Application Process

Who are we looking for?

As a leadership development organisation we are seeking applications from a broad mix of people who currently hold a leadership position and want to improve their skills. This could be a voluntary position, like a youth group, or a CEO of a company.

We can all be leaders in society and in our own communities. This doesn't mean everyone running for parliament, but looking at the community around them, the organisation they work in or the college they go to, and considering what they can do to make it better. Society thrives on active citizens and social capital. By reclaiming the word 'leader' for all of us, and not just some far-away elite, we give ourselves the opportunity to live in the type of society that we want to, not the one we happen to find ourselves in. This is not only empowering, but an exciting and challenging way to discover new talents and meet new people.

We are looking for candidates who will contribute to the breadth of experience and sector across a participant group.

When you apply for a Common Purpose course, you need to consider, and our Advisory Groups will take into account, the following:

About you

• Whether the course that you are applying for is right for you, because our courses are for leaders at specific stages of their careers
• Your commitment to participate in the whole course. This is because if some people are unable to attend this diminishes the experience for other members of the participant group.

About the course
We ask everyone who comes on our courses to respect the Common Purpose Conventions. These have been developed over time and are based on our experience of running courses and on feedback from participants. They are designed to encourage open and constructive debate and discussion.

About the participant group
Our courses are designed for a mix of leaders from a wide range of backgrounds, sectors, and communities and this is essential to the learning process and its outcomes. Therefore on each course we are looking for a diverse range of applicants. This has two implications for your application:

• We will take into account the range of applications (sectors, professions, backgrounds, communities) in order to make sure a participant group isn't dominated by people from any one organisation, sector or community.
• You must be willing to work constructively with a diverse group of people.

Disability and access

We value diversity and constantly strive to provide equality of opportunity as an employer and in the provision and delivery of all our activities, including our programmes, websites and awards schemes.

We positively encourage applications from all sections of the community and are working hard to ensure that our programmes and services meet the requirements of people with disabilities. We have a range of services that may be helpful.

If you require any further information, please email enquiries@commonpurpose.org.uk or telephone
+44 (0)20 7608 8100.