Management Response

: Multi Country Office for Southern Africa (South Africa)
: 2023 - 2025 , Multi Country Office for Southern Africa (South Africa) (MCO)
: MCO Portfolio Evaluation of SN 2017-23
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Multi Country Office for Southern Africa (South Africa)

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Management welcomes the findings and recommendations presented and acknowledges the multifaceted challenges experienced during the implementation of the 2017-2022 Strategic Note. These include structural misalignments between mandate responsibilities and available resources, operational delivery constraints, HR capacity gaps, and the need for strengthened disability inclusion. The transition from a Multi-Country Office (MCO) to a Country Office (CO), endorsed by the BRC in July 2025, marks a significant and strategic shift to improve sustainability, coordination, and programmatic effectiveness across the five countries. Management is committed to ensuring this transition leads to more focused programming, improved delivery efficiency, and strengthened support for normative and coordination work, especially through collaborative arrangements with the Regional Office. The CO will address past challenges through a structured, time-bound action plan that prioritizes strategic resource mobilization, internal coordination, partner capacity development, and enhanced operational systems. Investments in HR and M&E capacity, along with the mainstreaming of disability inclusion and intersectionality, will underpin a results-driven approach aligned with the principles of leaving no one behind (LNOB). The development of the new Strategic Note 2026-2030 will be guided by a realistic assessment of the CO’s human and financial resources and will emphasize integrated, longer-term programming with clear sustainability strategies. Management remains fully committed to transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement and will monitor progress closely to ensure alignment with corporate standards and stakeholder expectations.
: Approved
Recommendation: The Regional Office to liaise with headquarters to review the Multi-Country Office’s structure to ensure alignment between the Multi-Country Office’s commitments and its resources and capacity.
Management Response: Management acknowledges the findings related to the operational and financial challenges experienced by the Multi-Country Office (MCO) during the implementation of the previous Strategic Note. The identified tension between the breadth of expectations placed on the MCO particularly its role as a cooperation framework signatory across five countries and the limited core funding available is a valid concern that requires urgent and strategic redress. Management concurs that while the MCO's percentage of core funding aligns with other MCOs, in absolute terms, it is insufficient to ensure the required coordination capacity and effective delivery across four thematic areas in all five countries. This structural misalignment between responsibilities and resources has affected the MCO’s ability to fully meet stakeholder expectations. In response, Management agrees with the proposed steps and is committed to working collaboratively with the Regional Office and headquarters to review the MCO’s resource envelope and technical support needs. In July 2025 BRC endorsed a decision that South African Multi Country office becomes South Africa Country Office. Representation normative coordination work for Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini and Lesotho will be managed from Nairobi and existing and future programming work in those countries will be managed from Pretoria. The outcome of this recommendation has informed a strategic decision that prioritizes sustainability, efficiency, and the capacity to deliver quality programming and coordination across the region. Given these changes the SAMCO has been re-classified as a Country Office changing from MCO configuration, further guidance will be expected from the RO to ensure that future cooperation framework commitments are proportionate to the available resources, and that all stakeholders have a shared understanding of UN Women's expected contributions
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Description: ? The Regional Office to work with the Multi-Country Office to review the financial resources and technical support required from the Regional Office and headquarters in order for the office to continue as a Multi-Country Office and meet its expectations as a cooperation framework signatory in all five countries. ? The Regional Office and headquarters to decide if they will make this additional investment in the Multi-Country Office or support it to transition into a single Country Office. ? Following the Regional Office’s decision on the Multi-Country Office’s structure, the Multi-Country Office to carefully review commitments in the configuration exercise for any future cooperation framework developments, to ensure expectations concerning UN Women’s inputs are clearly set from the start and aligned with available resources.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Alignment with strategy
Organizational Priorities: Organizational efficiency
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
To address the operational and financial misalignment identified, Management will implement a recommendation as per regional office guidance on typology to have South Africa a standalone Country Office while programming continues in for Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, and Lesotho and managed from Pretoria office. The normative and coordination support will be shifting to the Regional Office in Nairobi. This strategic adjustment will enhance efficiency, ensure responsibilities are matched to available resources, and align future cooperation frameworks with UN Women’s realistic capacity. Country Representative 2027/12 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Efficiency and programme management Strengthen programme and partner management to enhance the efficiency of programme delivery, including through an internal staffing level review to determine a structure that fits the budget and business model.
Management Response: The office leadership acknowledges the challenges noted regarding delivery rates and recognizes the critical importance of addressing underlying issues in programme and partner management. The recommendations are appreciated and agree that strengthening systems, capacity, and oversight mechanisms is essential to improv delivery efficiency and effectiveness. In response, Management is prioritizing a structured and time-bound action plan to resolve the capacity gaps and operational bottlenecks. Efforts are already underway to reinforce partner induction and capacity development frameworks to ensure implementing partners are well-equipped to deliver results and submit timely documentation for disbursements. Additionally, SAMCO is investing in the enhancement of data, knowledge, and records management systems to ensure improved accessibility and audit readiness of all documentation. To address workflow-related delays, Programme and Operations teams will jointly undertake a review of key business processes, particularly those related to partner selection, contracting, donor reporting, and disbursement. Targeted training and performance clinics will be held to address bottlenecks and improve compliance with internal protocols. SAMCO is instituting a standard handover checklist and documentation process to ensure continuity during personnel transitions and to safeguard institutional memory. Furthermore, Management is exploring options for improved programme oversight, including more frequent monitoring engagements, especially for high-risk or underperforming initiatives. Management commit to strengthening the cost recovery strategy during proposal development to ensure that programme teams are adequately resourced for both delivery and administrative requirements. These measures will be tracked through a detailed implementation plan with clear timelines and accountability mechanisms, and Management will report progress quarterly to ensure transparency and sustained focus.
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Description: ? Strengthen partner management by bolstering induction processes and capacity development plans to ensure partners have the capacity to deliver in a timely manner and provide the necessary documents to facilitate timely disbursements. ? Continue to strengthen data, knowledge and records management systems to ensure internal and external reports are well filed and easily accessible. ? Across Programme and Operations teams, invest in refamiliarization of key processes and workflows that have been challenging (e.g. partner selection, contracting and management, donor reporting). Work together to review performance on key processes to understand the bottlenecks and seek to address these, for example, through additional training or investing in additional capacity. ? Strengthen management of personnel handover processes to retain institutional memory and maintain relationships with partners and external stakeholders. ? Where capacity permits, introduce higher levels of oversight, for example, through more regular check-ins and monitoring, where there are risks to the delivery of certain programmes. ? Explore how future programme proposals can support adequate cost recovery/contribution to direct project costs to ensure programme teams have sufficient resources to balance strategic delivery and programme administration.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
To address the delivery and programme management challenges identified, SACO will implement a structured, time-bound action plan focused on strengthening systems, capacities, and oversight mechanisms. Key measures include enhanced partner induction, improved records management, streamlined business processes, and targeted staff training. Progress will be closely monitored through a detailed implementation plan with clear timelines and accountability, with quarterly updates to ensure sustained focus and transparency. Country Representative, Deputy Rep and Ops Manager 2027/12 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Resource mobilization Invest in resource mobilization by strengthening relationships with current donors and building relationships with potential donors by scaling efforts that have proven effective. Continue to encourage donors to pool funds to support larger programmes to reduce transaction costs.
Management Response: The Country Office (CO) acknowledges the challenges identified regarding small, donor-driven projects, communication gaps, and delays in operational delivery. The management recognize that such issues have at times hindered the full realization of programmatic ambitions and impacted donor confidence. Management takes these concerns seriously and is fully committed to addressing them through strategic, coordinated, and sustainable actions. While these operational difficulties are acknowledging, the management is reaffirming the significant strides the CO has made in resource mobilization, particularly from the private sector through innovative engagement methods such as informal convenings, strategic use of the Women’s Empowerment Principles, and high-level advocacy platforms. These efforts have enhanced the visibility of the CO and cemented its convening and normative role across the region. Going forward, the CO will prioritize a more integrated and strategic approach to resource mobilization and donor engagement. This includes strengthening relationships with existing donors by ensuring more regular and transparent communication, including joint planning, project visits, and alignment of expectations. The office will continue to encourage the pooling of donor funds into larger, multi-country initiatives that align with the CO strategic location and comparative advantage and reduce fragmentation and transaction costs. In parallel, scale proven approaches to private-sector engagement while exploring innovative financing instruments and government partnerships to diversify funding sources will be used. These efforts will be supported by enhanced internal coordination and operational efficiency measures to improve delivery and ensure greater agility and responsiveness to partner needs. Management remains confident that, by building on its strengths and taking these decisive steps, the CO will be well-positioned to unlock further funding and accelerate transformative change for gender equality across the five countries
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Description: ? Continue to encourage donors to contribute to larger projects that pool funding across donors and are well aligned to the Multi-Country Office’s expertise and strengths to increase efficiency and minimize transaction costs. ? Strengthen relationships with existing donors by organizing project visits, being flexible to requests around donor engagement and holding regular check-ins to ensure objectives and priorities are aligned. Openly communicate about both parties’ processes, constraints and expectations to find optimal ways to meet the needs of both. ? Scale resource mobilization efforts that have proven effective ? Explore opportunities to mobilize resources from other stakeholders, including governments, bilaterals and through innovative financing mechanisms
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Resource mobilization
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Donor-driven project fragmentation, communication gaps, and delivery delays challenges will be addressed through adoption of a more integrated and strategic approach. Key actions include enhancing coordination, fostering regular and transparent communication with donors, and promoting joint planning and pooled funding mechanisms to reduce transaction costs. In parallel, the CO will scale up private-sector engagement, pursue innovative financing options, and strengthen internal operations to boost delivery efficiency and responsiveness. Country Representative 2027/12 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Programming Enhance programming by looking to consolidate thematic areas; moving to longer and larger programmes and joint programmes, where funding permits; and by increasing normative and coordination work in the countries outside of South Africa.
Management Response: These concerns raised regarding the overburdened capacity of the Country Office (CO) and appreciates the valuable recommendations offered are acknowledged and accepted by management. The management recognize that the breadth of programming across diverse thematic areas and five countries place significant demands on a lean team. The management further agrees that a more integrated and strategic approach is needed to optimize delivery against UN Women’s triple mandate normative, coordination, and operational while maintaining alignment with national priorities and global commitments. Due to BRC decision to endorsed a South African Country office to become Country Office, the representation of normative and coordination work for Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini and Lesotho will be managed from Nairobi and existing and future programming work in those countries will be managed from Pretoria, this will reduce the strain to the team and allow the office to focus its efforts to programming only. Therefore, the Country Office is committed to ensuring that the development of the new Strategic Note (SN) is grounded by a new office typology based on clear assessment of available human and financial resources. The SN will prioritize a realistic number of outcomes that reflect both operational feasibility and strategic impact. As part of this process, the CO will increase efforts to design longer-term, multi-thematic programmes that are results-focused, aligned with national systems, and have clearly defined sustainability and exit strategies. To improve coherence, SACO will promote stronger collaboration across thematic teams, particularly where overlaps already exist (e.g., HIV programming intersecting with Women’s Economic Empowerment and EVAW) and scale up joint programming with UN and government partners, guided by the principle of delivering as one. Furthermore, with these changes on office typology Management intends to work closely with the Regional Office to support the coordination and normative work in four countries supported programmatically where feasible, to enhance in-country presence and bolster support for coordination and normative work in Eswatini, Botswana, Lesotho, and Namibia. The Management hopes that these collaborative efforts will reinforce gender mainstreaming within UN Cooperation Frameworks and national development strategies, while strengthening engagement in key normative processes, including CEDAW reporting, UPR submissions, and Beijing+ reviews. Management remains fully committed to improving delivery and accountability across all pillars of its mandate and will regularly review progress to ensure alignment with the strategic vision and operational realities.
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Description: ? Ensure the new Strategic Note and number of outcomes targeted is realistic, based on available personnel capacity and projected funding. ? Continue to move to designing programmes with a focus on results rather than activity, moving towards longer and larger programmes that work across thematic areas (where donor funding allows) ensuring all programmes have exit plans in place and, where possible, are linked to national approaches, systems and structures. ? Continue exploring opportunities to increase joint programming with other agencies and deliver larger, more holistic programmes that work across thematic areas. ? With the support of the Regional Office and coordination consultant, as capacity and funding allows, support in-country based personnel to scale coordination and normative work, especially in the four countries outside of South Africa, to strengthen Gender Theme Groups, the mainstreaming of gender across cooperation frameworks and programmes, and national normative processes.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Internal coordination and communication
Organizational Priorities: Culture of results/RBM
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
The Country Office will recalibrate its structure by adopting a new office typology aligned with available human and financial resources. Programming in Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, and Lesotho will be managed from Pretoria, while coordination and normative work will shift to the Regional Office in Nairobi. This adjustment will enable the office to focus on delivering streamlined, integrated, and sustainable programmes within a realistic and strategic framework. Country Rep, Regional Director, Regional HR business partner 2027/12 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Human Resources Enhance the Human Resources function to support more strategic and timely human resource planning and recruitment.
Management Response: Management acknowledges the challenges experienced in HR capacity during the implementation of the previous Strategic Note and agrees that these issues adversely impacted on the timely recruitment of personnel and the overall pace of programme delivery. HR is essential for effective programme execution, improved staff well-being, and a cohesive workplace culture. To address these concerns, Management fully supports the recommendation to review and strengthen the HR function, including the appointment of a full-time HR personnel based at the Country Office (CO). This strategic placement will improve coordination, ensure proactive workforce planning, and provide dedicated support to the office the office is exploring the engagement of HR consultant retainers to alleviate current bottlenecks, particularly in areas such as recruitment and onboarding processes. Additionally, Management remains committed to fostering a positive and collaborative work environment and will continue to invest in regular team building and staff wellness initiatives to enhance interpersonal relations and staff cohesion. These steps will be integrated into the new Strategic Note implementation plan, with clear milestones and accountability mechanisms.
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Description: ? Review the HR function to facilitate a full-time HR personnel, based in the Multi-Country Office, to better meet the need for strategic and more timely HR planning across all five countries. ? Consider how to obtain additional HR capacity where needed to address current bottlenecks, for example, through HR consultant retainers, to support tasks such as longlisting and conducting interviews. ? Continue team-building initiatives to strengthen cohesion among personnel.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Efficiency
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
To strengthen HR capacity and ensure efficient delivery programme, Management will prioritize the recruitment of a full-time HR personnel based at the Country Office. In the interim, HR consultant retainers will be engaged to ease recruitment and onboarding bottlenecks. These actions, along with staff wellness and team-building initiatives, will be integrated into the Strategic Note implementation plan with defined milestones and accountability. Country HR focal point 2027/12 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Monitoring and Reporting Build on progress made to strengthen monitoring and reporting systems to enable more comprehensive and effective tracking of changes resulting from Multi-Country Office initiatives and to support donor and corporate reporting.
Management Response: Management welcomes recognition of the significant improvements made in monitoring and reporting, particularly regarding the timeliness and quality of donor reporting and the refinement of indicators to better reflect the office work. The management is committed to further strengthen monitoring and evaluation systems to ensure results are captured comprehensively, reliably, and in alignment with outcome and impact level reporting expectations. In response to the recommendations, management will prioritize the following actions: 1. Enhance Reporting Timeliness and Quality: Building on recent progress, the management will institutionalize internal review timelines and integrate automated reminders within our planning systems to ensure donor and corporate reports are submitted promptly and meet quality standards. 2. Optimize Partner and Grant Agreement System Use: All personnel managing partner agreements will receive refresher training on system functionalities. Compliance monitoring will be introduced to ensure 100% of partner reports are uploaded, reviewed, and archived in the system for accountability and audit readiness. 3. Strengthen Data Quality Assurance: A data verification protocol will be developed and implemented, including regular spot checks with partners. This will include both remote and field-based verification to triangulate reported results and ensure data accuracy and consistency. 4. Invest in Baseline Data and Measurement Tools: Management acknowledge the importance of strong baselines to inform target setting. The CO will allocate resources in upcoming programme cycles for baseline assessments and the development of tools that enable effective tracking of outcome and impact-level results. These actions will be reflected in the upcoming M&E strengthening plan and monitored quarterly to ensure continuous progress and alignment with both corporate and donor expectations.
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Description: ? Continue to strengthen the timeliness of donor and corporate reporting. ? Strengthen use of the partner and grant agreement management system, ensuring all partner reports are uploaded in the system. ? Strengthen systems to verify the quality of data reported as part of donor and corporate reporting through use of spot checks with partners. ? Increase investment in baseline and tools to better track outcome and impacts.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Culture of results/RBM
UNEG Criteria: Efficiency
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
To strengthen results-based management, the office will implement a set of targeted actions focused on improving data quality, reporting, and accountability. This includes enhancing internal systems for timely, high-quality reporting, optimizing the use of the partner and grant agreement platform, and instituting regular data verification protocols. Additionally, investment in robust baseline assessments and measurement tools will ensure that progress is tracked effectively at both outcome and impact levels. Country Monitoring and Reporting Analyst 2027/12 Not Initiated
Recommendation: Disability Inclusion and intersectionality Strengthen approaches to disability inclusion and intersectionality by taking a more systematic approach, building on the UN Women Strategy on Disability Inclusion, to support the gender equality and empowerment of women and girls with disabilities.
Management Response: The Country office welcomes the recognition of its commitment to the Leave No One Behind principle and its targeted efforts to address the needs of women and girls with disabilities in the unique context of middle-income countries. The valuable recommendations provided are welcomed, the office agree that disability inclusion and intersectionality must be continuously strengthened to ensure that our programming reaches the most marginalized populations, in alignment with the UN Women Strategy for the Empowerment of Women and Girls with Disabilities (2018). As part of our commitment to deepening disability inclusion, the CO will take the following actions: • Data Disaggregation and Targeting: The internal capacity and work with partners to disaggregate programme data by disability status will strengthen. The office will also incorporate indicators that reflect multiple and intersecting identities into monitoring and evaluation frameworks. • Strategic Partnerships: Country office will further prioritize establishing and strengthening partnerships with organizations of women and girls with disabilities, as well as those representing other marginalized populations including LGBTQI+ communities. • Dedicated Initiatives and Rural Focus: Recognizing service gaps in rural areas, the CO will explore the development of targeted initiatives specifically for women and girls with disabilities, particularly in underserved communities • Inclusive and Participatory Programming: The CO commits to systematically engaging organizations and networks representing women and girls with disabilities in all stages of the programme cycle from design to evaluation to ensure relevance, accountability, and impact. • Accessibility and Inclusive Budgeting: All initiatives, including events and communications, will be reviewed with an accessibility lens. Budget lines for reasonable accommodation and inclusion will be integrated into programme planning where relevant, ensuring meaningful participation of women and girls with disabilities. Through these actions, the CO reaffirms its dedication to inclusive development and gender equality for all women and girls, particularly those facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.
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Description: ? Strengthen disaggregation of programming and reporting data by disability status, whenever possible and relevant, and request that partners include indicators which include multiple and intersecting identities. Implement a target for the number of women and girls with disability reached as a percentage of the total number of programme participants. ? Increase partnerships with organizations of women and girls with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, such as LGBTQI+ groups. ? Consider creating initiatives that specifically target women and girls with disability, especially in areas where there may be limited support for such populations, such as in rural communities. ? Consult organizations and networks of women and girls with disabilities and other identified vulnerabilities during the design, implementation and evaluation of initiatives. ? Consider aspects of accessibility when designing initiatives, including events, and budget for inclusion where relevant.
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Human Rights
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
To strengthen disability inclusion, the Country Office will enhance data disaggregation and integrate intersectional indicators into its monitoring frameworks. It will build strategic partnerships with organizations representing women and girls with disabilities and other marginalized groups, while prioritizing initiatives in underserved rural areas. Additionally, the CO will apply an accessibility lens across all programming and budgets, ensuring meaningful participation throughout the programme cycle. Country Monitoring and Reporting Analyst 2027/12 Not Initiated