Requisition ID: req59275 Job Title: Senior Compensation and Benefits Officer Sector: Human Resources Employment Category: Regular Employment Type: Full-Time Open to Expatriates: No Location: Al-Raqqa, Syria Work Arrangement:In-person Job Description Background/Context: The IRC has operated in Syria since 2012, providing protection, health, economic recovery, and early childhood development programs in Idleb, Aleppo, Ar-Raqqa, Hassakeh, and Deir ez-Zor, with new programs expanding into Hama, rural Damascus, and Homs. With a team of over 750 members, the IRC has established trust and strong community relationships, ensuring access and effective service delivery. It plays a significant role in Syria’s NGO, donor, and coordination forums, holding key positions and adapting to the evolving context. With the new realities under the new government, as of December 2024, the IRC has deployed a team to Damascus to set up operations and engage in coordination structures for newly accessible areas across Syria—including parts of NES, NWS, and other previously unreachable locations in South and Central Syria, adjusting operations to maximize coverage and efficiency. Job overview: Under the supervision of the HR Director, the Senior Compensation and Benefits Officer supports the design, implementation, and administration of compensation and benefits processes, policies, and procedures across the Syria Country Program. This role contributes to ensuring that compensation practices across all geographical locations remain equitable, compliant, and aligned with internal frameworks and sector benchmarks. The Senior Compensation & Benefits Officer compiles data for salary and benefits reviews and provides support in implementing structural and policy changes in coordination with relevant stakeholders. Responsibilities: + Receives and implements guidelines on current market practices and trends to ensure compensation policies, procedures, and practices are externally market competitive. + Ensures country salary structure reviews are conducted following IRC’s compensation guidelines and methodology. + Under the supervision of the Human Resources Director, ensures compliance with all applicable local regulations and laws related to IRC’s compensation practices. Interprets and implements financial regulations according to geographical differences in applicable IRC. + Gives operational support to the country program job analyses and evaluations to determine appropriate salary bands and compensation levels. Updates annual salary band structure according to the organization’s needs, internal equity, and external market developments. + Develops and maintains a tracking system to analyze metrics to ensure effective pay decisions and pay practices. + Ensures an up-to-date and accurate record management system is in place and that staff files (both electronic and physical) are updated and compliant. + Finalizes exit clearance and prepares final settlement following the IRC national handbook for all employees and releases the final settlement in a timely manner with the liaison of the finance department. + Provides direct support to HRD and HR Partners on staff communication relating to benefits and compensation to ensure clear, consistent, and transparent communication. + Leads in drafting, updating, and implementing compensation and benefits policies in alignment with IRC global frameworks and local labor law changes. + Coordinates participation in annual or biannual salary and benefits market surveys; analyzes results and recommends adjustments to maintain competitiveness. Compensation & Benefits Management: + Supports staff as a focal point contact to receive staff concerns about their compensation and benefit. + Ensures compliance with IRC Policies & local labor laws and social security regulation. + Prepares IRC documentation to process the payments + Coordinates with banks and Finance to ensure timely and accurate salary distribution and payment through official channels. + Acts as the focal point for Social Security, ensuring timely registration, deregistration, and reporting for all relevant staff. + Coordinates with the Finance department for tax compliance and ensures timely preparation, submission, and reconciliation of tax-related reports. + Leads on health insurance administration and ensures smooth communication with service providers, Finance, and employees. + Provides support in managing salary distribution, health insurance premiums, and social security payments to ensure alignment with local law and IRC policy. + Conducts periodic internal audits of payroll, benefits, and statutory payments to ensure accuracy, compliance, and consistency. + Delivers structured orientation and periodic briefings to staff on compensation and benefits policies, ensuring employees are aware of entitlements and any policy changes. Payroll Management: + A dministers end-to-end national payroll administration, documentation, management, and reporting, ensuring all payroll timelines and deliverables are met for staff based in Syria. + Maintains and updates payroll records by accurately recording changes related to staff titles, locations, net wages, deductions, bonuses, resignations, and other relevant transactions, supporting timely payroll reconciliation. + Finalizes exit clearances from a financial perspective, prepares final payments in accordance with the IRC National Staff Handbook, and ensures prompt release of final settlements in coordination with the Finance Department. + Compiles the 13th-month salary report monthly, incorporating any unpaid leave or other adjustments affecting the calculation. + Develops and maintains the shared cost allocation base as a reference for cost distribution, ensuring it is updated regularly each month. + Updates the Expat Payroll Information Sheet monthly, sharing it with the People & Culture Director along with all required supporting documentation in a timely manner. + Generates accurate monthly salary slips and ensures clean processing of all payroll data. + Prepares and reconciles the annual tax report against payroll records, ensuring timely submission and monthly updates + Oversees the tax deduction process, ensuring alignment with applicable legislation and proper reflection in payroll records. + Acts as the focal point for all matters related to taxes and liaises with the relevant authorities as needed. Benefits Management: + Processes and administers all local benefits + Enrollment and deregistration from the benefits + Processes all employee additions and deletions in a timely manner, ensuring accurate and prompt updates to relevant systems and records + Prepares a tracker sheet to record all changes related to benefits (e.g., life insurance) and maintains updated records on a weekly basis. + Ensures all payments are done on time and accurately. + Life Insurance: prepares a monthly report with respect to insured member cost and sends it to the finance team to book the incurred cost. + Provides guidance and follow-up on staff care services, ensuring staff have access to resources that support their physical and mental well-being. + Ensures compliance with IRC Duty of Care (DoC) standards, and proactively identifies staff welfare risks. + Supports safeguarding mechanisms by ensuring benefits and compensation systems are inclusive, protective, and appropriately designed for all staff. Data Management and Analysis: + Acts as a Technical lead for the HRIS system, ensuring all data is accurate and up to date, the HR team is trained and supported in the implementation of the HRIS, liaison between the team and HRIS support for troubleshooting and improvement. + Manages personnel access within the HRIS and offers support and guidance as needed. + Updates HR Dashboards + Prepares HR Analytics Reports: under the supervision of the People & Culture Director, prepare and build different report analyses, such as but not limited to: o Employees' cost to the company, “CTC”, monthly. o Monthly payroll analysis and prepare changes in the monthly cost. o Tax monthly analysis. o Supporting the recruitment team with salary analysis for new hires and internal mobility. o Employee leaves reconciliations. o Provides regular risk management input into compensation and benefits practices, identifying gaps or vulnerabilities and working to close them. General / Cross-cutting: + Coordinates and supports expat contract preparation and management, including liaising for work permits, visa processes, and other legal requirements. + Serves as the focal point for engagement with governmental authorities such as the Ministry of Labor, Social Security Department, Tax Department, and other official entities. + Ensures compliance with safeguarding (SG) policies in all compensation and benefits operations. + Lead the management of compensation and benefits programs for expatriate employees, ensuring full compliance with local and international regulations, and promptly addressing all employee requests and inquiries related to compensation and benefits. Job Requirements: Education & Work Experience: + 4 years of solid experience in handling payrolls and Human Resource Information systems, general knowledge of HR functions, with shown focus on compensation and benefits. + A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field would be advantageous or equivalent experience in a relevant field Demonstrated Skills and Competencies: + A commitment to IRC’s mission, vision, values, and IRC Way – Professional Code of Conduct. + Very strong proficiency in MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint is required + Credible written, presentation, and verbal communication skills; ability to convey information effectively and solid experience providing training and staff development + Validated sense of professional discretion, integrity, and ability to handle complex situations diplomatically and to achieve effective resolution. + Analytical ability in creating effective solutions to complex matters while adhering to labor laws and internal policies. + Attention to details. + Ability to meet deadlines and flexibility in working under pressure. + Ability to create a welcoming and comfortable environment for all staff members. + Ability to work both independently and as part of a team. Able to respond rapidly to changing environments yet remain productive and focused. + Curiosity, a desire to continually learn and develop, and a sense of humor are a must. Language/Travel: + Professional fluency in spoken and written Arabic and English are required. + Travel: 50 % Key Working Relationships: + Position Reports to: Syria HR Director + Position directly supervises : N/A + Indirect Reporting: N/A + Key Internal Contacts: HR Managers, Global Compensation & Benefits Team, Regional HR Coordinator + Key External Contacts: Legal Authorities and HR Services Providers