Jobs

British Council Vacancy for a Programme Manager in Lagos


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.

British Council is recruiting to fill the below position of:


Job Title: Programme Manager

Location:
Lagos (although Abuja will be considered if the preferred candidate is in Abuja)
Directorate or Region: Sub Saharan Africa (Nigeria)    
Department/Country: Programmes/Nigeria
Pay Band: 7
Reports to: Director, Arts    
Duration of job: Fixed Term (One Year)

Purpose of Job

  • Working with Director Programme and Business Unit Director(s), successfully lead delivery of a programme portfolio through oversight of project management team and processes, coordination across the various projects and the management of interdependencies. 
Context and Environment
The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. 

Our work is spread across works three strategic business areas as follows:
  • Arts,
  • English,
  • Education and Society.
Programme development, management , evaluation and reporting:
  • Work with Business Unit  Director , Director Programmes, specialists from the Regional team  or HQ, Project Managers and project partners to develop  effective project management plans for the programmes portfolio that will achieve project targets within the time frame agreed
  • Support commissioning and developing of new projects by organising visit programmes and other research and development activities
  • Lead project team to deliver projects in portfolio  to budget, time and quality standards, ensuring logistical efficiency of programme
  • Lead responsibility for ensuring project management information is up to date at all times
  • Ensure targets (financial and non-financial) in place for programme area of responsibility  and provide overall monitoring against them
  • Lead responsibility for ensuring project reports are completed on time by project managers and to the quality standards expected,
  • Lead responsibility for managing outsourced evaluations, reporting to Director  of the Business Unit
Contract and Account Management:
  • Prepare contracts for all partnerships ensuring they capture all elements of the partnerships and outline clearly all partner responsibilities and benefits following established  corporate templates
  • As part of Country stakeholder management processed  ensure the maintainance and updates of the CRM database of  contacts, recording contacts/ leads and outcomes of meetings , ensuring follow up action is carried out in a timely and efficient manner; Monitor contract records management by project managers to ensure up to date  at all times
  • Provide guidance to project managers in external official written communications with partners, officials, and consultants, ensuring British Council standards on external communications are upheld
  • Provide guidance to project managers in the contracting of project contractors, consultants and suppliers ensuring they clearly capture all roles and responsibilities following established corporate templates and guidance issued.
  • Quality review all contracts before signature 
  • Provide guidance to project managers on managing contracts of suppliers, partners, contractors and consultants
Equality, diversity and inclusion and Child Protection Standards:
  • Ensure that programme delivery, training events and activity are appropriately screened, including conflict sensitivity screening,  and reflect British Council EDI policy
  • Lead on programme reporting portfolio managed for British Council Diversity Assessment Framework
  • Ensure that child protection policy and standards are followed and maintained for all relevant projects, including the training of partners in child protection standards
Communications:
  • Support project managers to develop and disseminate case studies, reports and impact stories for external and internal communication channels including digital and print media.
  • Write articles and stories which demonstrate our impact and knowledge for internal and external publication
  • Work collaboratively with colleagues across the Programmes team to share intelligence and opportunity that creates added benefit to project partners and contacts
Team Leadership and Management:
  • Demonstrate effective leadership of programme team managed and ensure that line management of staff is to British Council standards.
  • Coach, Mentor and support team.
  • Model appropriate leadership styles and British Council behaviours and ensure that staff work in alignment with the British Council Values at all times
Financial Management:
  • Responsible for ensuring effective management of programme budgets by project managers including internal monthly reporting on budget performance and external reporting on budget performance to the requirements set by funders, partners and clients
  • Responsible  for preparing ad hoc or scheduled financial reports as required 
  • Responsible for ensuring  procurement by project managers is in accordance with established corporate policies and processes and processes are appropriately documented and retained
Risk Management:
  • Responsible for ensuring that risk is managed appropriately across programme portfolio managed
  • Responsible for maintaining and updating project risk registers for programme managed 
  • Convene regular project risk review meetings with the project staff and escalate risks as appropriate
  • Ensure dissemination of risk management standards to programme partners
Key Internal Relationships:
  • Country Director Nigeria, Director Programmes, Business Unit Directors, Partnerships Manager, Programme Manager Society, Nigeria Programme Management Team, Nigeria Marketing and Communications team, Nigeria Finance team, wider BC Nigeria programmes team.
Key External Relationships:
  • Support Business Unit Director to develop and manage relationships with key government and private sector stakeholders, development organisations, funders, donors and partners.
  • Maintain relationships with project partners and stakeholders
  • Ensure the highest standards of customer care are applied to our audiences and participants at our events and on our programmes
Other important features or requirements of the job:
  • Operational project work requires occasional work outside conditioned hours, for example in the evenings or at weekends. TOIL should be agreed with the line manager in advance to maintain an adequate work-life balance.
  • The post-holder may also be required to travel to various project activity locations and internationally on BC business and should therefore hold valid travel documents.  
  • Training may be required for certain aspects of the job such as using SAP.
Person Specification
Behaviours:
  • Connecting With Others (most demanding)
  • Working Together (more demanding)
  • Being Accountable (most demanding)
  • Making It Happen (most demanding)
Other behaviours needed for the job but not evaluated at interview:
  • Shaping the future (more demanding)
  • Creating a shared purpose (more demanding)
Skills and Knowledge   
Programme Management:
  • Programme Management including financial management, risk management, evaluation and partner / account management across a significant portfolio of projects
  • Managing a diverse, geographically dispersed  team
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.
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
Managing finance and resources:
  • Monitors and controls an agreed budget within a defined area, producing reports and analyses and contributing to planning.
Business Development:
  • Able to plan and deliver business development activities for a major and/or new market category which is significant for the Council.
Qualifications and Experience    
  • At least five years' work experience in at least one of the council’s business areas: Arts, Education or Society
  • Bachelor's Degree
Salary
N7,238,149.00 (Negotiable)

How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply

Click here to download job details (MS Word)

Click here to download BC Behaviour (pdf)

Application Deadline 
24th August, 2016.