Regional Sales Manager - Lagos at British Council Nigeria

The British Council is the world's leading cultural relations organization and creates opportunities for people in the UK and worldwide to understand each other, to work together and learn from one another. We see this as crucial to building secure, more prosperous and sustainable futures for us all. We build trust and understanding between different countries and cultures and develop strong international links that are of benefit to people in Britain and the rest of the world.

We are recruiting to fill the below position:

Job Title: Regional Sales Manager

Location: Lagos
Region: Sub Saharan Africa
Reports to: Head of Exams Marketing and Sales, Nigeria
Department: English & Exams
Job Category: Business Development/Partnerships
Pay Band: Pay Band 6

Purpose of Job

• To support Examination Services in Nigeria in developing markets for examinations and related programme activity and to lead a small team to achieve challenging sales targets - to double income and volumes by 2017.
• This post will motivate colleagues and casual staff to meet challenging targets, by modelling appropriate behaviour: leading by example in practical sales skills to achieve success.
• This post leads on identifying markets for Aptis, university and vocational examination sales.

Context and Environment
(e.g. dept. description, region description, organogram)

• Nigeria, a tier 1 country, has the largest project, programme and exams operations in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We operate from 4 main office locations. Individually, the Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt Exams offices alone are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd largest exams businesses by income in SSA respectively.
• There are currently 36 members in the exams team, 22 of whom are in the Lagos office.
• We operate a hub-and-spoke system in Nigeria with the main support functions, Business Support Services (BSS) and customer services, located in Lagos.
• The Exams business in Nigeria has grown significantly in recent years. We doubled our income and volumes between 2011 and 2013. In 2014/15 we delivered 90,000 examinations, this financial year the target is 100,000 exams on a turnover of £8.5m, and by 2016 we expect to double on 2013 figures to 120,000 exams.
• An investment in over 15 new posts in the exams team in Nigeria, of which this is one, will support our doubling ambition and address the issues highlighted below.
• We have a number of challenges namely: team capacity, quality of delivery, security risks and infrastructure restraints which we are addressing through organisational change, capacity increases and technological solutions. The Global New Operating Model for Exams (GNOME) and Global Financial Change projects are critical to our business plans.
• We are a global leader in a cross-SBU project on school quality and engagement in Nigeria, and we are developing a second cross-SBU project on skills and employability - again, a first for the British Council global network.

Accountabilities and Responsibilities
(including people management and finance)

The Regional Sales Manager is responsible for developing relations with current and future stakeholders in order to meet business targets. Specifically, but not exclusively:

• Business growth: to develop country business strategy with the Country Examinations Manager, the Head of Exams Marketing and Sales, Nigeria and other stakeholders.
• To pursue an agreed sales strategy and achieve challenging targets.
• Impact: to achieve impact for the UK and the BC through providing access to quality UK qualifications
• Develop and deliver a computer based testing (CBT) strategy for Nigeria.
• To assist with developing a Skills Agenda project for Nigeria with the Education SBU.
• To assist with developing capacity for transnational education between the UK and Nigeria.
• Leadership: to motivate the Exams team in Lagos to achieve challenging objectives.
• Financial control, monitoring and reporting: to monitor and reporting income and costs on a monthly basis. To track client acquisition, sales and volume trends and report on these to Head of Marketing and Sales and CEM.
• To manage a small team of casual sales staff to achieve sales targets.
• Quality: to deliver a high standard of customer service to our stakeholders and their candidates as measured by our own Exams Quality Standards.

Main Duties
Business Development, Marketing Channels Promotion & Customer Service

• Planning for Growth: responsibility for increasing the number of examination sales in Southern and Eastern Nigeria as outlined in the Marketing Action Plan (MAP). To identify new markets, customers and channels for promotion.
• To develop and manage a programme of visits to stakeholders to build relationships with existing and potential clients to meet business targets.
• To research, plan and conduct a number of promotional events – physical, digital and print to achieve sales targets.
• To collect and analyse qualitative and quantitative marketing data in order to contribute to the marketing action plan and support business development.
• Seek and use customer feedback to identify promotion channels, and new market opportunities.
• Identify opportunities to maximise sales to existing customers.
• Manage a database of clients/customers and create and manage a strategy for its use.
• To work closely with the university, Aptis and vocational Exams Operation Manager, and ensure a smooth handover of new clients to the operations team.
• Advise the Head of Operations, university, Aptis and vocational Exams Operation Manager on delivery of examinations based on client feedback.
• Work with other examination colleagues and SBU leads to devise joint promotional events to support the maximisation of cross-selling to potential customers.

Budget Management:

• To assist CEM and Head of Marketing in planning activity and then to assist on monitoring and managing income and expenditure to agreed targets. To report on these targets monthly.
• To identify areas for budget savings while retaining value for money.

Finance:

• To advise operations managers on enhancements to sales processes.
• To ensure compliance with financial regulations.

Line Management:

• To line manage up to 6 members of staff according to essential HR standards. To manage a small casually employed sales team.
• General Management
• To conduct Exams and other Centre Management checks as required. This includes Quality and Compliance standards, customer service, Examination Board and British Council regulations.
• To contribute to Nigeria Exams team objectives by attending and contributing to staff meetings and working groups.
• To assist with the recruitment, training and monitoring team of casual sales staff, venue staff and BC staff in Lagos.
• To substitute for the Operations Managers in Lagos and Regional Sales Managers in wider Nigeria in their absence.

Continuing Professional Development:

• To ensure that elective and mandatory training is undertaken.
• To identify training needs for team, and assist in delivering this training.

Key Relationships:

• Internal: Exams and national marketing and sales team, CEM, DCEM, ACEM, Customer service Manager, Nigeria, Head of Sales and Marketing, Other Regional Sales Managers, Harcourt, and Examination Officers in Lagos. SBU leads.
• External: Examination boards and education providers in the UK, School Principals, University Heads, local training providers, educational agents, school associations (AISEN, APEN), ELTAN, Lagos CCI, British Nigerian business group, UKTI, DfID, State Commissioners of Education, Minister of Education, Nigeria, Regional Exam Managers, global British Council marketing teams.

Other important features or requirements of the job

• (e.g. travel, unsocial/evening hours, restrictions on employment etc)
• Travel to monitor/promote examinations and training events in centres outside of Port Harcourt is required, as are overnight and weekend stays.
• Examination delivery deadlines are absolute; therefore, out of hours working may be required in order supervise staff to meet these deadlines.
• Scheduled (by rota) Saturday management of office is required occasionally on a rota-ed basis.

Person Specification
Behaviours:

• Making it happen (more demanding):
• Being Accountable (more demanding)
• Connecting with others (more demanding)
• Creating shared purpose (essential)
• Shaping the future (essential): Working together (essential): Establishing a genuinely common goal with others.

Skills and Knowledge
Developing Business Level 2:

• Researches markets and conducts cost/benefit analyses to identify new opportunities or recommend improvements to current initiatives

Using Technology Level 2:

• Works as an advanced practitioner in the use of office software and/or British Council standard and social media platforms and trains or coaches others in their use.

Financial Planning Level 1:

• Uses corporate financial systems and processes appropriately as part of the job and on behalf of a team.

Managing Accounts & Partnerships - Level 1:

• Able to research business issues and contacts in stakeholder and potential partner organisations to support account management and business development.
• English Language proficiency to IELTS band 8.0 in all areas (or equivalent).
• Good presentation skills.
• Knowledge of the education and qualification systems and markets in the UK and Nigeria.

Qualifications

• Education to degree level or equivalent.
• A qualification in marketing, sales and/or promotion.
• Membership of professional Sales/Marketing/Promotion Association. E.g. ISMM; IPM.

Experience

• Two years’ successful experience in sales.
• Ability to work under pressure and to specific deadlines.
• Developing networks of contacts and stakeholders.
• Monitoring and reporting on sales and business development KPIs.
• Line management and/or leading a team.

Application Closing Date
6th July, 2015.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Click here to download job details MS Word

Click here to download BC Core Skills (pdf)

Click here to download BC Behaviours (pdf)