Mwele Malecela Mentorship Program - Mentee Application Form

The Mwele Malecela Mentorship (MMM) Program for Women in NTDs aims to increase gender equality in representation and leadership by developing and supporting mid-career African women to become leaders and champions in NTD elimination at national and international levels. Using an innovative gender-intentional approach, the MMM program’s objective is to increase the overall coverage, effectiveness and impact of NTD interventions by ensuring the support to enable women to overcome gender barriers in access to leadership while also acquiring skills and resources that enable them to be influential leaders and agents of change. The program will provide mentorship, training and networking opportunities over the course of two years.

The gender-intentional approach to our mentorship prioritises programs that address the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that impede women's advancement in leadership roles. In this regard, the Mwele Malecela Mentorship Program is committed to selecting diverse cohort members, representing different sectors (public, private, academia, NGO, philanthropy), disciplines, and cultural backgrounds. The program is being implemented by a consortium of partners, led by WHO/AFRO.

The program will provide mentorship, training and networking opportunities over the course of two years. With the support of our partners, the MMM Program will provide guidance and tools to ensure mentees and mentors get off to a strong start by understanding their roles and critical skills needed for an effective mentoring partnership; topics include trust building, giving & receiving feedback, and powerful conversation tools and techniques to help mentees and mentors take their learning “to the next level.” Midpoint Sessions will also provide opportunities for mentees/mentors to assess their progress, share best practices and strengthen their commitment to the process. In addition, our Monthly Engagement Email Blasts, monthly emails for mentees and mentors, will help keep the partnership on track, spark conversation, and support partnership effectiveness. The time commitment expected of mentees to engage with their mentors during the two years will be, on average, 1-2 hours a month.

If you are interested in being part of the second cohort of the MMM Program, please complete the basic eligibility form below.

Criteria

You are eligible for consideration if you meet all the following criteria:   

  1. Identify as a woman
  2. Work in a role that focuses on Neglected Tropical Diseases, including public health policy, research or program interventions at sub-national, national or international levels.  
  3. Possess 10 to 20 years of professional experience in public health, with at least 10 years specifically in Neglected Tropical Diseases
  4. Reside and work within the WHO Africa region
  5. Must be a national of a country in the WHO Africa Region

The mentee selection process will take place in two stages:
Stage 1 – Background information and CV 
Stage 2 – Exploration of interests and mentee’s experience 

If you have questions regarding the application, please email: mwelementorship [at] who [dot] int

Application, Notification, Onboarding Timeline

Open Application Period: Initial Application period closes on February 11, 2024, by 11:59 pm (GMT+1).

Notification Period: We will notify applicants if they have been selected to proceed to a more in-depth Round 2 selection process on February 26, 2024.   We will notify applicants of their acceptance status by June 17, 2024.  

Acceptance & Pre-Orientation Period: The accepted mentees will be asked to confirm their participation by early July 2024, after which we will begin matching them to mentors and onboarding.   

Program Launch: Orientation commences the week of August 19, 2024.