Pro bono management consultant

Volunteer with The Cranfield Trust - pro bono management opportunities in Bristol and elsewhere in the South West.

The Cranfield Trust is a leading provider of pro bono management support for the voluntary sector.

The Trust is a national charity and for over 30 years we have been adding value to the lives of people across the country by providing free business skills to help build successful charities.  Our remit for consultancy and mentoring projects is to support organisations addressing issues of poverty, disability and social exclusion.

Every year our network of over 1,300 highly skilled volunteer management consultants share their knowledge and experience with charities, by providing independent advice and support on everything from business planning to charity governance, IT, financial management, HR and marketing.  

We are currently looking to recruit new volunteers to work with charities and non profit organisations in and around Bristol to work on specific projects or to join our mentoring programme.

Volunteering time input (currently delivered remotely) ranges from 2 - 12 days, with projects typically lasting between 3 and 6 months, depending on the volunteers' and clients' timetables.  Projects are specified to fit around the volunteers' work and personal commitments, rather than taking solid blocks of time. 

Mentoring is also becoming an increasingly important part of our offer and one we are keen to provide. Leaders of voluntary organisations find it valuable to have someone from outside the sector who asks the right questions, builds confidence, and brings a new perspective.  These may be personal mentors, to support organisational leaders or mentors the organisation as a whole, working with staff and trustees/Boards. 

We currently have a number of project enquiries in the Bristol area with small to medium sized charities.

We will be identifying projects across the South West over the coming months and are keen to recruit new volunteers to provide their advice and support to help charities in the South West to develop their management skills and confidence.

Most of our volunteers report how much they learn from their projects - about managing resources, motivating people, and simply achieving a lot with very little.  Their help is highly valued by the client charities, and volunteer feedback often reminds us of the huge contribution charities make to social problems that affect us all.

If you are a skilled management professional, confident operating as an independent management consultant or adviser, The Cranfield Trust would love to hear from you. We usually recruit people who have considerable expertise in independent management consultancy, suited to working directly with the CEOs and Boards of our client charities. Please note: as you will be providing 1:1 support to our charity clients, you will be expected to have at least 5 years experience of working at a senior level within an organisation. You do not need to have significant charity sector experience, we can support you in that respect.