Designing the Organization Structure for a UAE Federal Government Entity
A UAE federal government entity had grown rapidly, expanding its mandate and activities across the UAE at a pace its existing organizational structure could not fully support. With a small, stretched team and an increasingly broad scope of work, the organization recognized that it needed to recruit for new skills and roles, but lacked a clear structural foundation to guide that growth. It needed an organizational design that reflected both its current mandate and its future ambitions — one that would identify the gaps in skills, accountabilities, and positions and provide a concrete roadmap for building the right team.
challenge
Sarah Lakhani Consulting applied a proprietary organizational design framework, beginning with a series of interviews to assess the current structure's challenges and gaps. A central input into the design was a thorough review of the government mandates assigned to the organization, examining what had been achieved, what remained outstanding, and what those gaps meant in terms of skills, roles, accountabilities, and initiatives. From this analysis, skills and accountabilities were organized into clearly defined teams and areas, supported by a high-level value chain mapping each team's accountabilities. Two structural options were developed, each with detailed accountabilities for every team alongside current and recommended projects and initiatives. To support implementation planning, a three-year manpower plan was built for each structure, identifying which roles needed to be filled first and how the team could grow over time. The engagement concluded with three use case scenarios, each mapping a core organizational activity across the relevant departments and roles — showing who would be involved, in what sequence, and what each would contribute.
approach
The engagement produced a comprehensive organizational design package giving the organization a clear, evidence-based path forward. The two structural options, supported by full manpower planning and detailed accountabilities, gave the Board the information needed to make an informed decision about the organization's direction. The three use cases provided an additional layer of clarity on how the proposed structures would function in practice.
results
The recommendations were implemented, with the organization subsequently appointing a General Secretary — a role that had not previously existed, and a direct reflection of the structural evolution the engagement was designed to enable.
