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“I found my mentoring experiences extremely valuable. My mentor brought new ideas and suggestions based on her experience and was great to bounce ideas off or provide a sense check. She was also very encouraging and supportive and gave me confidence that the work I was doing was high quality and adding value to my placement.”
Victoria Edwards
April 2019 Fellow -
“Being a mentor has been a fantastic mix of fun, reward, and extremely helpful to the day job. The fact that everyone involved is so lovely and fun is the icing on the cake.”
On Purpose
Mentor
Mentoring with On Purpose
Mentoring is a critical part of the On Purpose Associate Programme. Mentors guide and challenge Associates to add value and create lasting impact through their work in a placement.
Mentors act as a sounding board and advisor as the Associates deliver great work in their placements whilst also exploring and defining what they want to learn and experience as they look at their future career.
Who we look for
Our mentors are professionals with 15 or more years’ experience, preferably across a wide range of organisations where they have interacted with top level management, who are passionate about helping to develop the next generation of purpose-led leaders. We are very grateful for the support of mentors who all offer their time pro bono. Over the course of the On Purpose year mentors work with two Associates placed in a particular host organisation with whom they meet fortnightly.
What's involved?
Mentoring involves:
- Helping Associates prioritise and problem solve in a structured manner
- Acting as a sounding board and providing some quality assurance for the Associate’s work
- Drawing down on the mentor’s expertise to support the Associate’s Learning & Development
- Being part of the On Purpose community, a community of individuals and organisations that put purpose before profit
Become a mentor
We particularly welcome applications from female, disabled, LGBTQA+ and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people as these groups are currently under-represented within On Purpose mentors.
Our mentors enjoy the opportunity to apply their professional skill set to a different context. They gain insight into, and connections within, different sectors and industries, and are able to refine the skill of having developmental conversations.
We launch a new cohort of Associates every April and October and look to start conversations with new mentors a couple of months before each launch. You can register your interest at any time of the year, however be aware that it may be a short while before there is an opportunity to begin mentoring.