Examinations Operations Manager at British Council

Region: Sub Saharan Africa
Location: Port Harcourt
Department: Exams, Nigeria
Pay Band: Country Appointed PB6
Reports to: Head of Operations

Purpose of Job

• To work with the Director Society, Society Programme Manager and other members of the Programmes team to support project delivery for the Northern Nigeria Girls School Enrolment Programme, Premier Skills, Active Citizens and NSRP/Arts project

Context and Environment

• 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, 5 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. 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, Responsibilities
(including people management and finance)

• 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 QCA, examination board, IELTS partner and Customer Management Framework standards.
• Business growth: to assist with providing capacity for growth in volumes managed by the Port Harcourt office.
• Financial control, monitoring and reporting: to manage the Port Harcourt exams businesses to target by monitoring and reporting income and costs on a monthly basis
• Impact: to achieve impact for the UK and the BC through providing access to quality UK qualifications
• Leadership: to manage and motivate the Port Harcourt exams team to achieve challenging objectives.

Main Duties

Examination Delivery:

• Responsibility for the full cycle of examination delivery in Port Harcourt. To ensure that these examinations are delivered to examination board, partners' and EQS standards. Occasionally to assist in delivery at peak times.
• Compliance: To manage inspection visits from examination boards as well as for carrying out regular inspections of examination venues themselves, monitoring security processes against standards set by the examination board and QCA. To conduct spot checks of venues and venue staff where necessary.
• To respond to and implement appropriately recommendations from exam boards, partners and QCA reviewers.
• To identify areas for increased efficiency and security in examination delivery and prepare plans to implement these. Oversee implementation of these plans across Nigeria.

Centre Management:

• To ensure value for money in purchases and adherence to procurement regulations.
• To be the process owner for the Customer Management Framework implementation for Port Harcourt.
• To seek and use customer feedback to improve service delivery.
• To carry out management spot checks as required.
• To lead staff in an effective and pro-active manner and to ensure accountability and delivery of services. To manage the development and professional training of staff.

Cross-SBU working:

• To work with CEM/GFS project managers in the planning and delivery of schools-specific and skills events.

Finance:

• To oversee the preparation of Port Harcourt income reconciliations to agreed timescales.
• To ensure income is recorded correctly on the FABS system and in a timely manner.
• To ensure that FABS processes are followed by the team.

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.

General Management:

• To contribute to Nigeria Exams team objectives by attending and contributing to staff meetings.
• To substitute for management team members.
• To lead on the recruitment, training and monitoring team for venue staff for Port Harcourt.
• To ensure training of venue staff 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.
• Assist with general staff recruitment and training.

Line Management:

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

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: Country Exams Manager, Head of Operations, ACEM, Regional Exams Manager, Deputy Country Director, Country Director, Regional Sales Managers, Schools Manager, IELTS Administrators Lagos and Abuja, GFS Schools and ELT project managers, Exams Finance Officer, Finance Manager Lagos.
• External: IELTS partners, IELTS Examiner Trainer, IELTS Examiners, CIE (UK and SSA), CIE inspectors from the UK, other examination boards, school principals and exam coordinators, school associations. BCSN members.

Person Specification

Behaviours
Essential:

• 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
Essential:

• 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 Management - 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).
• Analysing data and formulating marketing plans from these data.
• Presentation skills.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of the education and qualification systems in the UK and Nigeria

Experience
Essential:

• Managing a Team Level 3
• Provides full line management to a team where all members are working in a similar area of expertise or business. Scope includes planning, setting objectives, role modelling an inclusive culture, recruitment, and development and performance management.
• Monitoring service to quality standards and implementing improvements.
• Dealing with customers and enquiries in a service environment.

Desirable:

• Three year's work experience as an operations manager.

Qualifications
Essential:

• Education to 1st degree level or equivalent.

Desirable:

• A 1st degree in an education-related field or NCE