Georgetown University: School of Foreign Service in Qatar

Please click on a link below for more information on each subject.  If you would like to see current employment opportunities with SFS-Qatar, please visit the employment page.    If you would like immediate assistance with an HR or Payroll-related issue, please refer to this guide for the appropriate contact person.

• Newly Hired Employees
• Payroll
• Benefits
• Employee IDs and Vehicle Permits
• Reimbursements
• Leave
• Holidays
• Hiring Process (For Managers)
• SFS-Qatar Employee Contact List
• Current Employment Opportunities 
• Living in Doha
• Employee Access+  (click here to access the User Guide)

Newly Hired Employees

A checklist is available for new employees to assist with their transition to Doha.  In addition to the checklist, new employees should pick up a copy of the New Employee Guide from the SFS-Qatar Human Resources Office.

Payroll

Full-time employees at SFS-Qatar are paid monthly by direct deposit.  However, depending on when you submit your direct deposit application, your first paycheck may have to be in the form of a check.  For this reason, we encourage employees to submit their direct deposit application as soon as possible.

For employees coming from the United States: If you plan to have any or all of your salary transferred stateside, you must complete and submit a direct deposit application to the Ivan Gray in the Finance Department.  If you would also like to have a portion of your salary deposited into a local bank account in Qatar, you may do so by submitting a local payroll deduction form to Ivan Gray.

For all employees not coming from the United States: You must submit a local payroll deduction form to Ivan Gray in the Finance Department to have your paycheck deposited into a local bank.

If you open a bank account in Doha, paychecks will be issued in Qatari Riyals instead of U.S. Dollars.  Payment is made at a fixed exchange rate of 3.65 Riyals to 1 U.S. Dollar.

Benefits

All full time employees of Georgetown University receive a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Medical Insurance (100% employer funded premiums)
• Dental Insurance
• Georgetown Provided Fully Furnished Accomodations or a Housing Allowance
• Annual Home Leave Allowance (to cover home leave airfare expenses for the employee and any dependents that have relocated)
• Monthly Transportation Allowance (to cover the cost of commuting within Doha)
• Educational Reimbursement for dependent children under age 18
• Employee Assistance Program benefits
• Leave and holidays

Learn more about your benefits and allowances: Package A | Package B

If you have any questions related to your benefits, please contact Matt Tweito in the Human Resources Department.   Questions regarding applying for Educational Assistance should be directed to David Phongsavan.

Learn more about education in Doha.

Employee IDs and Vehicle Permits

After arrival in Doha, you will need to obtain the following cards:

Employee ID cards are necessary for accessing the LAS building, where SFS-Qatar is located.  The SFS-Qatar Human Resouces Office will assist you in obtaining an Employee ID card.  Please contact Hussein Aldobashi for assistance.

Vehicle permits are required both for accessing the Education City campus and for parking in the underground parking lot beneath the LAS building.  To obtain a vehicle permit, please complete a vehicle permit request form and submit to Saeed Mohamed  in the SFS-Qatar Human Resources Office.

Hamad Medical Cards are necessary for seeking care through the State of Qatar public medical system.  To acquire a card, please complete a Hamad Medical Card application and submit it to Matt Tweito in the SFS-Qatar Human Resources Office.   Please note:  you must first have received your residence permit before you may apply for a card.

Qatar ID Cards will be issued to you upon your completion of your residence permit.   Each of your dependents 14 and over will also receive an ID card, which is valid for the length of your residence permit.  Hussein Aldobashi in SFS-Q Human Resources will assist you in obtaining your residence permit, and will also process your Qatar ID renewal. 

Learn about other IDs.

Reimbursements

Typically, your reimbursable expenses will fall into one of two categories:

• Employee Compensation
• Business

The following are examples of allowable employee compensation reimbursements and should be submitted to Ivan Gray in the SFS-Qatar Finance Department:

• Excess Baggage
• Home Country Maintenance
• Loss on Sale of Vehicle and/or Contract Cancellation

For employee compensation reimbursements, please use GU-Q Employee Reimbursement Form Employee Compensation Package Form.

The following are examples of allowable business reimbursements and should be submitted to Aimee Unger in the Finance Department:

• Mobile Phone Purchase
• Business Travel Expenses (e.g. airfare, cab fare)
• Meals

For business reimbursements, please use GU-Q Employee Business Reimbursement Form.  Please note that all business reimbursements are subject to review.

Leave

Georgetown University grants to eligible employees paid leave for rest and recreation; personal reasons; health maintenance; illness, injury or disability religious observances; or emergencies.

All employees (staff and AAP's) who take paid leave must submit a leave request form, approved by their supervisor, to Ivan Gray in the Finance Department.

Leave Policy for Package A | Package B (NetID-protected).

Holidays 

SFS-Qatar Holidays 2008-2009

Eid Al Fitr - 30 Sept - 2 Oct 2008 – 3 days (Tuesday)
Thanksgiving - 27 Nov 2008 – Thursday 
Eid Al Adha - 8 Dec 2008 – 3 days (Monday)
Qatar National Day - 18 Dec 2008 - Thursday 
Christmas Eve - 24 Dec 2008 – Wednesday
Christmas Day - 25 Dec 2008 – Thursday
New Year's Eve - 31 Dec 2008 - Wednesday 
New Year’s Day - 1 Jan 2009 – Thursday
Easter Sunday - 12 April 2009 - Sunday

SFS-Qatar Holidays 2009-2010 

Eid Al Fitr* - 20 Sept – 22 Sept 2009 – 3 days (Sunday)
Thanksgiving - 26 Nov 2009 – Thursday
Eid Al Adha* - 28 Nov – 30 Nov 2009 – 3 days (Saturday)
Qatar National Day** - 18 Dec 2009 - Friday (SFS-Q will be closed Sunday, Dec 20th)
Christmas Eve - 24 Dec 2009 – Thursday
Christmas Day** - 25 Dec 2009 – Friday (SFS-Q will be closed Wednesday, Dec 23rd)
New Year's Eve - 31 Dec 2009 - Thursday
New Year’s Day** - 1 Jan 2010 – Friday (SFS-Q will be closed Sunday, Jan 3rd)
Easter Sunday - 4 April 2010 – Sunday

*At this stage, we are unable to determine the exact timing of the Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha holiday for 2009, as it is determined by the lunar calendar. Therefore, we will communicate the timing of the holidays once it has been determined by the appropriate Qatari authorities. Please note that our communication will occur just prior to the holidays taking place.

**As these holidays fall on weekends, SFS-Qatar will instead be closed on the dates in parentheses.

SFS-Qatar Contact List

Human Resources maintains a contact list of every employee and department, updated monthly and available for download below.  If you find an error, please submit this form to Hadeel Salameh.  You do not need to complete the entire form if you are just making one change.

SFS-Qatar Contact List  (updated October 4, 2009) 

• Vision and Mission
• Prospective Employees
• Obtaining Residency
• Working at SFS-Qatar
• GU Wellness
• Benefits: Package A | Package B | Special Employees
• Living in Doha
• Policies
• Forms
• Employee Access+
• Safety and Security