Pay and Reward Strategy

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is soliciting a specialist reward consultancy to conduct a comprehensive review and develop a future pay and reward strategy for all pay grades below the Senior Civil Service. The primary objective is to establish an equitable, consistent, and externally competitive strategy that supports recruitment and retention while addressing pay compression risks associated with changes to the National Minimum Wage, National Living Wage, and London Living Wage. The project will be executed in four phases: research and diagnostics, pay and reward benchmarking, design and communication (including financial modelling and a reusable pay-modelling tool), and implementation support, concluding with a lessons learnt review. All work must comply with the annual Cabinet Office Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance. The contract is a fixed-fee arrangement with a budget ranging from £45,000 to £55,000, excluding VAT. Payments are structured as 20% of total charges upon the completion of each milestone. Award decisions will be based on the most advantageous tender, evaluated through a weighted combination of experience and technical criteria, including methodology, stakeholder engagement, and project management. Bidders must hold Cyber Essentials Plus or ISO27000 certification and adhere to Cabinet Office protective marking guidelines. The submission deadline is December 3, 2026, and the project is managed by a Senior Responsible Owner overseeing a Project Board.