Recruitment of 10 Founding Female Ambassadors

Applications are now being invited from senior female leaders to become founding members of the Leaderene Network. The Leaderene Network is a new social enterprise which exists to provide a vital springboard to  ‘hothouse’ women in the UK, Africa and globally into the highest offices of business, community and political leadership. Increasing the power and critical mass of women participating in high level decision making, is vital for catalysing social and economic  global transformation – and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Leaderene is looking to recruit a network of 10 x founder ambassadors in the East Africa region, to promote the work of the network and provide inspirational leadership to women and girls, and imrove the lives of the poor. The East African network will connect with other Leaderene Networks around the world, including Europe & the US. Leaderene’s networks of influence currently extends to the White House.

This is a prestigious opportunity to become a founding member of a network that will exert influence and authority within senior decision making circles in East Africa and globally. The founder of Leaderene is  entrepreneur and though leader Marilyn Comrie,  who was honoured in the Queens Birthday Honours List (2009) with an OBE for her services to womens enterprise, and awarded the prestigious Kofi Annan African Leadership Excellence Award for her pioneering institutional capacity building work with post-conflict African countries like Liberia and Somaliland.
 
Leaderene will create a power network of influential women leaders who will mentor and sponsor women entrepreneurs running microbusinesses, and open up new market opportunities to allow them to grow into small and medium sized enterprises.

Working with local partners,  Leaderene will provide:-

• Vital peer support for women CEOs, MDs and political leaders who often feel isolated.
• Grow talent pool of competent and able senior women leaders who can fill senior board positions in government, public & private sectors.
• Create & grow opportunities for female-owned microbusinesses to secure substantial public and private sector contracts, creating the best conditions for growth into sustainable small and medium sized enterprises.
• Transform the culture of existing boards to make it more comfortable for all concerned.
• Business mentoring to grow female-owned microbusinesses into sustainable medium and large enterprises.
• Microfinance for women who would have difficulty getting financial support to set up in business, or for women in general.

Expressions of Interest should be emailed to Hayley Hinchy, Personal Assistant to Marilyn Comrie OBE by emailing hayley@leadergen.com

Successful applicants will take part in a challenging 4 x day leadership  retreat taking place in East Africa, providing participants with a unique opportunity to reach outside their comfort zone and take the Leaderene Challenge.

Broader impacts

• Generation of a pipeline of competent women leaders as the list of Leaderene Alumni/Ambassadors & mentors grows into the world’s most powerful women’s leadership network.
• Establishment of a knowledge hub to draw together business and development related research and provide cutting edge thinking and practice for progressing women into top jobs.
• Create vital opportunities to grow large, sustainable women-owned businesses with economic clout.

Process & criteria for selection for recruiting  network members

• Development of selection criteria; a combination of 8 x leadership criteria. Individuals must be outstanding women working in the public, private or community sectors who are thought leaders, and opinion formers who have been the catalyst and drivers for lasting transformation within their organisation or sector, and who possess the capability to become high profile public figures. This is key to inspiring the next generation of young women leaders and transforming mindsets which too often equate the highest offices of leadership with being white, middle age and male.
• Advertising through relevant women’s leadership networks in East Africa.
• Nominations reviewed and each applicant assessed against criteria by Marilyn Comrie OBE and Katrina Arnold from the Financial Services Authority. Scores given on a scale of 0 to 5 for each selection criteria, with relevant comments
• After completion of individual evaluations, a shortlist is generated of successful candidates.
• Applicants will be informed of the decision.

The future work of the Leaderene Network will be supported by a one-stop shop website providing the world’s best online resource for, and about women including inspiration, research, e-learning, as well as products and services.