Ontario RAP Centres Compensation Review

Ontario RAP Centres Compensation Review
Kingston Employment & Youth Services Inc. (aka KEYS Employment & Newcomer Services), on behalf of the network of Ontario RAP Centres, is soliciting proposals for the supply of professional consulting services to conduct a comprehensive compensation review of RAP Programs in Ontario.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Resettlement Assistance Programs in Ontario
2. Purpose of Project
3. Deliverables
4. Timeline
5. Budget
6. Instructions to proponents

RESETTLEMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS (RAP) IN ONTARIO
The Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) is a federally funded initiative to support Government-Assisted Refugees to settle and integrate into Canada. Through the RAP program, eligible newcomers receive up to 1 year of income support directly from the federal government and get support in the form of immediate essential services provided by Service Provider Organizations, i.e. RAP SPOs. Services under the RAP program are focused on the immediate and essential, temporary, needs of GARs, typically for 4-12 weeks.

RAP services include:
• Welcoming: meeting newcomers at the airport or destination in Canada.
• Housing assistance: provision of temporary accommodations and hands-on assistance for finding permanent accommodation.
• Bare necessities: provision of meals or means to prepare meals while in temporary accommodation and ensuring that refugees have access to essential items such as clothing, furniture, and household items.
• Orientation and Information: providing information on healthcare, education, employment opportunities, language training, life in Canada, and other essential services and making supported referrals to settlement and community services.
• Accompaniment & Linkages to essential services: accompanying and guiding eligible newcomers to connect with government programs, i.e. Canada Child Benefit, OHIP, Social Insurance
Numbers, etc. and other essential services, i.e. walk-in clinics, school registration, bank account opening, etc.
• Assistance in urgent situations: providing interpretation support and guidance for urgent medical situations, etc.

Extensive details of the RAP program and responsibilities of RAP service providers are outlined in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s RAP Service Provider Handbook.

As the largest province in Canada, Ontario receives the largest share of immigrants and refugees, including Government-Assisted Refugees each year. Fifteen (15) centres in Ontario welcome and serve Government Assisted Refugees (GARs) through this program, in the following communities: Brampton, Chatham, Cornwall, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener, Leamington, London, Mississauga, Ottawa, Peterborough, Sault Ste Marie, Thunder Bay, Toronto, and Windsor. Each site serves between 100 and over 1000 Government Assisted Refugees each year.

PURPOSE OF PROJECT
The intent of this project is to support RAP SPOs in getting a full picture of compensation within our sector, to support decent work within our sector, decision-making in relation to staff compensation and negotiation/advocacy with funders.

DELIVERABLES
We are looking for a consultant to conduct a Compensation Review of the RAP sector in Ontario. We expect the research phase to include:
- identifying about 25 RAP job titles and checking associated job descriptions for consistency
- a detailed online salary and benefits survey
- conducting key informant interviews or focus groups with internal stakeholders from RAP SPOs, including Board of Directors, leadership staff and frontline staff, and external stakeholders (partners and/or clients/participants) as required.
The expected deliverable is a Comprehensive RAP Ontario Total Compensation Report which includes information about:
- base wages/salaries
- leave entitlements
- extended benefits (e.g., medical, dental, life insurance, etc.), including cost of benefits to agencies
- RRSP/pension options
- averages and weighted averages

In addition to a full picture of compensation within RAP agencies Ontario, the report should include recommendations based on a comparison with non-RAP organizations, such as select provincial, municipal and non-profit service providers, cost of living analysis, and based on the principles of decent work.

Additional required deliverables include a virtual presentation in a meeting with all RAP centres and the raw data from the salary survey.

TIMELINE
The Compensation Review will begin by the end of August 2024. All deliverables must be completed by November 1st, 2024. Proposals will be accepted until August 19th, 2024.

BUDGET
The contract for the compensation study has a defined budget which cannot be exceeded. The fee proposal must include services, all incidentals including travel costs and HST. The request for proposal may be up to a maximum of $20,000.