Management Response

: Jordan
: 2024 - 2025 , Jordan (CO)
: Evaluation of Resilience and Empowerment of Vulnerable Women: The Future of Jordan’s Growth and Stability (EUTF Madad Phase 2)
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: Jordan
:

UN Women Jordan acknowledges the comprehensive evaluation of the Madad programme and appreciates the valuable recommendations provided. The evaluation has highlighted critical areas for improvement and has guided the development of strategic actions to enhance the programme's effectiveness and sustainability. The programme will continue to integrate the recommendations from the General Framework for Gender Equality (GFGE) into its programming and ensuring the comprehensiveness of vulnerability indicators in both camps and host communities. Efforts will focus on enhancing long-term income generation for Syrian refugees, optimizing internal procedures, and engaging men and boys in promoting gender equality and GBV prevention. The programme will also establish mechanisms to ensure the inclusion of women with disabilities in decision-making processes and develop a comprehensive sustainability strategy for transitioning the Oasis model to government. While recent developments in Syria and new regulations in Jordan have impacted the feasibility of some recommendations, the programme will continue to advocate for policy reforms and collaborate with UN agencies and partners. The management is committed to implementing these actions and continuously improving the Oasis programme to achieve its goals of resilience and empowerment for vulnerable women in Jordan.
: Approved
Recommendation: In the upcoming phases, the programme should be informed about the required legislative changes from the General Framework for Gender Equality (GFGE) of Jordan recommendations and develop strategies for supporting their full implementation.
Management Response: JCO takes note of the recommendation and will continue taking into consideration the recommendations of General Framework for Gender Equality as they relate to the focus of the MADAD project and the Oasis programme to inform its programming, The JCO furthers supports the same objective throughout the rest of its programming in Jordan with additional institutional partners.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Alignment with strategy
Organizational Priorities: Normative Support
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Strengthen advocacy efforts with the MoSD for full implementation of GFGE legislative recommendations. JCO 2025/03 Completed UN Women is working closely with the Inter-Ministerial Committee and has deployed a legal expert to support its Legal Working group. The IMC has identified the legislative reforms priorities the government needs to introduce, which include many of the recommendations included in the GFGE. UN Women works with national and international partners through partnerships and experts and gender groups advocating to introduce legislative reforms aligned with GFGE recommendations.
Expand training and capacity building for government officials on GFGE recommendation implementation. JCO 2026/12 Initiated UN Women adopts an approach of institutional capacity development with government partners including MOSD. As part of its partnership with MOSD, UN Women provides periodical trainings for relevant MOSD staff members at the main office and governorates offices to ensure the sustainability of results achieved through UN Women and MOSD different interventions included under Oasis and other social policies areas included in the GFGE social trends including social protection and care services, and women’s economic empowerment targeting women in different vulnerable groups. UN Women provides regular training and capacity building for MoSD staff on gender equality and PSEA. Trainings will include monitoring with gender disaggregated data, coordinating with partners and on gender-responsive budgeting, in support of their national ownership of the Oasis programme. UN Women will conduct a workshop for MOSD on gender-responsive budgeting with the support from a GRB expert, to ensure that gender equality programming servicing the needs of vulnerable communities is integrated into national budget planning.
Support government partners to develop monitoring frameworks to track progress on GFGE legislative recommendations. JCO 2025/03 Completed This action was completed by end of 2024. In supporting the MOL with its first Gender Mainstreaming Policy and its Executive Plan, UN Women also supported the development of a Monitoring Framework to measure the progress towards the goals set by MOL to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment at the Ministry. The Monitoring Framework was integrated into the Ministerial monitoring framework. The Ministry included this priority under its ministerial priorities under EMV. UN Women will also continue to work closely with MoSD, as its strategic partner under the Oasis programme, to support MoSD’s development of a monitoring framework to track progress on gender equality recommendations and interventions.
Work with the private sector partners to promote adoption of gender-responsive policies based on GFGE recommendations. JCO 2026/12 Initiated This action has been initiated. UN Women JCO has close collaboration and partnership with its network of Women’s Empowerment Principles “WEPs” signatories, which consists of 195 private sector enterprises and business associations in Jordan, where they work together in implementing different interventions in the private sector to support the adoption of gender responsive institutional policies and practices in the private sector. These interventions are in alignment with GFGE recommendations including strengthening private sector role in fighting against discrimination through the provision of decent labour standards and increase women’s employment. In addition to capacity building and provision of knowledge products, UN Women collaborates with WEPs signatories in identifying job placements opportunities for Oasis graduates that provides decent work standards. These interventions are an integral part of its approach and interventions on women’s economic empowerment for development and humanitarian response. UN Women will build on this work and provide targeted capacity building to private sector companies through the WEPs network on promoting the adoption of gender-responsive policies.
Support government in implementing GFGE legislative recommendations addressing intersecting vulnerabilities like disability and refugee status. JCO 2026/12 Initiated Addressing intersecting vulnerabilities for women is high priority for UN Women work and it is reflected in the designing of programmes and implementation of its plans and interventions, and monitoring and evaluation. UN Women interventions and partnership with MOSD are in alignment with GFGE recommendation including addressing GBV, lack of access to training and education, and employment, marginalization and social exclusion. Starting with vulnerabilities of refugee status and women disabilities, UN Women address intersecting vulnerabilities those 2 groups face through its selection criteria for beneficiaries in-camp and host communities’ settings, interventions for market demand-based upskilling, access to formal employment opportunities and support their access to obtain work permits considering the limitations in non-Jordanians and refugees employment policies in Jordan, partnership with WEPs signatories. In addition, UN Women provides different interventions and capacity building on how to address gender-based violence and engage men and boys in promoting women’s value of work and civic engagement, addressing gender stereotypes. Women with disabilities are given the priority in the selection criteria for beneficiaries in the Oasis programme. This approach and these interventions are the basis that the periodical capacity building interventions UN Women conduct for MOSD staff is built on. UN Women will conduct a workshop for MOSD on gender-responsive budgeting with the support from a GRB expert, to ensure that gender equality programming servicing the needs of vulnerable communities is integrated into national budget planning.
Recommendation: The programme should focus on enhancing the comprehensiveness of vulnerability indicators in the Incentive-based volunteering (IBV) -SOP provided in the UNHCR’s vulnerability assessment framework (VAF).
Management Response: JCO takes note of the recommendation. UN Women Jordan has worked diligently and through partnerships with UNHCR and MoSD to ensure the comprehensiveness of the vulnerability indicators of IBVs, In camps, the vulnerability criteria is fully aligned with UNHCR’s SoPs and in host communities, the vulnerability criteria used is fully aligned with the government’s criteria for the National Aid Fund recipients, which was revised and developed in partnership with MoSD. To ensure that both vulnerability criteria for IBVs, in camps and host communities, are context specific, UN Women will conduct a thorough review of the current vulnerability indicators. In camps, this work has already been initiated by our implementing partner ACTED, which conducted a detailed needs assessment within both Za’atari and Azraq refugee camps. In host communities, UN Women will conduct a needs assessment of each host community center. The community feedback taken through both the ACTED assessment in camps and the UN Women assessment in host communities, will support the preparation of a context-specific targeting model, which will be pilot tested to ensure its effectiveness and relevance. Training will be provided to staff on the use of the updated vulnerability assessment framework.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: Humanitarian action
UNEG Criteria: Human Rights
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Conducting a thorough review of the current vulnerability indicators. JCO 2026/12 Initiated In close partnership with MoSD and UNHCR, UN Women has recently undergone a thorough review of the vulnerability indicators of the Oasis model to be more inclusive and addressing the gaps identified through the evaluation exercises. For host community Oasis model, a revision exercise was done in partnership with MoSD. Local Community Development Centres and main office staff were involved, UN Women ensured to promote a strong element of national ownership, alignment with national frameworks, and joint collaboration with MoSD, including through: 1) utilizing the National Aid Fund vulnerability criteria for cash assessment programmes to be used as a basis for Oasis’s IBV selection 2) continue to jointly conducting the selection process, 3) MoSD’s introduction of a budget line for the Oasis programme in MOSD budget with plans for funds allocations to cover the running cost of the centre 4) discussions for the introduction of blocked percentage of MOSD micro-loans for Oasis graduates, and 5) clarification of roles and responsibilities between MOSD staff in the Oasis centers and the support expected from UN Women. In camps, UN Women’s vulnerability criteria is fully aligned with UNHCR IBV SoPs. Due to the changing context in Syria and the potential return of many Syrian beneficiaries, the needs among Syrian refugees in Jordan might change, which in turn might impact the priorities of the programme. Due to this, in 2025, UN Women will conduct a thorough review of the vulnerability criteria on how to support women’s resilience and empowerment throughout this journey.
Consulting with experts in gender equality and vulnerability assessment. JCO 2026/12 Initiated UN Women’s implementing partner “ACTED” in the camps setting conducted a consultation and needs assessment for women in Za’atari and Azraq camps to gather insights from Incentive-Based Volunteers (IBVs) about their experiences in the Oasis centers, identify service improvements and highlight essential training and livelihood skills needs for women based on market demand, which supports the revision of vulnerability indicators. A household survey assessed non-IBVs' awareness of the centers and the challenges they face in accessing services. Key informants and experts’ interviews with stakeholders like UNHCR and SRAD were also conducted as part of the needs assessment done by the implementing partner to seek their opinion and advice about the programme’s design and approach and interventions as part of the gender equality and vulnerability assessment. The assessments included questions to evaluate eligibility, upskilling interventions, production, relevance to market demand, gender responsiveness, and decision making power and women’s accessibility to decision making bodies in the camps. In host communities, UN Women has done an extensive consultations with different stakeholders and experts from the government, international development and humanitarian agencies including UNHCR and ILO, private sector including WEPs signatories, experts, and responsible parties UN Women worked with since 2012 as part of the redesigning exercise of the Oasis programme in host communities. UN Women will initiate a detailed needs assessment in 2025, to clarify context-specific needs of beneficiaries in surrounding areas of each center.
Incorporating additional factors that may influence vulnerability, such as intersectionality, socio-economic status, and access to resources. JCO 2026/12 Initiated Additional vulnerability factors identified through the different assessments done in camps and host communities setting and are already included in the latter redesign plans. New updates in the Syria situation and the emerged new vulnerabilities are considered and different options are considered for newly introduced programmatic interventions. Additional vulnerability factors will be evaluated once needs assessments have been concluded.
Take community feedback to prepare context specific targeting model and pilot test the enhanced indicators to ensure their effectiveness and relevance. JCO 2026/12 Initiated Implementing partner ACTED for in camps setting and redesign exercise for host community setting community feedback was collected. In addition, UN Women is informed and engaged with relevant international agencies efforts to better understand community feedback about the programmes and interventions design. Plans with MOSD are in place to pilot different scenarios of the newly redesigned Oasis programme in host communities. New updates in the Syria situation and the emerged new vulnerabilities are considered and different options are considered for newly introduced programmatic interventions. Additional vulnerability factors will be evaluated once needs assessments have been concluded.
Providing training to staff on the use of the updated vulnerability assessment framework. JCO 2026/12 Initiated Completed and continuous in periodical manner. The revised assessment framework is included in the periodical training provided to MOSD staff for the host community setting Oasis programme, and UN Women staff, and implementing partner’s staff are trained for existing assessment frameworks and will be trained for the updated frameworks, per UN Women policy. Following the needs assessments conducted in camps and host communities and the revision of the vulnerability indicators, trainings will be provided.
Recommendation: The programme should focus on developing comprehensive strategies for sustainable long-term income generation, especially for Syrian refugees and in camp setting. It should collaborate with the local government and other economic institutions to address systemic barriers in the labor market, with a focus on gender equality and inclusion.
Management Response: JCO takes note of the recommendation. Part of the Oasis redesign process, JCO focused on strengthening the economic empowerment component to enhance access to long-term income generation activities.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: Humanitarian action
UNEG Criteria: Human Rights, Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Build capacity of vocational training centres (VTCs) in conducting labor market assessment to design the courses as per market demands for sustainable employment opportunities for both men and women. JCO 2026/12 Initiated This key action is fully aligned with the activities planned under the new EU project, which will begin in 2025. VTCs are advised by sectoral councils who consist of experts in each respective sector who conduct periodical market assessments. The results of these assessments are used as a reference by VTC to identify the market needs for skills, training courses requirements, testing approaches and others. UN Women met with the Technical and Vocational Skills Development Commission management and discussed ways for collaboration and identified plans. The results are available for the public and will be used in the upcoming design for the programme. GOJ decided to dissolve the commission and emerge it with Ministry of Education. UN Women remains adamant to continue this collaboration as it is an integral part of the redesign of the Oasis programme. This key action is fully aligned with the activities planned under the new EU project, which will begin in 2025.
Link the Oasis centres with the VTCs to enhance sustainability of VTCs services to the vulnerable population served by the Oasis programme, ensuring equal access for women and men. JCO 2026/12 Initiated UN Women met with the Technical and Vocational Skills Development Commission management (TVSDC), who shared with UN Women the requirements for turning the Oasis centers to VTCs. UN Women with MOSD are working on the requirements as integral part of the programme redesign, taking into consideration the new frameworks for vocational trainings and education introduced by the government. This key action is fully aligned with the activities planned under the new EU project, which will begin in 2025.
Linking the VTCs with the local businesses and industries to create long-term job placements, with specific initiatives to support women’s employment. JCO 2026/12 Initiated UN Women will use the existing frameworks at VTC, TVSDC, Ministry of Labour, and other national employment programmes, and partnerships with WEPs signatories in the private sector to support the access of Oasis women graduates to job placements opportunities. This is already integrated within the redesign of the Oasis Programme. This key action is fully aligned with the activities planned under the new EU project, which will begin in 2025.
Collaborating with local government and economic institutions to address systemic barriers in the labor market, with a focus on gender equality and inclusion. JCO 2026/12 Initiated UN Women has deployed legal expert at the IMC Legal Working Group to advise on how to revise policies and regulations to address structural barriers that hinder gender equality and women empowerment including economic participation. UN Women also supported the development of MOL’s first gender mainstreaming policy, executive plan and monitoring framework. Additionally, UN Women supported IMC and JNCW in the development of the Gender Seal for the private sector to promote supportive work environment in alignment with decent work standards. UN Women works with WEPs national network in different governorates to provide work environment that is aligned with decent work standards with tailored interventions and upskilling This key action is also fully aligned with the additional interventions planned under the new EU project, which will begin in 2025 and builds on activities already implemented by UN Women Jordan through the strategic partnership with MoSD.
Support MoSD in implementing this mechanism beyond the programme to ensure sustainability and a follow-up system to track and support beneficiaries' employment status over an extended period. JCO 2026/12 Initiated This action is fully aligned with the recently completed redesign of the Oasis model, which was based on a participatory approach that included stakeholder consultations, fact-finding missions, and a comprehensive review of the programme's past achievements. The redesigned programme aims to enhance socio-economic empowerment for women in marginalized communities by transitioning from cash-for-work initiatives to tailored financial aid and customized training programmes. Key principles guiding the redesign include aligning training with job market needs, promoting sustainability through structured financial assistance, and building the capacity of the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) for autonomous programme management. The new model also emphasizes gender equality, holistic employment pathways, and robust monitoring and evaluation to measure the programme's impact. The implementation strategy involves a comprehensive capacity development plan for MoSD, piloting community-specific scenarios, and a gradual transition to local resource management. The programme will provide a range of services, including economic empowerment, leadership training, and protection, while fostering gender equality and social transformation. The transition plan includes assessing MoSD and Oasis center needs, piloting the new approach in selected centers, and exploring options for managing the transition to ensure sustainability and effective gender mainstreaming in employment and labour rights. Under this key action, UN Women will pilot the new approach in four selected centers, during which MOSD will fully manage the implementation of the programme.
Develop targeted support programs for women with disabilities and refugees and in camp setting to enhance their employability and sustainability of income generation. JCO 2026/12 Initiated Through UN Women’s implementing partner in camps settings, ACTED, UN Women will support the preparation of targeted support programmes to enhance beneficiaries’ access to income-generating opportunities, with a focus on micro-business entrepreneurship. Additionally, UN Women and ACTED will ensure that livelihood skills provided to Syrian beneficiaries through the Oasis programme will be relevant to their needs both within Jordan and in the case of their return to Syria.
Recommendation: The programme should develop a dedicated action plan to streamline the work permit process for the Syrian refugees. This should include collaboration with its existing strategic partners, particularly the MoL and ILO to work on the necessary policy or legislative reforms to address the existing obstacles in the work permit system for Syrian refugees.
Management Response: JCO takes note of this recommendation. However, this recommendation is no longer applicable in the context of Jordan given the discontinuation in 2024 by the government of Jordan of the free job permits for refugees program when the World Bank program which financed it ended and the subsequent changes in work permit costs as well as significant increase in security social contributions for refugee workers. The subsequent changes in the situation in Syria and start of returns, albeit at a moderate pace is making it unlikely that incentives for work permits will be reinstated meaning that informal work and entrepreneurship will likely be the only solution for employment for refugees in the near future.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Not applicable
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: Humanitarian action
UNEG Criteria: Human Rights, Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Conduct research to identify specific obstacles Syrian refugees face in obtaining work permits and use the findings to inform policy recommendations. JCO 2025/03 Completed Different agencies have conducted numerous studies including UNHCR, ILO, and GIZ. Results are clear and policies are well known. The recently introduced work-permits policy has ceased all fees exemptions for refugees, which makes the work permits cost as very high and unfeasible to cover its costs by programmes. The Social Security schemes introduced previously to support the coverage of refugees with low-cost social protection programmes are stopped as well, and reversed, which introduced additional financial burden on refugees. Finally, the open sectors for Syrian refugees are limited, and mostly are not usually attractive for women. That said, all job placements UN Women supports are in alignment with decent work standards and employers are expected to cover the cost in case a Syrian refugee is employed. Finally, the new Syrian situation updates, and the subsequent new national policies introduced in response support a shift for focus on programmatic interventions to support a dignified voluntary and safe return for refugees
Enhance advocacy efforts with government agencies, particularly the MoL, to address obstacles in the work permit system for Syrian refugees. Focus on promoting policy reforms to simplify and streamline the application and renewal processes for work permits. JCO 2025/03 Completed UN Women has been in contact with MOL concerned staff and took part in the consultations done with them on this matter as well as engaged in collective advocacy on this through the JOSH coordination mechanism. The changes in the work permit regulations in 2024 are however such that the recommendation Is no longer actionable any further.
Collaborate more closely with other UN agencies, for example International Labour Organization (ILO), and partners working on refugee employment issues to develop coordinated strategies for improving work permit access. JCO 2025/03 Completed UN Women Jordan collaborates closely with ILO, UNHCR, EU and GIZ that are leading the international development community efforts on the refugee employment. Participating in meetings with different government stakeholders and other development agencies representatives, participating in missions for this purpose to different governorates, and receiving official communications and knowledge materials to reflect onto the design and redesign of programmatic policy and advocacy interventions. UN Women consulted ILO, UNHCR colleagues in the development and implementation of supporting women's refugees’ access to work permits in the last programme and plan to continue to adopt the same approach in the future.
Identify the sectors open for work permit and provide vocational training in these sectors to enhance the probability of obtaining work permit. It should be noted that in July 2021, the MoL expanded the list of economic sectors open to Syrian refugees, including services, sales, crafts, agriculture, forestry, fishery, manufacturing, construction, and basic industries. JCO 2025/03 Completed The economic sectors are identified by the government, and it is a public knowledge and shared with UN Women implementing partner ACTED who is working in the camps setting, where the vast majority of Syrian refugees’ beneficiaries are located. The upskilling interventions introduced by ACTED are in alignment with the open sector for Syrian refugees. Although, other structural challenges hinder women's refugees’ access to employment opportunities. This includes high cost of work permits, lack of accessible and good quality transportation, long commuting, and low salaries. For Syrian women beneficiaries in host communities, they are receiving trainings in jobs and economic sectors that are open for Syrian refugees. The recently introduced work-permits policy has ceased all fees exemptions for refugees, which makes the work permits cost as very high and unfeasible to cover its costs by programmes. The Social Security schemes introduced previously to support the coverage of refugees with low-cost social protection programmes are stopped as well, and reversed, which introduced additional financial burden on refugees. Finally, the open sectors for Syrian refugees are limited, and mostly are not usually attractive for women.
Provide targeted support and information to Syrian refugee women about the work permit application process, eligibility requirements, and their rights as workers. JCO 2025/03 Completed UN Women during the last EU project, it provided sessions to raise women refugees’ knowledge about the work permits application process as part of its plan to support women Syrian refugees through its partnership with Education for Employment. UN Women plans to continue providing these sessions in partnership through its implementing partner ACTED in camp settings and in collaboration with sister UN agencies ILO and UNHCR and national partners including MOL and Education for Employment. UN Women recognize the importance of these interventions considering the new updates on the policy and the misconceptions, and considerable financial impact it has on refugees if they are not fully aware of all details, especially if and when they decide to return to Syria.
Work with employers to raise awareness about hiring Syrian refugees and the benefits of providing them with work permits. JCO 2025/03 Completed UN Women through its partnership with the private sector, namely the National WEPs Network in Jordan has reached out to number of WEPs signatories to engage them in interventions with the Women Syria Refugees and shared with them information about the results of their upskilling. UN Women organized 4 Job fairs, where it invited large number of private sector companies and invited Oasis graduates both Jordanian and Syrian refugees to give them the chance to share their skills and knowledge and the value added they can bring to their potential employers. In 2023 and 2024, UN Women partnered with ASEZA, the Chamber of Industry in Irbid, the Chamber of Industry in Amman, the Eastern Amman Investors Industrial Association, and GIZ to make concrete progress towards gender equality in the workforce and boost women’s participation. Together, the partners organized four Job Expos and Awareness Days focused on women's skills development and access to the private sector. These events, held in Aqaba, Irbid, Al Mwaggar, and Marka, reached over 4,000 women job seekers and facilitated connections with 93 private sector companies including WEPs signatories. As a result, 137 women secured jobs, and 1,486 women enhanced their employment readiness and interview skills through targeted capacity-building training and inspirational speeches improving employment outcomes for women and strengthening their confidence and readiness to enter the workforce, fostering a more inclusive labour market in Jordan.
Explore partnerships with legal aid organizations to provide assistance to Syrian refugees navigating the work permit system. JCO 2025/03 Completed UN Women worked through its partnership with EFE Jordan in supporting women's refugees’ access to work permits, working with Jordan General Federation of Trade Unions and its clinic and other supporting services to work as a mediator between women's refugees and Ministry of Labour. UN Women planned to coordinate with its implementing partner, ACTED to support women's refugees interested in obtaining work permits access to legal advice needed to understand the process, rights, responsibilities and possible financial implications since the vast majority of Syrian refugees’ beneficiaries are in the camps settings. It is worth noting that refugees' role in obtaining work permits was limited after reforms introduced to limit the complications resulting in applicants not being able to meet the requirements.
Recommendation: UN Women should develop and implement a financial management improvement plan to address funding delays. This should include developing and monitoring key performance indicators related to financial management and fund disbursement timelines. It should also review and optimize internal procedures for project approvals to avoid delays.
Management Response: JCO takes note of the recommendation and will continue working to collaborate with UN Women HQ to enhance financial management and follow up on fund disbursement timelines.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: Humanitarian action
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality, Human Rights
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Review and optimize internal procedures for project approvals and fund disbursements to reduce delays in receiving funds from donors. JCO 2025/03 Completed This action is completed and a system already in place. UN Women Jordan has established a Local Project Appraisal Committee which is chaired by UN Women Jordan Deputy Country Representative and includes the Regional Focal Point (depending on the portfolio), the Operations Manager and the Monitoring and Evaluation Analyst. Through the LPAC, UN Women reviews and optimizes internal procedures for project approvals and fund disbursements to reduce delays in receiving funds from donors.
Develop more accurate cash flow projections to anticipate funding needs and potential shortfalls in advance. Also compare cash projections with actual cash flows on a regular basis to know the gaps. JCO 2025/03 Completed This action is completed and a system already in place. UN Women has taken steps to develop more accurate cash flow projections to anticipate funding needs and potential shortfalls in advance, through quarterly planning exercises. These exercises ensure that programme teams are consistently monitoring their cash-flow and can highlight to both senior management and donors any upcoming challenges. These exercises will continue.
Maintain regular, proactive communication with donors about funding needs and timelines to facilitate more timely disbursements. JCO 2025/03 Completed This action is completed and a system already in place. The governance mechanism for the Oasis programme includes a Steering Committee that meets on a quarterly basis to review progress and priorities. The Steering Committee is currently composed of all donors to the Oasis programme, a focal point from the Ministry of Social Development, and UN Women. The Steering Committee provides overall direction, strategic guidance, and decisions on actions to address specific risks raised by UN Women and partners. The Terms of Reference for the Steering Committee were updated in 2024 and approved by all Steering Committee members. It is regularly maintained to ensure that it reflects any changes in focal points from donors, MoSD or UN Women.
Offer targeted training to programme staff on financial procedures, budgeting, and reporting to improve overall financial efficiency and address the reasons causing delays. JCO 2025/03 Completed This action is completed, and a system is already in place. Through UN Women’s learning plan, UN Women conducts annual training for all programmatic staff on financial procedures, budgeting and reporting.
Define and monitor key performance indicators related to financial management and fund disbursement timelines. JCO 2025/03 Completed The JCO is strictly implementing UN Women’s financial management tools which include continuous budget monitoring, revenue analysis and delivery monitoring and instituted quarterly meetings with senior management dedicated entirely to budget oversight.
Recommendation: The programme should strengthen the implementation of the components of socio-ecological model for creating an enabling environment for gender transformative results. It should continue to engage men while also engaging with other key family members, community and institutions and build the capacity of young men and boys on gender social norms, gender equality as well as GBV prevention. Particular attention should be paid to the conservative areas to increase the participation of men and other key family and community members.
Management Response: JCO takes note of the recommendation. UN Women agrees that engaging men and boys as well as the near communities on social norms, gender equality and GBV prevention is crucial to the successful implementation of the Oasis model. The Oasis model includes activities targeting men and boys, this work will also be complemented by the work of the regional UN Women Dare to Care programme, which has begun implementation in Jordan in 2024.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: Humanitarian action
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality, Human Rights
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Conduct community-based research to understand local gender norms, attitudes and barriers to male engagement in gender equality initiatives. JCO 2025/03 Completed In 2022, UN Women conducted community-based research to understand local gender norms, attitudes and barriers, titled: "Understanding Masculinities - INTERNATIONAL MEN AND GENDER EQUALITY SURVEY". This research has served as a basis of the intervention on social norms and on the barriers for males’ engagement in gender equality initiatives.
Develop tailored messaging strategies based on the research findings to effectively reach and engage men and boys and other key family and community members. JCO 2026/12 Initiated JCO engaged Arab Renaissance for Development and Democracy (ARDD) as a responsible party to support the roll out of a programme that will engage men and boys in communities where the Oasis model is operating. ARDD will develop messaging strategies using the findings of the IMAGES survey to engage communities. JCO will ensure this is done in coordination with the Dare to care programme.
Design capacity building programs for young men and boys focused on gender-based violence prevention, women's economic empowerment, and women's leadership. JCO 2026/12 Initiated JCO engaged Arab Renaissance for Development and Democracy (ARDD) as a responsible party to support the roll out of a programme that will engage men and boys in communities where the Oasis model is operating. ARDD will build the capacities of young men and boys on gender-based violence, women’s economic empowerment and women’s leadership
Create a youth innovation fund or grant programme to support youth-led initiatives addressing gender equality issues at the community level. JCO 2025/03 No Longer Applicable This specific action falls beyond the remit of the project, Youth programming including at community level is however covered through both the Madrasati Initiative under the JONAP program of the JCO and the Dare to Care project.
Partner with local youth organizations, schools and community groups to implement capacity building programs and youth initiatives. JCO 2026/12 Initiated Under the Dare to Care programme, the youth led social movement is going to be implemented in universities, schools and youth centers. JCO will ensure synergies with this engagement at community level.
Organize community events to showcase youth-led gender equality projects and promote male allyship. JCO 2026/12 Initiated Through close collaboration with the network of 195 companies that have signed the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) with UN Women Jordan, the program will support the establishment of parental leave policies, particularly paternity leave. Additionally, it will build the capacity of these companies on gender-equitable leadership and foster leadership allies who advocate for gender equality and women's empowerment.
Develop a monitoring and evaluation framework to track changes in attitudes and behaviors among male participants over time. JCO 2025/03 Completed This action is completed and a system already in place. JCO has a comprehensive monitoring tool, aligned with the track it tool of UN Women regional office. The monitoring tool includes questions to track the changes in attitudes and behaviors among male participants over time.
Establish partnerships with organizations focused on engaging men and boys to leverage expertise and resources. JCO 2025/03 Completed JCO engaged with ARDD to support the engagement of men and boys. Partners under the Dare to care programme will also contribute through developed resources under the programme.
Recommendation: To address the gap in involvement of women with disabilities in decision-making structures and processes, the MoSD and UN Women should establish a comprehensive mechanism for their inclusion. This should include but not limited to supporting incorporation of the perspectives of women with disabilities from various regions and backgrounds in a systematic manner as well as developing clear targets to monitor various elements of disability inclusion in the programme. The programme should use the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS) as a point of reference for strengthening its disability inclusion work.
Management Response: JCO takes note of the recommendation. As per UN Women’s Disability and Inclusion Plan, UN Women has a multi-pronged approach to disability inclusion in line with the Washington definitions looking at all individuals who have any sensorial, physical, intellectual or other impairments that substantially limit one or more major life activities. As a part of this, UN Women conducted a disability accessibility assessment for the 4 Oasis centres in camps in 2022 and introduced measures to strengthen accessibility, including installing ramps. For host community centres, also in 2022, through a UNOPS partnership with MoSD, all MoSD Local Community Development Centres (LCDCs) were upgraded to make them more accessible. Going forward UN Women will continue to reassess the sufficiency of these initiatives for UN Women Oasis beneficiaries. In addition, to support these efforts, UN Women Oasis field staff will continue participate in the regular disability inclusion trainings provided by UNHCR. In alignment with the vulnerability criteria of the Oasis programme, UN Women targets women with disabilities and encourages their application to the programme. In line with UN Women’s policy of LNOB, this practice will continue and will be strengthened. UN Women notes however that the recommendation linked to the involvement of women with disabilities in decision making structures and processes goes beyond the remits of the project and of the role of MoSD but will be included in the portfolio of work of the JCO on gender responsive governance and women’s political participation.
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: Humanitarian action
UNEG Criteria: Human Rights, Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Establish a mechanism, in partnership with MoSD and MoL using the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS) as a point of reference to address the gap in decision-making involvement for women with disabilities. JCO 2026/12 Initiated JCO will discuss with MoSD and UNHCR possible entry points to address the gap in decision-making involvement for women with disabilities.
Involve women with disabilities in the design and implementation of the programme. JCO 2026/12 Initiated In alignment with the vulnerability criteria of the Oasis programme, UN Women targets women with disabilities and encourages their application to the programme. Additionally, women with disabilities and women that have family members with disabilities will be included in needs assessments conducted by UN Women and our implementing partner in camps, ACTED, to ensure that their needs are identified, and the design and implementation of the programme is aligned with their needs.
Ensure representation of women with disabilities from various regions and backgrounds. JCO 2026/12 Initiated The vulnerability criteria which prioritize women with disabilities are applied across all UN Women Oasis centres. UN Women will ensure representation of women with disabilities and those that have family members with disabilities in decision-making. In the camps, in partnership with ACTED, through the Oasis programme women’s committees will be established which will include a representative of women with disabilities. In the host communities, UN Women will continue to advocate and support women with disabilities to access community decision-making bodies.
Provide necessary logistical support to facilitate full participation of women with disabilities. JCO 2025/03 Completed This action is completed. Oasis Centers are recognized as safe spaces where vulnerable women who are otherwise isolated from social interaction due to poverty, disability, social restrictions etc., can safely and freely congregate, learn and build community. Each Oasis centre is also in geographic poverty pockets in order to facilitate participation in absence of transportation. Additionally, all 22 centres under UN Women’s Oasis programme underwent an accessibility assessment in 2022 to ensure equal access for all. This will continue to be followed up on by UN Women.
Set the indicators and targets to monitor their participation and take adaptive measures if their participation is lower than the targets. JCO 2025/03 Completed This action is completed and a system already in place. UN Women’s indicators and targets under the Oasis programme are disaggregated by gender, nationality and disability which ensures the constant monitoring of the number of persons with disabilities supported through the programme and allows for adaptive measures if needed.
Recommendation: To address the financial sustainability challenges and improve long-term outcomes, the programme should develop a comprehensive sustainability strategy focused on transitioning the Oasis model to government, women’s organizations or private sector support.
Management Response: JCO takes note of the recommendation and had already taken steps to address the financial sustainability challenges of the programme through the Oasis redesign process.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Partially Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: Humanitarian action
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality, Human Rights
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
With the support from MoSD, developing a phased transition plan that gradually shifts financial responsibility from donors to national and local stakeholders. This should be supported by a detailed costing exercise of the programme integration and various scenarios (full, partial Oasis programme adoption, in all/few centres) JCO 2025/03 Completed This action was completed in the first quarter of 2025. UN Women finalized the redesign of the Oasis model. The redesign process, facilitated by an international consultant, was based on a participatory approach that included stakeholder consultations, fact-finding missions, and a comprehensive review of the programme's past achievements. The redesigned programme aims to enhance socio-economic empowerment for women in marginalized communities by transitioning from cash-for-work initiatives. Key principles guiding the redesign include aligning training with job market needs, promoting sustainability through structured financial assistance, and building the capacity of the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) to enhance their capacities on programme management. The new model also emphasizes gender equality, holistic employment pathways, and robust monitoring and evaluation to measure the programme's impact. The implementation strategy involves a comprehensive capacity development plan for MoSD, piloting community-specific scenarios, and a gradual transition to local resource management. The programme will provide a range of services, including economic empowerment, leadership training, and protection, while fostering gender equality and social transformation. The transition plan includes assessing MoSD and Oasis center needs, piloting the new approach in selected centers, and exploring options for managing the transition to ensure sustainability and effective gender mainstreaming in employment and labour rights.
Engaging with government ministries to integrate the Oasis model into national budgeting processes. JCO 2026/12 Initiated This key action builds on the progress made by UN Women on the redesign of the Oasis programme, which includes building the capacity of MoSD to implement the Oasis model. In line with this, UN Women will raise the Ministry’s staff awareness on the principles of gender responsive budgeting and planning.
Exploring public-private partnership opportunities to diversify funding sources, the programme can leverage corporate social responsibility (CSR) while working with industries. JCO 2025/03 Completed JCO has conducted a mapping of private sector companies surrounding the Oasis centers. This mapping guided the initial engagement with some private sector companies in the south, particularly in Aqaba which resulted in the hiring of Oasis beneficiaries in textile companies. JCO will continue leveraging its engagement with the private sector companies, signatories of the WEPs to support linking women graduates of the Oasis programme with the labor market.
Implementing a social enterprise component within the Oasis model to generate income and reduce donor dependency. JCO 2025/03 No Longer Applicable JCO initiated discussions with MoSD on the possibility of implementing a social enterprise component within the Oasis model. However, part of the Oasis redesign process, a different scenario was proposed to reduce donor dependency, using strategic parternships and working towards the certification of offered trainings within the Oasis centers.