​As part of the ongoing strategy of developing schools' capability for effective financial and resource management, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is running a pilot that offers identified school and academy chief financial officers (CFOs) a unique and cost-free opportunity to further develop their skills and knowledge via a one-to-one mentoring programme. 

The Institute of School Business Leadership (ISBL) has won the contract to deliver this CFO mentoring programme. Recruitment and training of mentors will take place between July and mid-September. The mentoring will commence in October. 

What will a mentor be expected to do?

The pilot will run for 12 months in total, with the first cohort of mentees starting in October 2021 and the second in January 2022.

It is expected that the CFO mentoring programme will require the mentor to carry out the following:

• Desktop analysis and an initial visit to the CFO mentee at their school
• An agreed number of regular mentoring meetings (virtual) - mentors are expected to provide a set number of hours of support (maximum of 24 hours in total) to a single mentee over four to six months each
• Other project and ad-hoc activities (for example, reviewing reports, coaching on specific tasks, reviewing evidence of progress, etc.)

Mentors will be remunerated for undertaking the role of mentor.

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 27 July.

For further details about requirements, role profile and key dates, visit ISBL's website.