategies related to other key compensation practices, based on market demands and equity, which may include pay for performance, skill pay, certification pay, promotional pay, and acting assignment pay.

8.   Consultant to provide recommendations for the ongoing internal administration and maintenance of the proposed compensation plan, to include recommendations on the frequency of future market surveys.

9.   Consultant to conduct a pay compression analysis to include any recommendations for implementation.

10. Consultant to conduct a comprehensive training program for AIUSA to ensure that the staff can explain and administer the new system in the future. The training program should be clearly spelled out in the proposal.

AIUSA RESOURCES

AIUSA will provide copies of all pay ranges, job descriptions, collective bargaining agreement, and any other available in-house information requested by the selected consultant that may be required to complete the study.

VALUES AND KEY PRINCIPLES

AIUSA has identified values that guide our work and who we are as part of the global Amnesty International movement. This conversation is ongoing but for the purposes of the RFP, we would like to highlight two values that are critically important in identifying our consultant partner.

·      IDEA and Anti-Racism – We are currently working on embedding inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) and anti-racist principles into everything that we do. We recognize the critical connection between IDEA and the universality of human rights. The process should incorporate ways of listening and respecting all voices, but particularly centering the voices that have historically been excluded and/or marginalized within the organization.

·      Innovation – We recognize that for Amnesty to remain a leading light in the human rights movement, we must think and do differently. We can honor our history while testing bold and new ways of meeting the human rights challenges of our time. Externally, this can mean strategic partnership development, coalition building, leveraging technology and creative organizing tactics with trusted partners. Internally, it means building a culture of learning and data driven decision making. It means being willing to detach from old practices that no longer serve and being open to solutions from wherever they emerge. It means being willing to learn and adapt to a new reality of constant change.

RFP REQUIREMENTS AND TIMELINES

AIUSA believes in a true and honest partnership with our external agencies. We know many (but potentially not all) of our strengths, our pitfalls, and our opportunities – and if our work were to move forward together, we expect an honest assessment of our current pay practices, a realistic approach to developing the salary structure to reach our goals, and a vision for how the total rewards strategy should evolve.

Prospective consultants are asked to submit a proposal that includes the following:

·      Evidence of the consultant’s qualifications to provide the above services;

·      Statement of methods and procedures describing the scope of work as you understand it.

·      Provide a synopsis prepared for executive team review, covering the significant features of the proposal including overall costs and term of work

·      Provide a detailed breakdown and description of the specific steps, services, and study products that will be provided. Describe how the final product will be structured and presented upon completion. Include any computer/software compatibility information. Consultants may elect to include in the section any innovative methods or concepts that might be beneficial to AIUSA as long as the minimum requirements set out in this RFP are met.

·      Provide a timeline indicating tasks required and the start and completion dates for each. It is expected that the work will commence as soon as possible after the contract is awarded.

·      Provide a total cost estimate, including any required travel expenses, and “not to exceed” amount for the work described in scope of work; a rate schedule for computing any extra work not specified in the contracted scope of work.

·      References and contact information from at least two comparable nonprofit clients.

All candidates for this RFP should sign a confidentiality and non-disclosure document. Any information supplied in connection with the preparation of a proposal is confidential and must not be disclosed, reproduced, or used in any way, except for the sole purpose of responding to this RFP.

SUBMISSION DEADLINES

May 19, 2023 - Confirm intent to submit proposal

May 26, 2023 - Proposals due

June 7, 2023 - Finalists notified

June 12 – 16, 2023 - Virtual interviews June 23, 2023 - Final decision shared July 5, 2023 - Work kicks off

Proposals (and any questions about the RFP) should be submitted to Lloyd McIntosh, Director, Payroll, Benefits & Employee Wellness, lmcintosh@aiusa.org.

PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

AIUSA will evaluate all proposals according to the following criteria:

·      Approach: The quality, thoroughness, approach and methodology to conduct the project.

·      Fee Structure: The competitive cost of the proposal.

·      Experience: The experience of the agency and staff assigned in performing similar projects.

·      Schedule: The detail and overall duration of the proposed schedule to complete the project on or before the date.

Thank you for your interest in partnering with Amnesty International USA!