Coach – Mentor – Advisor
Coach – Mentor – Advisor
My work as an advisor and consultant is informed by 30 years of knowledge and skill supported by solid qualifications. I am trusted by clients (as evidenced by my 90% plus return rate of clients) to deliver beyond their expectations in terms of advice, quality and delivery.
Gender and Women’s Rights
My work in women’s rights and gender equality is shaped by a deep understanding of, and experience in, the systemic changes that need to be made at both a societal and an organisational level to change women’s lives. Through my coaching practice and through my own coaching journey, I have had a growing appreciation for how structural and historical forces frame a discriminatory system and in turn, shapes individual agency. I have a deep passion for enabling women’s individual’s agency in the world and an appreciation that for that individual work to have real meaning, it must be accompanied by systemic change. This is what I offer. Patience met purpose met deep expertise. It is a powerful and inspiring offering. It means that I give my coaching clients both the tools for agency and an intimate understanding of the terrain that they operate in. On the other hand, I bring my consulting clients an understanding of how structure, policy and process translate for individual women.
I remain convinced that the integration is in you. You are the foundation and wellspring of both modalities.
You are a black, female lawyer committed to social justice and the enabling of women on their own journeys.
Through my consulting practice I offer the following services:
Gender research, audits and analysis
Coaching and mentoring support to leadership teams in the gender and women’s rights sector.
Capacity Building and Systems Strengthening
Strategy Review and Design
As a seasoned international consultant, with direct experience as an executive and board leader, I have an in-depth understanding of strategy as a driver of impact and effectiveness. My work with my clients has helped them to shape strategies and programmes that are grounded in social justice and that are responsive to the needs of their constituencies.
Using a design thinking approach I support organisations that work to advance human rights and gender equality to develop agile strategies that are simple, clear and impactful. This approach includes developing a monitoring evaluation framework to measure the strategic impact and considering a realistic plan to implement and achieve the strategic objectives.
Design thinking as an approach
Embracing human-centered design means believing that all problems, even the seemingly intractable ones like poverty, gender equality, and clean water, are solvable. Moreover, it means believing that the people who face those problems every day are the ones who hold the key to their answer. Human-centered design offers problem solvers of any stripe a chance to design with communities, to deeply understand the people they’re looking to serve, to dream up scores of ideas, and to create innovative new solutions rooted in people’s actual needs. IDEO
Clients: Frontline AIDS, African Intersex Movement, Soul City Institute for Justice, Rise Up Against GBV
Organisational Strengthening
I am often contracted by funders to support new and established organisations to build or improve effectiveness. Areas that I provide support on are:
- Leadership and management
- Programme design
- Team collaboration and effectiveness
- Governance and board effectiveness.
- Systems and Processes
Clients:
Find out more.
“Shireen is deeply passionate about the potential of feminist organising and organisations and this comes through in her skill and intellect. Her vast experience in working with a wide range of organisations in Southern Africa has contributed to her vast knowledge on fundraising for organisations that are committed to women’s rights and feminist organising.” – Yaliwe Clarke, AGI
“Ms Motara distinguished herself by consistently submitting high quality inputs … Her performance was remarkable, and all interactions were smooth and effective” – Claudia Linke-Heep, UNIDO
