Who supports the people
everyone else relies on?
Confidential mentoring for finance leaders navigating change
17 years | 1,000+ nonprofits | 50 countries
Finance roles across charities and NGOs can be demanding and increasingly broad. Whether you are leading a finance function, working as the sole finance professional, or taking on new responsibilities, there are often few people you can speak to openly.
AfID’s mentoring programme connects you with an experienced finance or senior leader who can offer independent perspective, reassurance and support.
This is not consultancy or training. It is confidential support from someone who understands the pressures of finance and leadership.
Experienced support for finance and leadership challenges
Finance and leadership roles can involve difficult decisions, increasing responsibility and challenges that are not always easy to navigate or discuss internally.
A mentor provides something different: an experienced, independent perspective from someone who understands many of the pressures you may be facing.
They can challenge your thinking when useful, share relevant experience and provide reassurance when difficult decisions need to be made.
What can a mentor help with?
- Leadership and difficult decision-making
- Organisational change, restructuring and growth
- Governance and Board relationships
- Taking responsibility beyond your original area of expertise
- Managing and developing teams
- Developing confidence and progressing into more senior roles
- Organisational systems, reporting and effectiveness
- A confidential sounding board for challenges you cannot easily discuss internally
Who is the programme for?
The programme supports Finance Managers, Heads of Finance, Finance Directors, CFOs, charity Treasurers and other finance professionals across charities, INGOs, foundations and social enterprises.
It can be particularly valuable if you are leading a finance function, the only finance professional in your organisation, stepping into a broader role, taking on responsibilities outside your previous experience, supporting a Board as Treasurer, or simply want an experienced external sounding board.
How does the mentorship work?
Most mentees speak with their mentor for around 1–2 hours each month, with greater flexibility during particularly demanding periods.
You shape the agenda and priorities, allowing the relationship to evolve as your challenges and responsibilities change. AfID remains available throughout the programme to support the relationship.
A thoughtful matching process
| 1 | Tell us what you need We’ll learn more about your role, organisation, current challenges and what you hope to gain from a mentor. |
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| 2 | We identify a potential mentor We’ll select someone whose experience and background are particularly relevant to you. |
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| 3 | Introductory conversation You’ll have an informal conversation before anything is confirmed, giving both you and the mentor the opportunity to make sure the match feels right. |
If the relationship isn’t the right fit for any reason, we’ll work with you to identify an alternative mentor.
The kind of experience in our mentor network
Our mentors include highly experienced finance professionals and leaders from international NGOs, charities, donor-funded programmes, humanitarian organisations and the private sector.
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Examples of current mentors
Emma – charity and public-sector Finance Director A Chartered Accountant with 15+ years’ leadership experience across NHS, education and charitable organisations, including Board-level finance, governance, systems improvement and trustee experience.
Chris – former CFO and charity Executive Director A senior finance leader with 40+ years’ experience across charities, social enterprises and international organisations, including financial sustainability, business planning, organisational change and Board reporting.
Martin – retired accountancy practice partner and charity Treasurer A Chartered Accountant with decades of practice experience, extensive voluntary board and committee roles, multiple AfID overseas assignments, and recent small charity Deputy Treasurer experience. |
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Why organisations value the programme
Mentoring can be a highly cost-effective investment in leadership development, retention, wellbeing, resilience and succession planning — particularly for senior staff carrying increasingly broad responsibilities.
Providing access to an experienced independent mentor also sends a strong message that the growth, wellbeing and long-term development of senior staff genuinely matter. |
Accessible pricing
12 months of mentoring from £495
Programme fees are deliberately kept accessible to the nonprofit sector and vary according to organisation size. |
About AfID
For more than 17 years, Accounting for International Development (AfID) has supported charities and nonprofit organisations around the world with experienced finance and leadership support.
We have worked with more than 1,000 organisations across 50 countries through pro-bono technical assistance, specialist recruitment, Treasurer recruitment and leadership support initiatives.
AfID manages the matching process and remains available throughout the mentoring relationship.
Interested in finding out more?
If you think an experienced, independent mentor could be useful to you or another member of your finance team, we would be very happy to have an informal, no-obligation conversation.
