New staff groups

In order to reduce disparities in pay and benefits among staff in the same role, while also recognizing the value of mobility and international experience, MSF will eventually move to a model with two staff groups.  This will replace the three staff groups currently used to determine pay: Locally Hired Staff, HQ Staff, and Internationally Mobile Staff.  

MSF will transition from the current practice to the new model that consists of these two groups:  

COUNTRY-BASED POSITIONS: These positions are filled by staff recruited locally, or relocating from another country.  They involve working in a single context for an extended period (over 12 months) in sectoins, entities, hubs and programmes. 

MOBILE POSITIONS: These are programme positions held by staff coming from abroad, with a maximum duration of 12 months. 

The new staff groups are designed to align with the strategic directions set by the ExCom. These directions include:

• Ensuring that the staff groups are based on positions rather than individuals.
• Recognizing and rewarding international mobility and enabling the formation of diverse teams.
• Reducing existing disparities in rewards among staff groups, with the aim of moving towards  "same job same salary".
• Encouraging individuals to develop and move between staff group to extend their career with MSF.    

A staff group model determines the reasons why certain staff members may be paid using different salary grids and why some staff members may receive additional benefits beyond the core benefits given to all staff.   These changes aim to create a rewards system that promotes more equity, transparency, and consistency. By doing so, MSF will be better equipped to support a diverse workforce with the necessary skills to address both current operational needs and future humanitarian challenges.

How will existing staff be distributed?  

Based on the latest data available on the MSF global workforce (2022) – MSF staff would likely be distributed in the new staff groups as demonstrated in the image below.

Projected staff distribution in new staff groups. FTE = Full Time Equivalent

The outcomes of new staff groups:  

This change will result in the following over time:

• Elimination of salary discrepancies for individuals performing the same job in the same location, with specific time-limited allowances to support staff who are relocating.
• Development of a single Mobile salary grid for all mobile staff, regardless of their origin, replacing the current system where salaries are tied to domicile.
• Integration of the per diem currently paid to internationally mobile staff into their salary, reducing perceived inequities in benefits among different staff groups.
• Additional information can also be found in updates related to Pay Policy. 

These changes will be implemented gradually as there are various details that need further development and analysis to ensure their feasibility and intended impact. Please continue to visit this site or contact your entity's HR team for updates on the progress.

How the new staff groups were developed

In October 2022 the Full ExCom requested that an extensive risk analysis be conducted to effectively understand the operational, organizational, and financial impacts of the proposed new model. This risk analysis was conducted between December 2022 and March 2023, and the full analysis was presented back to the Full ExCom in April 2023.  

The risk analysis showed that the proposed model has the capacity to tackle many of the problems identified and contribute to operational priorities, although it also showed that – within MSF – opinions are somewhat polarized, with some considering the proposal is too conservative and some thinking that it is too radical in the change it proposes.