Strategic Advisor · Governance · Leadership · Executive Coaching
I work with boards, executive teams and funders to strengthen leadership, navigate transition and build more effective, sustainable organisations.
What I Do
I support organisations and leaders at critical moments of growth, transition and change.
Strengthening boards, clarifying roles and improving decision-making to support accountable, effective organisations.
Supporting leaders and teams to build alignment, navigate complexity and lead with clarity and confidence.
Facilitating strategic clarity and strengthening approaches to fundraising, partnerships and long-term sustainability.
Credibility
My work is grounded in a feminist and African lens — centring equity, inclusion and the lived experiences of women and marginalised communities in everything I do. I believe effective leadership and strong organisations are built on values, not just systems.
I work with social impact organisations, philanthropic funders and women leaders across Africa and globally — particularly those working on gender justice, women's rights, and social change.
My experience includes partnerships with organisations such as the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF), Hlanganisa Community Fund, Graça Machel Trust, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center, Soul City, NACOSA and others at the forefront of feminist and social justice work across Africa.
For Organisations
I partner with boards, executive teams and funders to strengthen governance, leadership and organisational effectiveness.
This includes board and governance support, leadership team development, strategy facilitation, and organisational strengthening during transition.
Explore Organisational SupportGovernance reviews and diagnostics, board training and development, clarifying roles between board and executive leadership, committee structures, succession planning, and supporting chairs and executive directors in navigating governance complexity.
Executive and senior leadership coaching, leadership team alignment and cohesion, post-restructuring support and team reset, facilitating difficult conversations, and supporting new or transitioning leadership teams.
Strategic planning and facilitation, organisational positioning and narrative development, resource mobilisation strategy, strengthening internal systems for fundraising, and programme and partnership design.
Focused support for organisations navigating funding shifts, restructuring, or leadership changes. Rebuilding trust, clarifying roles and priorities, and creating a clear pathway from disruption to strategy.
For Women Leaders
I work with women leaders who are navigating complexity, growth or transition and are seeking a trusted thinking partner. This includes executive coaching, leadership reflection and clarity, navigating transitions and new roles, and building confidence and strategic focus.
Explore Coaching Support"I work with women who are doing important, difficult work in the world — and who deserve a space to lead from a place of clarity, strength and self-knowledge."
Structured, ongoing support for your leadership — navigating complexity, pressure, decision-making, and stakeholder relationships.
A flexible space to work through challenges in real time, test ideas, and have honest conversations you may not be able to have elsewhere.
Support for stepping into new roles, navigating organisational transitions, or preparing for what comes next with clarity and confidence.
For leaders in under-resourced, politically complex environments — staying connected to purpose while managing pressure and uncertainty.
Speaking
Shireen is an experienced keynote speaker, moderator, panelist, and masterclass facilitator — bringing a grounded, honest, and energising presence to conversations on women's leadership, workplace equity, and personal mastery.
The conditions women leaders navigate, and what it takes to lead with influence, self-compassion, and impact in complex environments.
Practical frameworks for leaders and organisations wanting to build cultures of equity, belonging, and genuine inclusion.
How self-awareness, boundaries, and wellbeing are not soft skills — they are the foundations of sustainable, effective leadership.
From policy to practice — what organisations and leaders can do to genuinely move the needle on gender equity.
About Shireen
"I work with both the technical and human dimensions of organisations — because sustainable change requires attention to both."
I am a strategic advisor, facilitator, and executive coach with over 25 years' experience working with social impact organisations, philanthropic funders and women leaders across South Africa, the SADC region, and internationally.
My work is grounded in a feminist and African lens. I believe that strong organisations are built on values as much as systems — and that sustainable change requires attention to both the human and structural dimensions of leadership and governance.
I hold a Master's in Law with a focus on human rights and women's rights, and bring this grounding to all my work. I work independently and, where needed, through The Next Chapter Studio — a women-led platform supporting delivery, facilitation, and partnership-based work.
Selected Work
A pan-African philanthropic organisation engaged us to strengthen board governance following a period of significant organisational growth. The board needed clearer structures, stronger accountability mechanisms, and a more effective relationship between board and executive leadership.
A social justice organisation with a team of 36 staff underwent significant restructuring due to funding shifts and a changing external environment. The team needed space to process change, rebuild cohesion, and move forward with shared clarity and direction.
A regional civil society network operating in a constrained funding environment needed to strengthen its strategic positioning, refresh its case for support, and develop a more focused and credible approach to donor engagement and fundraising.
A senior woman leader stepping into a new executive director role engaged in a 6-month executive coaching programme. She needed support to navigate the transition with confidence, establish her leadership presence, and manage complex stakeholder relationships.
A philanthropy support organisation commissioned a Training of Trainers programme to build the capacity of civil society partners to support grassroots organisations in fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and resource mobilisation.
A women's rights organisation needed to refresh its strategic direction and develop a Theory of Change that reflected its evolved mandate and the changing landscape for women's rights in Africa. The process required skilled facilitation across a diverse leadership team.
Selected Clients & Partners
Let's Work Together
If you are looking for support with leadership, governance, strategy, or organisational effectiveness — or a coaching space to think and lead more clearly — I would be glad to connect.