The role of chief finance officer (CFO) is one of the most challenging and highly scrutinised roles in local government. Our Chief Finance Officer (CFO) Mentoring Scheme supports CFOs and deputy CFOs to develop the knowledge and skills they need to excel in the role.
Our Chief Finance Officer (CFO) Mentoring Scheme is open for applications from mentees and mentors.
If you work in a council in England you can:
The purpose of the scheme is to supplement and not replace existing mentoring schemes. Please note that membership of an existing scheme does not preclude participation in our Chief Finance Officer (CFO) Mentoring Scheme.
Mentor training (optional virtual workshop for mentors)
All CFOs who mentor on the scheme will have the opportunity to attend a three-hour mentor training virtual workshop, to be delivered by an experienced mentoring provider and co-facilitated with a chief finance officer. Whether you are a new or experienced mentor, the virtual workshop will explore the skills, techniques, and tools you need to help you build a successful mentoring relationship with your mentee.
A brief guide to mentoring
Mentoring is a working relationship between a mentor – a senior or established colleague who has valuable knowledge and experience, and a mentee – a less experienced colleague who can benefit from impartial advice, support and guidance.
A mentor can be someone who:
- is a little more advanced in their career
- has relevant and recent experience in overcoming a challenge or developing their practice
- has 'been through it all' and is on the other side.
Mentors can be peers who have experienced similar experiences and challenges, or they can be people with very different experiences who can provide a new perspective.
Mentoring is particularly useful for chief finance officers (CFOs), especially for those who don’t have existing established networks.
Mentoring can also take place in situations where a more junior colleague has knowledge or experience which a more senior colleague would find useful to learn more about. This is sometimes called 'reverse mentoring' and is, increasingly, being used to facilitate more experienced practitioners to reflect on equality issues or challenges faced by younger colleagues.
What does the scheme involve for mentees?
As a minimum, we ask that mentees commit to:
- an initial meeting with their mentor
- regular meetings thereafter
- final review / evaluation meeting
- providing feedback about the scheme.
Initial meeting
The aim of the first meeting is to discuss ways of working, agree objectives and processes, and share your expectations of the mentoring relationship.
Regular meetings
After the initial meeting, regular future meetings will be scheduled. We recommend a minimum of one meeting per month to create momentum and build the relationship between mentee and mentor.
Final review / evaluation meeting
A final review / evaluation meeting will check progress against objectives, give feedback on the mentoring experience, and conclude the relationship.
Feedback
We ask that participants provide us with some feedback on the scheme so that we can monitor (and, potentially, review) the scheme.
Contact us
If you have any questions about the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) Mentoring Scheme, please email us at [email protected]