Call for Manchester Gold mentors

23 Mar 2021

Opportunities to be a mentor on our Manchester Gold programme

Our staff mentoring programme Manchester Gold is open for applications for mentors and mentees until Thursday, 8 April. The programme is managed by the Staff Learning and Development Team and aims to support staff development by initiating mentoring relationships with colleagues who have complementary experience and development interests.

Could you support someone with their career development?

We are actively seeking staff who would be interested in becoming a mentor. There are no requirements for level of experience or grade; all mentoring matches are made based on the experience of the mentor and development needs of the mentee. Over the 9-months of the programme we ask that mentors meet with their mentee a minimum of four times, and estimate that the total time commitment is up to 20 hours (this includes access to mentor skills development and mentor supervision). Some comments from a mentor on the 2020 programme:

“I had ignored Manchester Gold, thinking ‘I’m too busy – I can’t fit mentoring into my schedule’. Then last year, I signed up as a mentor for the first time last year. I discovered that the time commitment was just a few hours altogether. The robot match was perfect – I was inspired by my mentee, a member of PS staff just starting out on her career. I have enjoyed it so much that I have taken on more mentees outside of this scheme.”

Support for mentors

Whether you have mentored before or are brand new to mentoring, we support all Manchester Gold Mentors in the following ways:

• Half day mentoring skills workshop which is recommended for new or inexperienced mentors
• Self-directed learning resources to top-up or refresh on mentoring skills which is recommended for experienced mentors
• Regular mentoring peer-supervision sessions with other mentors on the programme, to share experiences learning and address any challenges
• MS Teams Group to receive regular updates on the programme, access resources, ask questions and stay connected to other mentors on the programme

More information:

• Apply to be a mentor
• If you have any queries or would like to discuss the programme further, please contact Staff Learning & Development by emailing ManchesterGold@manchester.ac.uk.