Schools Examinations Operations 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: 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: Schools Examinations Operations Manager

Location: Lagos
Directorate or Region: SSA
Department/Country: Exams, Nigeria
Pay Band: Country Appointed PB6
Reports to: Deputy Country Exams Manager
Duration of job: Indefinite
Contact: Country Exams Manager

Purpose of Job

• To support Examination Services in Nigeria in delivering school examinations on behalf of UK examination boards. To provide a great branded customer experience for our clients and to maintain them at the highest professional standards as set out in the British Council's QCA (Quality and Compliance Standards), project outcomes, examinations boards and partner requirements.

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 Schools Exams Manager is responsible for developing relations with current and future clients in order to meet business targets.
• Business growth: to grow the business and set country business strategy with CEM.
• Leadership: to manage and motivate the School Exams team to achieve challenging objectives
• Quality: to deliver a high standard of customer service to our schools and their candidates. As measured by our own Exams Quality Standards and the inspection visits from Cambridge International Exams.
• Financial control, monitoring and reporting: to manage the School exams business to target by monitoring and reporting income and costs on a monthly basis
• Reliability: to ensure Schools examinations in Nigeria are delivered securely according to board requirements
• Impact: to achieve impact for the UK and the BC through providing access to quality UK qualifications
• To develop and manage the British Council Schools Network project so it remains a leader in the British Council global network.

Main Duties
Examination delivery:

• Responsibility for the full cycle of operations of school examinations in Nigeria. To ensure that Schools Examinations in Nigeria are delivered to examination board, partners’ and QCA standards. To assist in delivery at peak times.
• Compliance: To manage regular inspection visits from examination boards as well as carrying out regular inspections to schools, monitoring security processes against standards set by the examination board and QCA. Good recordkeeping is essential of all visits made. To conduct spot checks where necessary.
• To respond to and implement appropriately recommendations from exam boards, partners and QCA reviewers.
• To identify areas for increased efficiency in examination delivery and prepare plans to implement these.
• To keep a database of malpractice cases, to monitor these nationally and investigate cases further where necessary. To work towards minimising cases of suspected malpractice.
• To substitute for schools exams colleagues in Lagos.
• To identify processes for rationalisation, standardisation and automation as part of the GNOME project.
• To monitor and improve service delivery, and ensure best practice is delivered across Nigeria.

Venue Staff:

• To lead on the recruitment, training and monitoring team for schools exams venue staff for Nigeria.
• To ensure training of venue staff in Nigeria for schools examinations is appropriate and takes into account feedback from partners and quality checks.
• To carry out periodic performance monitoring of venue staff and retain documentation for these.
• To manage a national team of school inspectors.

Training Events & Educational Projects:

• To develop and manage a Nigeria-wide network of teacher and schools co-ordinator development groups for current and future attached centres. This is the BCSN.
• To plan teacher training and schools co-ordinator development events for attached and potential attached schools.
• To work with CEM/DCEM/GFS project managers in the planning and delivery of schools-specific events.

Business Development, Marketing & Customer Service:

• Planning for Growth: responsibility for increasing the number of school examinations as outlined in the Marketing Action Plan (MAP); working with CEM/DCEM on the Schools section of the MAP and planning targets for future years. To develop appropriate marketing strategies for Schools examinations.
• To develop and manage a programme of visits to schools to build relationships with existing and potential clients to meet business targets.
• To issue a quarterly newsletter to all attached centres.
• 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 improve service delivery

Budget Management:

• To assist CEM and Head of Operations 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 improving value for money through better administrative processes and vendor market testing.

Finance:

• To oversee the preparation of Lagos Schools income reconciliations to agreed timescales.
• To ensure income is recorded correctly on the FABS system and in a timely manner.

Line Management:

• To line manage up to 6 members of staff according to essential HR standards.

General Management:

• To contribute to Nigeria Exams team objectives by attending and contributing to staff meetings.
• To substitute for other management team members in their absence.

Key Relationships

• Internal: Outreach Schools Officer (Lagos), Schools Officer (Lagos), Country Exams Manager, Deputy Country Exams Manager, Centre Manager Port Harcourt, Schools Officers in Port Harcourt and Abuja; Regional Nigeria Sales Managers, Head of Operations, Country Director, SBU leads; global schools quality project steering committee.
• External: CIE UK and SSA representatives, other UK school examination boards, school principals, school examinations co-ordinators, AISEN, ELTAN, APEN, BCSN members and steering committees, and other professional teaching associations, venue staff, enquirers, candidates, customer service staff, Regional Exams Manager; Commissioners of Education, Head NUC.

Behaviours
Essential:

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

Skills and Knowledge:

• Business Management Level 1
• Using Microsoft Office Word and Excel.  Using web browsers.
• English Language proficiency to IELTS band 7.0 in all areas (or equivalent).
• Analysing data and formulating marketing plans from these data.
• Presentation skills.

Experience

• Line management and/or leading a team. Training and coaching people.
• Dealing with customers and enquiries in a service environment.
• Monitoring service to quality standards and implementing improvements.
• Knowledge and experience of the education and qualification systems in the UK and Nigeria
• Organising teacher training events.
• Three year's work experience as an operations manager.

Qualifications

• A 1st degree of equivalent in any field.
• A 1st degree in an education-related field or NCE.

Application Closing Date
26th November, 2015.

Start Date
2nd October, 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)