Level Up is a mentorship programme which pairs up women in the early-mid stages of their events careers with an industry expert mentor.

Level up pairs up to 40 mentees with mentors who have been hand-picked to match your chosen specialism or industry area.

The programme encourages the sharing of skills, guidance and opportunities for growth as well as the chance for mentees to grow their network. Anyone with a minimum of 3 years of experience can become a mentee and we’re keen to encourage applications from women who are either employed, self-employed, or running their own business.

Level Up mentors will act as trusted experts in their field to help guide mentees towards achieving specific goals - increasing their impact, confidence, and success within the industry.

Mentors should be women working at a senior level within the UK events industry. Mentors should have time and experience to share to support a woman working in the early-mid stage of their career to Level Up.

This year we will be recruiting up to 40 individual mentors to join the programme,

Last year’s mentors included Katie Hester – Accessibility expert at Live Nation, Festival Republic and Pride in London, Sarah Slater - Vice President Music and Festivals at Ticketmaster, Sian Bennett – Strategy Director at Mustard Media, and Laura Armstrong - Senior Project Manager at LS Events.

Mentees should be women working at a mid-level within the UK events industry who are looking to take the next step in their career. In order to get the most out of the programme, mentees should have at least three years’ experience working in the industry, and have some clear goals or areas you’re looking for support with.

If you’re newer to the industry, don’t worry we haven’t forgotten you! We’ve got lots of interesting projects in the works, including for students and recent grads. Make sure you’re in our Facebook group and signed up to our newsletter to keep up to date with everything coming up at NOWIE.

Applications for both Mentors and Mentees are now open and will close on 27 November 2023.

Our team will then spend some time matching up our mentors and mentees, and pairs will be confirmed by Mid-December. The formal mentoring meetings will start in January 2024 and run for 6 months until June 2024.

Registering as a mentor / mentee does not guarantee inclusion in the programme - we may not be able to match everyone who applies.

This is up for you to decide with your mentor / mentee. If you live locally to each other, we’d love you to have the opportunity to meet in person, but if you’re a little further afield, online meetings might be the one for you!

There will be a Virtual Information Session for all mentors and mentees in January 2024, and in-person launch event which will take place in London in January 2024. We also hope to host a range of virtual webinars as part of the programme.

We have put together a structured plan for the 6 sessions, covering a different topic each month. You’ll be provided with useful resources and conversation starters, but it’s up to you and your mentor / mentee to decide how much you wish to make use of these.

Monthly topics include: goal-setting, confidence building and personal branding, practical skills for progression, finances and negotiation, work/life balance, and creating a long-term action plan for your career.

Level Up is completely free! We’re very grateful to all of our mentors for volunteering their time to support other women within NOWIE.

Applications for the 2023/24 Level Up cohort are now open and will close on Monday 27 November 2023.

Click here to register as a mentor.

Click here to register as a mentee.

All Level Up Mentors and Mentees must read and agree to our Level Up Agreement Handbook. This document sets out the commitment involved in the program, as well as providing guidance on safeguarding, data protection, and more.