Apply to be a mentor
Could you mentor a new chair? Fill in our mentoring application form.
Being a mentor is a great way to share your experience with someone new to chairing. As well as supporting a new chair, it’ll give you the opportunity to develop and build on coaching and mentoring skills, get insights into the working worlds of other boards, and find out new ideas and insights.
What we’re looking for
We are looking to recruit mentors that have:
- Been a chair for more than 3 years and / or
- Have experience being a chair for more than one organisation
- Previous mentoring experience will also be helpful, although an induction and guidance will be provided.
Looking for a mentor? Please check again in the summer/autumn for more information about how to apply.
FAQs about being a mentor
What does the role of mentor involve?
If you become a mentor, you’ll be matched with a first-time chair who is in the process of finding their feet, learning what is involved with the role and putting it into practice. You’ll provide a space for a new chair to talk through and explore their new role. You’ll listen, reflect back, share knowledge, experience, skills or information to support the development of your mentee.
Our first-time chairs will be keen to learn from more experienced chairs. Some may have quite specific chair-related challenges they want to talk to a mentor about (for example their relationship with the CEO or difficult board dynamics), for others the mentoring may focus more on building up confidence in the role and educating themselves on all that is involved.
Our mentees have found that being able to vocalise their challenges to an experienced, sympathetic ear gives them a new and fresh perspective that really helps them progress. By volunteering to be a mentor you can make a real difference to a new chair and their organisation.
What will I get out of being a mentor?
Being a mentor is a beneficial and rewarding role. Mentors consistently find they get just as much out of the process as their mentee.
Our mentors have talked about how much they enjoy:
- Sharing knowledge and experience of being a chair to help others in their role
- Developing and building on coaching and mentoring skills
- Getting insights into the working worlds of other boards
- Being introduced to new ideas and ways of doing things
We will arrange an induction with all mentors involved and mentoring guidance will be provided, so you’ll be supported to be the best mentor you can be.
What is the time commitment for a mentor?
Mentors are generally asked to meet with their mentee online, every 4-6 weeks over a 6-month period. We ask for a minimum commitment of 6 x 1-hour sessions, unless it’s mutually agreed to end the sessions sooner. There is flexibility to carry on the mentoring for longer also, if both parties would like to do so.
Apply now
Please complete this form below. We will organise online interviews with all mentor applicants in September and will be officially launching the scheme in October 2026.