Free template
Mentorship Program Charter Template
The operating document for a mentorship program: purpose, eligibility, matching rules, cadence, confidentiality, and escalation. Settles the questions you get asked in week three.
- Time to complete
- 60 minutes
- Use it when
- After the proposal is approved and before applications open.
[PROGRAM NAME] charter
Version: [1.0] Effective: [DATE] Owner: [NAME] Sponsor: [NAME]
Review date: [DATE, END OF FIRST CYCLE]
1. Purpose
[PROGRAM NAME] exists to [SPECIFIC PURPOSE, e.g. give [SEGMENT] structured access to senior experience they do not currently have, in order to improve retention and internal promotion rates in that group].
We will judge it on:
- [METRIC 1, e.g. 12-month retention for participants against a matched comparison group]
- [METRIC 2, e.g. goal completion rate at close-out]
- [METRIC 3, e.g. change in self-reported clarity on progression]
Naming the metrics in the charter rather than only in the proposal matters, because participants read the charter and they should know what is being measured about them.
What this program is not: a performance intervention, a route to promotion, or a substitute for management. Say this plainly. Participants assume otherwise unless told.
2. Eligibility
Mentees. [WHO IS ELIGIBLE, e.g. all employees at levels [X] to [Y] who have passed probation.]
Mentors. [WHO IS ELIGIBLE, e.g. all employees at level [Z] and above, plus anyone at level [Y] with prior people-management experience.]
Explicitly not required: manager approval. Applicants are asked to confirm their manager is aware, and nothing further. We do not give managers a veto over a report's development.
Places available this cycle: [NUMBER], set by mentor supply.
3. How matching works
Pairs are formed by [NAMED PERSON OR ROLE] using the intake data collected in the mentor matching questionnaire.
Matches are scored on:
- Skill overlap between what the mentor has depth in and what the mentee wants to develop
- Relevance of the mentor's experience to the mentee's stated goal
- Seniority gap of one to three levels
- Compatible availability and cadence
- The mentee's stated preference for a mentor inside or outside their own function
[IF USING SOFTWARE: matching is assisted by MentorStack's PAIR engine, which scores compatibility across five dimensions. Final pairing decisions are made by [NAMED PERSON], not by the software.]
Participants may request a different match once, without giving a reason, within the first three weeks. After that, a change requires a conversation with the program manager.
We will not match direct reporting lines, or anyone with a current or recent performance or grievance process between them.
If we cannot form a good match for a mentee, we will leave them unmatched this cycle and tell them why. A pairing that scores badly on the criteria above is worse than no pairing, because it consumes a mentor place and lapses by month three.
4. The commitment
| Who | Commitment |
|---|---|
| Mentee | [CADENCE] sessions of [LENGTH], plus preparation, from [START] to [END] |
| Mentor | The same, for up to [NUMBER] mentees |
| Program manager | [HOURS] per week for the cycle |
| Sponsor | Quarterly review, plus unblocking on request |
The cycle ends on [END DATE]. Continuing past it is an explicit decision by both parties, not a default.
Pairs record their own working arrangements in the mentoring agreement at their first session.
5. Confidentiality
Between the pair. What is discussed in sessions stays between mentor and mentee.
Two stated exceptions:
- Safeguarding and policy. Anything indicating risk of harm or a breach of [COMPANY] policy is escalated to [NAMED ROLE]. The mentor tells the mentee they are escalating, at the time.
- Program data. The program manager can see whether sessions happened and whether goals were marked complete. They cannot see session content.
Never shared with managers: session content, goals, survey responses at an individual level, or whether a specific person applied and was not selected.
Reported in aggregate only: everything in section 1, at a group size no smaller than [NUMBER, SUGGEST 8] so individuals cannot be inferred.
6. Raising a problem
Any participant can raise a concern with [PROGRAM MANAGER NAME] at [CONTACT], at any point, about anything.
Common ones and what happens:
| Situation | What we do |
|---|---|
| The pairing is not working | Re-match if possible, unmatch if not. No explanation required from the person raising it |
| My partner has stopped responding | Program manager contacts them directly. The person who raised it is not named |
| I need to step back | Ended, no questions. It is a normal outcome |
| Something was said that concerns me | Escalated to [NAMED ROLE] within one working day |
Ending a pairing early is explicitly a normal outcome and is not recorded as a failure by either party.
7. Data
What we collect: application answers, matching questionnaire responses, whether sessions took place, goal status, and survey responses.
What we do not collect: session content, notes, or messages between pairs.
Retention: program data is kept for [PERIOD] and then deleted.
Access: [PROGRAM MANAGER] and [SPONSOR] only. [ADD ANY VENDOR: if the program runs on third-party software, name it here and link to your internal record of the processing arrangement.]
8. Roles
| Role | Name | Responsible for |
|---|---|---|
| Program manager | [NAME] | Matching, comms, escalations, reporting |
| Executive sponsor | [NAME] | Mentor recruitment, unblocking, presenting results |
| [OPTIONAL] Program admin | [NAME] | Scheduling support, survey distribution |
The program manager makes matching decisions alone. Committee matching is slow and produces worse pairs, because the person with the intake data in their head is the person best placed to decide.
9. Cycle calendar
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| [DATE] | Charter published, mentor recruitment opens |
| [DATE] | Mentee applications open |
| [DATE] | Applications close |
| [DATE] | Matching complete, pairs announced, baseline survey sent |
| [DATE] | Target date for all first sessions |
| [DATE] | Two-week nudge |
| [DATE] | Midpoint survey |
| [DATE] | Close-out survey opens |
| [DATE] | Cycle ends |
| [DATE] | Results reported to [SPONSOR] |
| [DATE] | Charter reviewed for cycle two |
Survey content is in the mentorship program survey questions template. The email sequence is in the launch email templates.
10. Changes to this charter
Changes are made by the program manager with the sponsor's agreement, and are communicated to all active participants. The version number and effective date at the top are updated each time.
Mid-cycle changes to eligibility, matching rules, or confidentiality do not apply retroactively to participants already matched under the previous version.
Questions about this template
- What is a mentorship program charter?
- A short internal document that records how the program operates: who is eligible, how pairs are formed, what the commitment is, what is confidential, and who decides what. It differs from a proposal, which argues for the program, and from a mentoring agreement, which governs a single pair.
- Do you need a charter for a mentorship program?
- For a pilot under about 20 people you can get away without one. Past that, the questions arrive faster than you can answer them individually, and answering the same eligibility question twelve different ways is how a program acquires a reputation for being arbitrary.
- What should a mentorship program charter include?
- Purpose and the metrics it will be judged on, eligibility, how matching works and who decides, the time commitment, confidentiality including its limits, how to raise a problem, and who owns the program. Anything you would otherwise have to answer twice belongs in it.
- Who owns a mentorship program?
- One named person with the time to run it, plus one executive sponsor with the standing to unblock it. Programs owned by a committee stall, because matching decisions and escalations both need someone able to decide alone.
Related templates
- Mentorship Program Proposal Template
A ready-to-send internal proposal for launching a mentorship program. Covers the business case, scope, budget, timeline, and the metrics leadership will ask about.