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Roles and Responsibilities of Sponsors

“Allies seek out talented protégés from entirely different racial and cultural backgrounds and become their vocal fans. They get to know these colleagues’ strengths and weaknesses, help them develop as leaders, challenge and encourage them, and tout their abilities and achievements whenever new projects, stretch assignments or promotions are discussed. They nominate protégés on the basis of their potential, without expecting them to prove they can do a job in advance.”Footnote 1

What is a sponsor?

A sponsor:

  • is a senior level staff member who is personally vested in the upward movement of their protégé’s career
  • should, as a best practice, be at least two levels more senior than their protégés.  Generally, sponsors should be EX-03 or above
  • must have influence and visibility 
  • values and seeks to improve with respect to intercultural competency. As a best practice, they should be willing to undertake a self-assessment of intercultural competency and unconscious bias with a view to being a more inclusive leader and a stronger sponsor.
  • promotes protégés directly, using their influence and networks to connect them to high-profile assignments, good learning opportunities and, when appropriate, promotional opportunities, in keeping with the core staffing values of merit and non-partisanship
  • champions their protégés visibility, often using their own platforms and reputation as a medium for exposure
  • takes personal responsibility to assist the public service to reduce systemic bias and barriers that have resulted in fewer opportunities for equity seeking employees 
  • does not “play favorites” – they help to ensure that their protégés are connected to opportunities that might otherwise be withheld

Key activities

Once a protégé is selected and matched with a sponsor, the following are some key activities that a sponsor would undertake:

  • Sponsors will meet with their protégé to discuss and identify the parameters of the relationship including the objectives and the goals moving forward along with the frequency and modality of their meetings.
  • Sponsors will identify projects, assignments, priority projects and other opportunities to support the skill and career development of their protégé. Sponsors will advocate on behalf of their protégé to be assigned to appropriate and challenging development opportunities.
  • Sponsors will advocate for the promotion of their protégé when the protégé is a meritorious candidate for a promotion. To be clear, the core staffing values of merit and non-partisanship will always be upheld along with the guiding values of staffing.
  • Sponsors will actively practice “take me with you” with their protégé, to provide their protégé with a range of development and learning opportunities.
  • Sponsors will encourage protégés to take specific training to build certain skillsets required for advancement.
  • Sponsors would provide protégés with feedback and recommendations periodically to support the protégé’s development and upward mobility.

Tools and Resources:

Public Sector:

Ontario Public Service:

Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Training from Canadian School of Public Service:

Indigenous Learning Products from the Canadian School of Public Service:

Values and Ethics:

Learning Series:

Mentorship from the Canada School of Public Service:

Private Sector:

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