Pure Resourcing Solutions (Pure) are offering the chance for one aspiring female leader, working at a deserving organisation in the East of England, to receive a part-funded place on its highly successful Women’s Leadership Programme.

The Women’s Leadership Programme was developed by East Anglia’s professional recruitment specialist Pure and People & Performance Ltd in Cambridge to help women develop their authentic leadership skills and to support local organisations to evolve their culture and remove any workplace barriers to gender equality.

A place on the next course has been sponsored by Suffolk-based Blossom Charity, which supports women in enterprise at all stages in their career, to make this course more accessible to local organisations which may not previously have had the budget to develop their talent pipeline in this way. Applications for the sponsored place are open to charities, social enterprises, not-for-profit organisations, early stage start-ups or SMEs across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex or Cambridgeshire.

Lynn Walters, director at Pure, said: “There is clear evidence that creating an equal gender balance at senior levels brings numerous business benefits, including a more collaborative and creative approach to problem solving and greater profitability. Our programme provides the dual approach of not only developing aspiring female leaders but also the organisations they work for. We want to encourage local employers to mentor and support their female talent to review their progression pipeline and to address any potential barriers or unconscious bias. After all, if employers don’t know why women fail to climb the career ladder they can’t make any changes to achieving genuine diversity at executive levels.”

Over 30 local organisations have already participated in the programme since it launched in 2014, providing their female talent with a great forum to build their leadership skills, boost their confidence and to develop a network of like-minded professionals. This has included local charities and not-for-profit organisations, who remain part of the strong alumni network developing across the Eastern region.

Lynn Morgan, Chief Executive of the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity in Cambridgeshire, has sponsored a female colleague to take part in the programme. She said: “I have been delighted with the way that the leadership programme has given my team member the time and opportunity to explore issues around leadership and personal development with other very bright young women. The facilitation on the programme has been first rate and I believe the participants have benefitted significantly by being involved.”

Pri Pinnaduwa, HR Director at the not-for-profit organisation RAND Europe in Cambridge, was also a delegate on a previous programme. She added: “I so enjoyed the course and really appreciated the time to discuss leadership and the networking opportunity, as well as the chance to focus inwardly on things I can do to personally to achieve my goals. I can see how much thought and work has gone into developing this programme and hope it continues to go from strength to strength.”

The sponsored place is for the next 2016 course with the modules running in June and September. The full cost of the programme is usually £2,750 but this will be reduced to £1,375 for the chosen delegate. To apply for the place, or to nominate a member of your team, email lucy@prs.uk.com by 29 April with details of why you, or your colleague, should be awarded the sponsored place.