Call for Mentors

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Call for Mentors: WONCA Young Family Doctors NCD Fellowship

WONCA is pleased to launch the WONCA Young Family Doctors Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) Fellowship, a 10-month global programme designed to strengthen leadership, clinical capacity, and community impact of early-career family doctors in the prevention and management of NCDs within primary care.

Supported by AstraZeneca through an educational grant, this fellowship reflects WONCA’s commitment to advancing equitable, high-quality primary care and empowering the next generation of family medicine leaders across all regions.

About the Fellowship

The NCD Fellowship will select seven early-career family doctors (one from each WONCA region) to participate in:

Monthly online learning workshops on NCD prevention and management in primary care
One-to-one mentorship with experienced family medicine and NCD experts
Practical experience through the design and implementation of a small, community- or practice-based NCD project addressing a locally identified gap in care
Opportunities for leadership development, advocacy, and regional and global networking within WONCA

Mentors play a central role in guiding fellows to translate learning into meaningful, locally relevant impact.

Role of the Mentor

Mentors will provide professional guidance and support to assigned fellow(s) throughout the 10-month fellowship.

Key responsibilities include:

Participating in the fellowship mentorship framework in line with the Mentors Terms of Reference
Conducting a minimum of six (6) one-to-one mentorship sessions with the assigned fellow(s)
Participating in six (6) structured cross-learning workshops involving fellows and mentors
Supporting fellows in refining project design, implementation approaches, and evaluation
Reviewing key fellow outputs (e.g. project proposal, progress update, final report or presentation)
Contributing to two public fellowship workshops, where emerging insights and lessons learned are shared

Mentors are not responsible for direct implementation of fellows’ projects.

Time Commitment

The expected time commitment is approximately 4–6 hours per month on average across the 10-month fellowship. This includes individual mentorship sessions, review of materials, participation in monthly group workshops, support of fellows’ projects, and limited coordination activities.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants should:

Be an experienced family doctor, academic, or primary care leader
Demonstrate expertise in NCD prevention and management and/or primary care education, quality improvement, or leadership
Have prior experience in mentorship, supervision, teaching, or programme leadership
Be able to commit to the time requirements of the fellowship
Be affiliated with a WONCA Member Organization

WONCA encourages applications from mentors across all regions and practice settings, with attention to geographic and gender diversity.

Note

The fellowship will be conducted in English. Applicants should therefore have sufficient proficiency in English to participate in workshops, mentorship sessions, and programme activities.

Financial Compensation

Mentors will receive a fixed professional fee of USD 2,500 in recognition of their time, expertise, and contribution to the fellowship programme.

The fee does not constitute a salary or employment payment.

Disbursement will be made in accordance with the terms outlined in the Mentor Agreement and is subject to the submission of the required documentation and fulfilment of agreed mentorship responsibilities and milestones.

Mentors remain responsible for fulfilling any additional tax or reporting obligations applicable in their country of residence.

A Lead Mentor will be designated to support overall coordination across mentors and to liaise with WONCA on mentorship-related matters.

In addition to standard mentorship responsibilities, the Lead Mentor may:

Facilitate communication and alignment among mentors
Provide guidance on mentorship consistency and quality
Support resolution of mentorship-related challenges
Contribute to structured review and feedback processes

The Lead Mentor role carries additional coordination responsibilities and will be remunerated at USD 4,000, with specific expectations confirmed upon appointment.

Application Requirements

Applicants are required to submit:

A curriculum vitae (CV)
A brief statement of interest (maximum 500 words) outlining:
- Relevant expertise and experience
- Previous mentorship or leadership experience
- Motivation for serving as a mentor in this fellowship

Selection and Appointment Process

Mentors will be identified through a combination of:

An open call for applications, and
Nominations proposed by WONCA leadership, Working Parties, and members of the Fellowship Steering Committee.

All applications and nominations will be reviewed by the Fellowship Steering Committee and assessed based on expertise, experience, availability, and alignment with the fellowship’s objectives.

A limited number of mentors will be formally appointed by WONCA and matched with fellows based on project focus, regional considerations, and mentorship needs.

Equity and Diversity

WONCA is committed to equity and diversity. Selection will ensure:

One fellow from each of the seven WONCA regions (seven fellows in total)
Consideration of gender balance, geographic diversity, and varied practice settings