Pro Bono Management Consultant / Business Mentor - Stoke-on-Trent

Volunteer with Cranfield Trust - pro bono management consultancy and business mentoring opportunities in Stoke-on-Trent and across Staffordshire.

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

Cranfield 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 projects is to support not for profit organisations addressing human welfare issues such as poverty, disability and social exclusion.

Every year our network of over 1,400 highly skilled volunteer consultants share their knowledge and experience with charities, by providing independent advice and support on everything from business planning to charity governance, financial management, IT and marketing.  

We are currently looking to recruit new volunteers to work with charities in and around Stoke-on-Trent to work on specific projects or become one to one business mentors.

NOTE: you don't need to have a charity sector background, however the best service is provided by volunteers that have a first-hand appreciation of UK charities by having lived in the UK for at least 5 years or have significant overseas experience working with charities.

Volunteering time commitment, delivered face to face or remotely, ranges from 2 - 12 days, with projects typically lasting between 3 and 9 months, depending on the volunteers' and clients' timetables.  Projects 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 to the organisation as a whole, working with staff and trustees/boards. 

We currently have a number of project enquiries in the East and West Midlands with small to medium sized charities. We will be identifying more projects in the region over the coming months and are keen to recruit new volunteers to provide their advice and support.

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 feedback from charities and volunteers remind us of the huge contribution charities make to social problems that affect us all.

If you are a skilled management professional, from the private, public or third sector, confident operating as an independent management consultant or adviser, Cranfield Trust would love to hear from you. We usually recruit people who have considerable expertise in independent management consultancy, suited to mentoring and working directly with the CEOs and Boards of our client charities. As you will be providing 1:1 support, you will be expected to have experience 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.