IMA Endorsed Consultant: An individual who coaches organizations and/or individual(s) in the creation of, or strengthening of, a mentor program, and has the ability to deliver mentor training and workshops.
The Endorsed Consultant applicant must provide evidence of professional skills, expertise, experience, and knowledge which will be peer-reviewed to illustrate an understanding of the depth and complexity of mentoring. Also the capacity to coach a program leader(s) to meet all factors noted in the IMA Accreditation Scoring Guide and encourage organizations to complete the IMA Accreditation process.
Accreditation Scoring Guide
The International Mentoring Association (IMA) recognizes the need to identify and endorse mentoring consultants as individuals OR 2-5 individuals in a mentoring consultant business.
An IMA Endorsed Consultant must show evidence of:
- Knowledge of mentoring processes, organizational leadership, and IMA standards for mentoring programs;
- Ability to implement a clear, rational, and comprehensive process to help mentoring programs meet IMA standards; and/or help individuals become better mentors through training;
- Capacity to coach a program leader(s) to meet all factors noted in the IMA Accreditation Scoring Guide and encourage organizations to fulfill the requirements of Gold Level Accreditation.
- A history of positive support and services to mentoring programs, businesses, their leaders, and their host organizations, if any;
- Legal business authority and established fiscal processes; and
- Clear business practices
The Endorsement process ensures that consultants possess knowledge of program standards, and demonstrate success in helping individuals and/or programs meet IMA standards. The Endorsement process focuses on what an individual knows and has accomplished. It also considers the business side of consulting and the professional practices that create the conditions for consulting. The Endorsement requirements are intentionally broad to allow for individualization and program variations.
Mentoring Consultant Endorsement is granted after the IMA review team examines the evidence of the applicant’s mentoring consulting competencies, consultant business competencies and requirements, and client testimonials. The final stage of the Endorsement process is an interview with an IMA board member serving on the Accreditation Committee.
IMA Support of the Endorsed Consultant:
The IMA will feature a list of Endorsed Consultants on its website. To be included, consultants pay a fee of $600 for a two-year endorsement, which automatically includes, at no additional cost, an optional listing in the IMA Speaker's Directory for those who meet the qualifications. Endorsed Consultants will write a profile highlighting their areas of expertise, speaking topics, and training focus, and submit a digital photo for the website, along with a link to their personal website or email. The endorsement also allows consultants to set their own fees for training or speaking engagements, with the IMA receiving no portion of those fees. The endorsement remains active for two years, during which the consultant's profile is displayed on the IMA website, with the option to renew at the end of the term.
BENEFITS:
In addition to the benefit of being featured on the IMA website as an Endorsed Consultant, which may drive business to the consultant, there are other benefits, as well. Individuals who receive IMA Consultant Endorsement have the privilege of using the IMA logo on their published materials and marketing. A logo indicating the Endorsed Consultant credential will be provided once Endorsement has occurred. The Endorsed Consultant also has the privilege of distributing IMA training “badges” to those who are trained by the consultant (optional to use). The badge will indicate that the participant has completed training from an Endorsed Consultant of the International Mentoring Association (IMA). PLEASE NOTE: This does not give the trainee any credentials to be a trainer. It only acknowledges completion of training by an IMA Endorsed Consultant, but the trainee may use the badge on their signature. The badge is only to be given to those completing training by the Endorsed Consultant, and the badge is the intellectual property of the IMA, and cannot be altered.
[Wording on the badge will be: “Completed training by an Endorsed Consultant of the International Mentoring Association”]
Overview of Endorsement Application Process
A 100 point rubric is used to determine Endorsement. Below is a description of the required information, documentation, and evidence needed to support an application. An applicant should supply the information in narrative form under each heading, in ONE double spaced document. Use headings, bullet points, bold or italics, etc., to align your narrative with the headings below and for easy readability.
Required Documentation, Information and Evidence:
A. Mentoring Consulting Competencies - worth 50 points
1. Knowledge of Mentoring Consultant Program Design
Please describe your mentoring consultant service/business design by covering the topics below:
a. Business Introduction. State the name of your business.
b. Provide an introduction of yourself and your services, your program, and a general overview.
c. Program/Business Alignment to IMA Standards for Mentoring Programs. How do your mentoring services/ practices align to the IMA standards?
d. Describe your curriculum and training methods as you deliver mentoring consultation.
e. Outcomes of Your Involvement. What have been some outcomes achieved based on your personal and professional work? Give examples of mentoring services you have provided as a consultant and to what entities. You may submit examples of written feedback, reviews, or evaluation comments from participants in your trainings.
2. Knowledge of Consulting Facilitation, Skills, and Processes.
a. Facilitation Skills. What strategies do you use to facilitate interaction in your trainings? What mentoring processes do you implement/ teach your trainees to implement?
b. Program/ Business Development and Improvement. What action plans/ strategies have you employed (past or present) to grow and improve your program or consultancy?
B. Consulting Business Competencies and Requirements - worth 20 points
1. Evidence of Business Legal Status (ex.: copy of LLC, business license, etc.)
2. Evidence of at least 3 years of Professional Mentoring Services Delivery (examples: publicity announcements, documentation of participant lists of trainings, invoices sent for services rendered, photos of trainings, list of trainings and locations, etc.). You may include pro-bono services.
3. Online Presence and Promotional Materials (links to website, copies of advertisements or email invitations, etc.
4. Fiscal Management
- Description of Formalized Fiscal Processes
- Fee structure for services
5. Applicant’s Qualifications
- Resume/Vita
- Current IMA Membership proof
C. Client Testimonials - worth 15 points
- Required minimum of three Testimonials from those you have served
- Can be solicited from past customers if not available from former assessments, or email feedback after training
Optional Application Components - worth 5 points
6. Other Endorsements
7. Consultant or Training Licenses
8. Conference or Professional Presentations/ Speeches (may be in list form)
9. Mentoring Publications (may be in bibliographic form)
10. Business Plan
D. Interview with IMA Credentialing Team Member (10 points)
- To be arranged after review of submitted materials
- Will occur on zoom or telephone
E. Business and Organization Applicants: with this application you can apply for up to 5 individuals in your business for endorsement. Please submit a resume for each individual, and a short narrative of the role each of these individuals serves in your mentoring consulting business.
Review Process
Submit in one main narrative Word document (with additional attachments if needed for ancillary materials). Email to: [email protected]. Further questions can be directed to Dr. Kathleen Sciarappa at [email protected].
Submission/Fees (you will be invoiced by the IMA)
- Individual
- Applications accepted year round
- Application Fee: $600 – payable to IMA
- Fee is refundable if endorsement is denied, minus a review fee of $200.
- Business
- Applications accepted year round
- Application Fee: $600 per person in your business- payable to IMA
- Fee is refundable if denied, minus a review fee of $200.
Review Timeline
