TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR)
ForAfrika is a pan African and International, non-governmental organisation with a globally based leadership structure and predominantly Africa based operational staff. The organisation has identified the need to undertake a comprehensive review of executive-level remuneration and benefits, as well as the overall structure used to benchmark and set non-executive staff remuneration.
We are looking to create executive benchmarks that fully reflect ForAfrika’s operating model, aligned to strategy and the global labour markets in which its executives are recruited from and positioned in. In light of organisational growth, evolving humanitarian, and development sector, increasing complexity, and ongoing focus on internal equity and retention, a thorough review of the current process used, benchmarking data sources and market relevant benchmarking exercise is required.
ForAfrika therefore seeks to appoint a suitably experienced external consultant to conduct an independent executive salary and benefits policy, process and benchmarking review, grounded in the international NGO and humanitarian sector.
2. Purpose of the Review
The purpose of this assignment is to provide ForAfrika with robust, defensible, and market-relevant system, data sources, and evidence to support executive remuneration decision-making.
The review will establish credible NGO-aligned benchmarks for executive pay on a Cost to Company (including all benefits) basis, assess ForAfrika’s current positioning relative to the market, and provide practical recommendations that are consistent with the organisation’s remuneration philosophy, complexity, and geographic footprint. values, and financial sustainability
3. Objectives
The specific objectives of the review are to:
- Benchmark executive roles against comparable international NGOs with similar scale, geographic footprint, and programme complexity.
- Assess the competitiveness and internal coherence of current executive remuneration across base salary, total cost to company, incentives, and benefits.
- Consider geographic differentiation for global roles, Africa‑based executives, and any internationally contracted positions (where applicable).
- Identify remuneration‑related risks, including retention risk, market misalignment, or pay compression.
- Provide clear, prioritised, and evidence‑based recommendations
4. Scope of Work
The review will cover all executive-level roles within ForAfrika’s Global Leadership structure. The benchmarking exercise will focus exclusively on executive remuneration and benefits and will not extend to broader staff grading or job evaluation outside the executive cohort. The scope will however include a review of the policy, process and current benchmarking data/tools used for non-executive staff benchmarking, while not looking at any benchmarking of specific positions.
The scope will include current remuneration structures and benefits in place at the time of the review, with an alignment to a median (50th percentile) market positioning philosophy.
5. Methodology
The appointed consultant will be expected to apply a rigorous and transparent methodology appropriate to the NGO and humanitarian sector. This will include the use of NGO‑specific relevant benchmarking data sources, rather than general corporate surveys.
Executive roles will be appropriately matched to benchmark roles, taking account of organisational size of approximately US$ 60 – 100 M, reporting lines, budgetary responsibility, team leadership scope, operational complexity, and geographic context.
Benchmarking outputs should reflect multiple market percentiles (where data allows) and clearly articulate ForAfrika’s relative market position.
In addition to salary benchmarking, the assignment will include a high-level review of executive benefits and allowances commonly offered within the NGO sector, highlighting prevailing best practices and areas of divergence.
6. Deliverables
The consultant will be expected to deliver a concise, Executive Benchmarking Report, which includes:
- A summary of methodology and data sources used.
- Market benchmarking results for each executive role.
- Analysis of ForAfrika’s current market positioning relative to its remuneration philosophy.
- Identification of key risks or inconsistencies.
- A review of the policy, process and current benchmarking data/tools used for non-executive staff benchmarking.
- Clear, practical recommendations, including any proposed adjustments or structural considerations.
7. Budget and Financial proposal
- To be determined based on proposals received
- Expected to align with external benchmarking consultancy rates
- Financial Proposal
- The consultant or consulting firm is expected to submit a detailed financial proposal outlining professional fees, disbursements, taxes, and any other associated costs.
- Proposed payment schedule linked to deliverables.
- Supporting Documentation
- Company registration documents (where applicable).
- Tax compliance certificate (where applicable).
- Curriculum Vitae (CVs) of key personnel assigned to the assignment.
- At least three (3) written client references or testimonials from comparable assignments.
8. Timelines
Provider identification & engagement- Weeks 1–2
Data collection & role matching- Weeks 2–4
Benchmarking analysis- Weeks 4–6
Draft report submission- Week 7
Final report – Week 8
9. Submission Requirements
Interested consultants or consulting firms should submit a proposal containing the following:
Technical Proposal
- A brief description of the consultant/firm, including relevant experience in executive remuneration, compensation and benefits benchmarking, and reward strategy reviews.
- A detailed methodology outlining the proposed approach, benchmarking process, data sources, and project plan.
- Details of benchmarking databases, surveys, or market intelligence sources that will be utilised, with particular emphasis on NGO, humanitarian, development, and international non-profit sector data.
- A proposed timeline for completion of the assignment.
- Identification of the lead consultant and any supporting team members, including their qualifications and relevant experience.
10. Relevant Experience
- A list of at least five (5) organisations for which similar executive remuneration, compensation, benefits, or salary benchmarking assignments have been completed within the last five years.
- For each assignment, provide:
- Organisation name
- Nature and scope of the assignment
- Year completed
- Contact person
- Position/title of contact person
- Email address and telephone number
The successful consultant should demonstrate:
- Extensive experience conducting executive compensation and benefits reviews for international NGOs, development agencies, foundations, or humanitarian organisations.
- Strong understanding of global reward frameworks, executive remuneration governance, and market positioning methodologies.
- Experience benchmarking executive roles across multiple geographic regions, including Africa and international markets.
- Access to reputable NGO-specific compensation databases and benchmarking resources.
- Independence and the ability to provide objective, evidence-based recommendations.
How to apply
Interested consultants or consulting firms are invited to submit both a Technical Proposal and a Financial Proposal in accordance with the requirements outlined in this Terms of Reference.
Proposals should be submitted electronically to recruitment@forafrika.org on or before Friday, 26th June 2026
The submission should include:
- Technical Proposal.
- Financial Proposal.
- Relevant experience and contactable references.
- Details of proposed benchmarking data sources.
- CV(s) of key personnel.
- Supporting company registration and tax compliance documentation (where applicable).
Late submissions will not be considered.
ForAfrika reserves the right not to appoint any consultant arising from this process and is not bound to accept the lowest-priced proposal. Only shortlisted consultants will be contacted
Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated using an internally defined criterion: