Exams Training Manager 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: Exams Training Manager

Directorate or Region: SSA
Location: Lagos
Reports to: Head of Operations
Department: English & Exams
Pay Band: Country Appointed PB6
Start Date: 1st August, 2015

Purpose of job

• This post is responsible for the identification of, planning and implementation of training interventions to staff in support efficient and secure examination delivery.
• This training promotes excellent customer service at every part of the value chain and customer journey for both internal and external customers.

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, 3 of whom are in the Port Harcourt 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. In 2013/14 we delivered 65,000 examinations, this financial year the target is 78,000 exams on a turnover of £7.5m, and by 2016 we expect to double on 2013 figures to 120,000 exams. We have shown initial successes with a cross-SBU project on school quality in Nigeria, and we are developing a second cross-SBU project on skills and employability.
• We have a number of challenges namely: team capacity, security risks and infrastructure restraints which we are addressing through organizational change, capacity increases and technological solutions. The Global New Operating Model for Exams 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)

• Training: to conduct annual needs analyses and identify appropriate interventions to meet these needs. To develop, standardise and deliver training processes to support examination delivery and CS teams.
• Quality: to support delivery of a high standard of customer service to our clients and candidates by ensuring staff have the right knowledge and skills to deliver.
• Business growth: to assist with providing capacity for scaling up our operation in Nigeria.
• Impact: to achieve impact for the UK and the BC through providing support to access to quality UK qualifications and training.
• Line manage up to 6 officers.

Main Duties
Training:

• To conduct needs analyses annually; review staff feedback from the staff survey and other channels and review customer feedback in order to draw up an annual training plan for the Examinations team. Present these to senior members of the Exams team in order to agree priorities for training.
• Identify appropriate training interventions to meet these priority areas and cost these for inclusion in the Examinations marketing action plan (MAP).
• Develop a cohort of trainers within the examinations team to assist with delivery of peer-led training.
• Commission training interventions from within the organisation and from external providers.
• To ensure that mandatory training is undertaken.
• Deliver training interventions to the examinations team across Nigeria using appropriate lesson planning/delivery paradigms, and a range of teaching techniques which cater to the learning preferences of the audience.
• Promote on-the-job learning and a culture of continuous professional development within the examinations team.
• Keep a record of all training in the exams team for review - especially for QCA, audit and investment reviews.
• Develop and deliver a programme of fortnightly face to face training exams team in-service training sessions (INSETs) across Nigeria.
• Assist with planning and delivering annual Exams team planning meetings.
• Review effectiveness of training interventions. Develop a system for monitoring return on investment in staff training.

External training:

• Assist with delivery of BCSN-related training.
• Identify in-house developed training interventions that can be delivered to clients on a commercial basis.

Performance management:

• Assist line managers with aspects of team or individual underperformance.
• Develop line mangers’ coaching skills and ability to manage performance.
• Assist with the design and implementation of and Examinations staff bonus scheme. Monitor staff performance for performance related pay.
• Assist with the planning and delivery of recruitment activity.

Venue staff management:

• Ensure venue staff are recruited and trained to corporate standards. This post manages this process and keeps appropriate records of such.
• Review monitoring of venue staff and plan training interventions based on this feedback. Assist other examinations managers with delivering venue staff training.
• Responsible for operation of the online venue staff management system (BOSS).
• Review venue staff claims before payment is authorised.
• Manage conflict of interest with in the venue staff cohort.
• Assist the ACEM and Head of School exams on teacher recruitment and monitoring.

General Management:

• Assist CEM with correspondence and administrative duties.
• To ensure value for money in purchases and adherence to procurement regulations.
• To seek and use customer feedback to improve service delivery.
• To carry out management spot checks as required.
• To assist with responding to and implementing appropriately recommendations from exam boards, partners and QCA reviewers.
• To contribute to Nigeria Exams team objectives by attending and contributing to staff meetings.
• To substitute for management team members.

Budget Management:

• To assist CEM and Head of Operations in planning activity and then to assist on monitoring and managing expenditure to agreed targets. To report on these targets monthly.
• To identify areas for improving value for money through better administrative processes and vendor market testing.

Line Management:

• To Line manage up to 6 members of exams staff.

Key relationships:

• Internal: Country Exams Manager, Head of Operations, ACEM, Regional Exams Managers, Deputy Country Director, Country Director, Regional Sales Managers, Schools Manager, IELTS Administrator Lagos, GFS Schools and ELT project managers, Exams Finance Officer, Finance Manager Lagos; country director, programmes Director, Director BSS; HR Manager.
• External: Regional examinations team; global training team; GNOME implementation teams; HR Manager SSA and UK; other global process renewal and customer service refresh teams.

Other important features or requirements of the job:
Travel to visit/inspect examination venues. Occasional travel to Lagos/Abuja/Kano and global destinations for training (receiving and giving). Overnight stays and weekend working may be required. Examinations take place on Saturdays, and early starts are sometimes required. Examination deadlines are absolute, so out of hours late working may be required to meet deadlines.

Please specify any passport/visa and/or nationality requirement. Right of abode and right to work in Nigeria
Please indicate if any security or legal checks are required
for this role. Successful candidate will have to satisfy British Council Child Protection check requirements.

Person Specification
Behaviours:

• Connecting with others (more demanding): Making regular opportunities to understand others better.
• Working together (more demanding): Establishing a genuinely common goal with others.
• Making it happen (more demanding):
• Shaping the future (essential):
• Look for ways in which we can do things better.
• Being Accountable (more demanding)
• Creating Shared Purpose (essential).

Skills and Knowledge
Training:

• Ability to analyse needs of a diverse group of people and devise a scheme of learning to satisfy skills and knowledge gaps.
• Ability to deliver training and coaching to individuals or groups.

Managing Projects:

• Analyses requirements with the sponsor/stakeholders, defining the specification, planning, revising, implementing and evaluating on medium-to-large scale and/or high risk projects.
• Coordinates a diverse team with awareness of equality and diversity impact as part of the project specifications and handles changes in specification or plan to meet unexpected circumstances.

Communication skills:

• Displays good listening, writing and speaking skills, setting out logical arguments clearly and adapting language and form of communication to meet the needs of different people/audiences. English Language proficiency to IELTS band 8.0 in all areas (or equivalent).

Planning and organising:

• Organises own work over weeks and months, or plans ahead for others, taking account of priorities and the impact on other people.
• Develops and reviews the implementation of annual plans for a work group or function, taking account of business and customer requirements and reconciling competing demands.

Experience

• Monitoring and reviewing service to quality standards and implementing improvements.
• 2 years proven training experience to small and large groups of people.

Qualification

• Education to 1st degree level or equivalent.
• A qualification in teaching/training.

Application Closing Date
10th 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)