Latest Vacancies at British Council

Pay band: 4

Remuneration: N 6,154,368 per annum 

Post Location: Lagos

Department: Finance

Contract type: Locally Engaged   

Duration: Indefinite  

Role Purpose:

At an unprecedented time of change globally, the British Council seeks an enthusiastic and professional Accountant to manage its accounts payable processes across operations in Nigeria.

The role is accountable for the operational management of British Council Nigeria’s Accounts Payable activities. Focusing on timely, accurate, complete payables management in line with internal organisational requirements and external regulatory standards, while acting as a trusted partner to the business delivery, operations, and support teams.

This role supports the Senior Financial Accountant with the end-to-end payables management process across the operation, including Management of vendor balances and vendor accounts, support financial services delivery in Abuja and Kano offices, management of all Accounts Payables controls in line with Period End closure (PEC), Financial Control and Compliance Framework (FCCF), and Year End closing process, etc.

Main opportunities/challenges for this role:

The role presents great opportunity for building a strong, efficient, effective, innovative and value driven purchases and payables management services for the British Council.

The role holder will:

• Manage end to end Accounts Payables activities and processes in Nigeria while ensuring accuracy and completeness of vendor accounts and balances.
• Act as one of the key finance business partners across operations in Nigeria.
• Ensure compliance with key Accounts Payable controls in line with internal Period End Closure checklists, Quarterly Financial Control and Compliance Framework (FCCF) report, etc.
• Management of payroll payment and related processes.
• Management of fixed assets and inventory records.
• Close engagement with procurement and other Business support function to drive innovation and improvement in the P2P processes and systems.
• The finance function has gone through several change programmes, and the post holder will play a key role in sustainability and achieving desired results of the changes and improvement projects, especially those that are Accounts Payable related.
• The organisation requires the financial function to have a level of commercial finance acumen as we expand our income generating activities, streamline our portfolio and target more partnership income. As a result, the role holder will also contribute in driving income target/performance.
• The organisation requires the financial function to have a level of commercial finance acumen as we expand our income generating activities, streamline our portfolio and target more partnership income. As a result, the role holder will also contribute in driving income target/performance.

Requirements

Essential:

• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Qualified accountant – ACA and ACCA – with a minimum of 3 years post-qualification experience in accounting and finance and similar role
• Bachelor’s degree in any field
• Good knowledge and understanding of transaction taxes – e.g. VAT and WHT
• Good and demonstrable knowledge of P2P and AP
• Excellent written and oral communications skills
• Demonstrates high level of understanding in all areas of the finance and accounting function.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong analytical and time management skills.
• Attention to detail and data entry skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel
• Experience of an ERP system

Desirable:

• Experience working with the Big 4 audit firms
• Master’s degree
• CGMA, CIMA, CITN, etc.
• Practical exposure to SAP

Additional Information: All applicants should have a pre-existing legal status to live and work in Nigeria.

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Contract Type: 2-year Fixed Term Contract
Pay band: SMP (Senior Management Professional)

Role Purpose

• The SSA Regional Director Arts is the most senior representative of Arts in the region, acts as the voice of Arts in the region and represents our regional and global work in Arts and creative industries externally.
• They lead the development and implementation of complex, high-value, multi-country Arts and Creative Industry programmes funded by British Council grant, other partners or client-funders.
• The Director Arts will have oversight of a wide range of activities delivered as part of the Arts core offers of Cultural Exchange, Creative Economy and Global Challenges.
• They will lead a large, dispersed Arts team and manage senior partner and stakeholder relationships.
• They are an important part of the regional leadership team as well as the Global Arts Leadership Team, and work with and through colleagues globally to influence decision making across the Cultural Engagement Directorate.

Role Specific Knowledge and Experience
The main essential knowledge and experience points that we are looking for you to evidence are:

• Specialist knowledge and understanding of current trends and practices in arts and creative industry in the region 
• Minimum of 6 years experience of leading impactful high value international arts projects
• Experience of business development and partnership development - with a focus on arts and culture partnerships with trusts, foundations and institutional funders
• Demonstrable experience of strategy development and programme building across multiple geographies.

Desirable Experience:

• Understanding and appreciation of current arts trends and practices in the UK
• Previous experience of managing international arts projects in region

Role Specific Skills:

• In depth understanding of the arts and creative industries in the region
• Significant experience of working in/with the arts and/or creative industries at appropriate level 
• Active and up-to-date network of senior level sector contacts in the region
• Experience of collaborating effectively with others to develop solutions to issues where there is not an established framework 
• Experience of leading diverse and dispersed teams and championing inclusion and diversity of thought
• Ability to analyse relevant equality issues and identify opportunities to address these in the portfolio
• Experience of developing governance structures establishing and maintaining effective external and internal programme / project governance structures.

Requirements:

• The role may include occasional travel within the country, region or internationally

Eligibility:

• Candidates for this role must have a natural right to work in this location and would normally already be based in the location.

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Locations: Abuja and Lagos (Sub Saharan Africa, NG
Pay Band - SMP (Senior Management Professional)
Contract Type - 3-year Fixed Term Contract with possibility of extension based on mutual agreement

Role Purpose

• Through an in-depth understanding of Nigeria and the UK, the Deputy Country Director will support the Country Director in the development and delivery of effective, sustainable and corporately aligned cultural relations between the two geographies, drawing on the UK’s cultural assets and thereby strengthening awareness of, positive attitudes towards and collaboration with the wider UK. 
• By role modelling inclusive leadership, the role will be unifying across all areas of the British Council, whether Cultural Engagement and Exams or Professional Service functions.

Main Accountabilities
UK and country insight and intelligence to identify cultural relations opportunities:

• Has a thorough understanding of the Nigeria context, through extensive networks of opinion leaders and formers and other sources, and identifies opportunities to increase cultural relations impact through a similar understanding of the UK
• Has a sound understanding of comparators and (potential) partners to enrich insight and support business development and cultural relations impact, including competition in the ‘soft power’ space.

Shaping, monitoring & delivering the whole country British Council strategy, narrative and brand - our cultural relations response:

• Develop and deliver a strong medium-term (3 year) strategy and annual/multi-year country plan for Nigeria, with support of Country Director, regional SBU/marketing leads and relevant members of country team. 
• Strategy and plans are based on insight and include a compelling articulation of our strengths, niche and value, drawing these from across all areas of British Council, ensuring we aim for the strongest possible cultural relations impact
• Strategy and narrative are aligned with, and inform, agreed regional and SBU strategy/global programmes and narratives to enable us to amplify our impact appropriately and ensure our cultural relations response is seen as cohesive

Identifying and leveraging partnership and contract opportunities to deliver the strategy:

• Is seen as a strong public face of the British Council in country leading and contributing to relevant public debate in ways which strengthen the UK’s and the British Council’s reputation and positions the British Council to work in partnership with like-minded organisations.
• Secures partnership and contract opportunities which align to our strategy and benefit the British Council and UK, through effective market, client and partner insights and networking.
• Builds and maintains strong senior relationships with key agencies, partners and individuals to support the achievement of British Council global and country strategies and plans

Managing stakeholders: FCDO, other UK Delegations, devolved administrations, representatives of UK institutions:

• Identify key in-country and UK based stakeholders at the Mission/s if present with regular participation in Mission meetings.

Support leadership of the Nigeria team - Overall duty of care:

• Support and champion change within the country team when needed, and instilling a culture which embraces continuous change
• To consistently create an inclusive and anti-racist organisational culture, being aware of your own biases and taking action to mitigate against these. Ensuring people feel valued and are treated equitably, with support for people’s well-being and mental health particularly through periods of significant change.

Protect trust in the British Council and the UK:

• Risks (safeguarding, fraud, IGRM, safety and security etc) are managed effectively across the operation and evidence of this monitoring and challenge is clear (e.g. through recorded reviews of risk register) Concerns are escalated up the management line appropriately

 Role Specific Knowledge and Experience
Minimum/essential:

• Recent experience of working in-country and an understanding of the government, education and culture sectors and decision-making processes.

Further Information:

• Requirements - The role may include occasional travel within the country, region or internationally
• Eligibility - Candidates for this role must have a natural right to work in this location and would normally already be based in the location.

Role Specific Skills
Business Development:

• Uses a range of market analysis, research and business intelligence to develop and implement across a group of diverse products/programmes/services and markets to meet British Council objectives. 

Inclusive Leadership:

• Leads teams to create new solutions to address future challenges. Actively seeks out and considers diverse perspectives to inform decision-making and collaborates more effectively with others.

Geographical Knowledge and Experience:

• Connects complex information on geopolitics and demographics, establishes a vision, anticipating changes internationally, whilst effecting change through priorities.

Language Requirement:

• The British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency in English is required to CEF Level C1 English.