Exams Officer at British Council

Reports to: Centre Manager Manager, Nigeria
Directorate or Region: SSA
Department: Exams
Pay Band: Country Appointed PB4
Start Date: as soon as possible

Purpose of job

• To support Examination Services in Nigeria in delivering Schools exams and to maintain them at the highest professional standards as set out in the British Council's EQS (Examination Quality Standards), examinations boards and partners standard.

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.

Accountabilities and Responsibilities
(including people management and finance)

• As Exams Officer the post holder will be line managed by the Centre Manager of Lagos.
• This role will support delivery of all examinations administered from the Lagos office.
• All administrative procedures are in full compliance with examination board regulations and EQS standards.
• Reliability: to ensure examinations are delivered securely according to board requirements
• 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 Examination Boards.
• Finance: all British Council standards for managing finances are met with relation to income reconciliations, cash handling, managing POs, managing contracts and procurement.

Main Duties
Administration of examinations (pre-test):

• Overseeing the taking delivery of examinations materials and checking them prior to exams commencing, packing and returning scripts, maintaining logs appropriately.
• Answering enquiries about exams.
• Exam registration procedures including receiving and collating registration forms, entering and retrieving data on exam board registration portals, payments and exams correspondence including dispatch of results.
• Assist with recruitment and management of venue staff (invigilators, examiners and inspectors).
• Assist with evaluation of new associate schools, agents and other educational institutions.
• Assist with searching for and evaluation new venues.

Exam Delivery
Delivering examinations on test days as part of the exams team which includes:

• Supervision of venue staff
• Ensuring adherence test day procedures.
• Delivering speaking tests.
• Overseeing practical examinations.

Post-Examinations administration

• Shredding/disposal/despatch of examination materials while recording this in accordance with board standards and keeping accurate records of the movement of live materials
• Effective delegation of duties when absent on leave or through illness etc.

Venue Staff:

• Venue staff creation, scheduling and payment.
• Assist with monitoring and training of invigilators.
• To be part of the recruitment, training and monitoring team for venue staff.
• To act as liaison between examiners and the relevant operations managers and trainers.

Client Support:

• To assist in planning agent briefing events, and to support agents in the registration and training of candidates.
• To assist schools with becoming associate centres.
• To assist Exam/Grant Funded Services (GFS) project managers in delivery of Education/Skills-specific events, including assisting with managing relationships with stakeholders.

Marketing & Customer Service:

• To assist Regional Sales Managers in collecting qualitative and quantitative marketing data in order to contribute to the marketing action plan and support business development.
• Seeking and using customer feedback to improve service delivery.
• To assist the Regional Sales Manager in appropriate marketing of examinations in Nigeria.
• To follow a programme of visits to schools/educational institutions/training providers to build relationships with existing and potential clients to expand the business.
• To assist in customer service, delivery of other examinations and other duties as required in this small office, especially in times of staff absences.

Finance:

• To assist with preparation and submission of income reconciliations to agreed timescales.
• To record income correctly on the FABS system and in a timely manner.
• To comply with Contract and Procurement standards.

Continuing Professional Development:

• To ensure that elective and mandatory training is completed. To contribute to centre and national meetings and working groups.

Key Relationships:

• Internal: Country Exams Manager, Deputy Country Exams Manager, Head of Operations, IELTS Administrator, Regional Sales Manager, Examination Officers elsewhere in Nigeria and globally, Customer Service Staff Nigeria, Finance Manager Nigeria. Education and ELT Project Managers.
• External: Vocational and higher education training providers in Nigeria and the UK. IELTS Regional Team. School Principals, Educational Agents, AISEN, APEN, ELTAN and other professional teaching associations; venue staff, enquirers, candidates, Regional Exams Director.

Other important features or requirements of the Job:
(e.g. travel, unsocial/evening hours, restrictions on employment etc)

• Travel to administer/monitor examinations in centres outside of Lagos may be required. Early morning starts, overnight stays and weekend working is required. Flexible working hours during peak periods is required. Examination delivery deadlines are absolute; therefore, out of hours working may be required in order to meet these 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:

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

Skills and Knowledge

• Applies a range of standard analytical techniques to support business development - e.g. pricing tools, revenue tracking, monitoring sales prospects, audience figures or profit margin.

Using technology Level 1:

• Able, with adjustments if necessary, to use office software and British Council systems to do the job and manage documents or processes.
• English Language proficiency to IELTS band 8.0, CEF C2 in all areas (or equivalent). Knowledge of the education and qualification systems in the UK and Nigeria.

Experience

• Providing and monitoring service within quality standards.
• Working quickly and accurately to tight deadlines.
• Experience of handling and reporting on payments from customers.
• Training and managing a team to deliver to quality standards.
• Convening meetings with stakeholders. Experience of delivering examinations in a timely and secure manner.

Qualification

• A first Degree or equivalent (including via work experience). A qualification in examinations management.