The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries. We do this by making a positive contribution to the UK and the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust.

We work with over 100 countries across the world in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. Each year we reach over 20 million people face-to-face and more than 500 million people online, via broadcasts and publications. Founded in 1934, we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

1) Job Title: Country ICT Manager

Location: Lagos
Pay Band: 7
Department: Business Support Services
Job Category: IT
Role Type: Advisory, policy and expertise
Duration: Indefinite Contract
Reports to: Deputy Director Operations

Role Purpose

To provide visible and engaging leadership of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) function within the British Council main offices in Nigeria, ensuring strong overall management through provision of bestpractice IT services and operations, team leadership, security management, business partnering and training to the IT team and wider staff body.

Main Opportunities/Challenges for this Role
The major opportunity is to reshape the British Council’s IT function in Nigeria to respond to the expansion and strategic demands of the operation. For the first year in particular:

There is a strong opportunity to lead the transition of the IT team from a compliance-led to a businesspartnering function, operating from newly improved premises where all facilities and equipment are up to corporate global standards. This will involve the embedding of a new, service-driven team culture both within the IT team and through its interface with other sections.
An associated challenge (and opportunity) is the existing software skills-base among the wider teams; many staff do not exploit O365 to its potential, do not use collaboration software effectively and are over-reliant on email for communication and project management. The postholder can therefore make a strong contribution to increased efficiency and effectiveness of the country operation through training and overseeing the uptake of more contemporary and effective ways of working.

The following years will build on the basis established for the IT function and develop it further.

Main Accountabilities
Leadership of the IT function:

Oversee best-practice performance management in the team
Maintain a skills framework and advise on required outcomes for learning & development
Oversee appropriate, stretching, motivating continuous professional development (CPD) among the team
Provide mentoring or coaching to the team to ensure ongoing motivation and performance at ‘top-of-theirgame’
Develop a positive team spirit, a positive motivation climate and a close, collaborative unit
Lead and manage the team to provide a serious customer and business-support driven ethos; actively communicates the difference between this and pure technical implementation
Play a leading role, in collaboration with colleagues and external suppliers, in the development of digital products and media for the British Council in Nigeria

Relationship and stakeholder management:

Act as trusted advisor / business partner / consultant to other sections, becoming involved in the decisionmaking process with colleagues in support of the business
Support business development through solution-led design and development of IT interventions
Provide input to strategic and business-driven decision-making for the senior team:

Country Leadership:

Internal Strategic Business Unit (SBU) leads
Operations and Business Support Service (BSS) leads
Manage and lead on an effective relationship with Global Information Services (GIS)
Lead locally on effective management of Vodafone’s service delivery, in liaison with GIS
Manage the performance of key suppliers
Develop and drive an (IT) team culture of taking and using feedback to enhance stakeholder relationships

IT Operations Management:

Lead the Nigeria IT team to ensure an effective, fit-for-purpose IT infrastructure is in place for the country operation, including all hardware, software and systems
Conduct periodic reviews of the interface between the IT and other functions to ensure best effectiveness, including the core business streams (Education & Society, Arts, Examinations) and Business Services streams (especially but not limited to Facilities and Information Management), leading group discussions with key stakeholder groups
Create an Annual IT strategy based on key business drivers and technical developments, integrating it with needs and developments of the business streams above
Drive implementation of the Annual IT Strategy through the IT team, incorporating it appropriately into performance portfolios (deliverables, development plans and behaviours), drawing appropriately on input and support from Global Information Services
Ensure weekly, monthly and quarterly checks are carried out fully by the team and reported on appropriately to GIS
Design, manage and oversee effective IT Proactive Preventive Maintenance (PPM) systems
Oversee best-practice procurement, vendor management and contract management for the IT function
Ensure the seamless operation of external-facing webstreaming platforms
Use network management tools to determine network load and performance statistics
Maintain strong awareness of the external landscape for web-enabled team collaboration and data analytics sites and advises the business on implementation
Run local testing of new software in liaison with GIS to enable an efficient approval process

IT and data security management:

Undertake assessment of risks, make preparations for crisis management, and provide quality written input on IT to the Business Continuity Plan. Organise testing of the IT continuity plan on a calendarised annual basis
Communicate security risks and issues to staff to minimise risk to the business
Track and resolve any instances of use of unauthorised assets, e.g. unlicensed copies of software

Training:

Act as lead trainer for IT initiatives, to ensure best-practice use of the available tools is embedded into day-today work
Champion corporate IT initiatives (e.g. O365)
Train and enthuse staff on IT-led new ways of working, e.g. O365, OneNote, SharePoint
Train staff on best-practice email and calendar management to ensure optimal business effectiveness
Train and enthuse staff for good-practice collaboration on tools other than email
Train staff on effective knowledge and data management, e.g. use of SharePoint over shared drive

Key Relationships
Internal:

Country Management Team (CMT) Nigeria
Senior Leadership Team (SLT) Nigeria
Director and Deputy Director Operations, Nigeria
IT team
Head of Facilities Operations, Nigeria
Facilities Team, Nigeria HR Team, Nigeria
Information and Records Manager, Nigeria
Regional Engagement Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, Global Information Services (GIS)
Regional Delivery Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, (GIS)

External:

Key vendors and suppliers of ICT-related services and products

Role Requirements
Threshold requirements:

Passport requirements/ Right to work in country – Existing right to live and work in Nigeria.

Assessment stage: Shortlisting

Direct contact or managing staff working with children? – No

Person Specification
Minimum / essential:

English language to IELTS 6.5 in all four skills (academic module)

Desirable:

English language to IELTS 7.0 or above in writing (academic module)

Assessment Stage: Shortlisting, IELTS Assessment (Academic Module)

Qualifications
Minimum / Essential:

Project Management: Prince 2 Foundation Level or recognised equivalent
MCP on Windows 2008 certificate or corresponding level of knowledge
ITIL Foundation certificate or corresponding level of knowledge

Desirable:

Project Management: Prince 2 Practitioner 1 or recognised equivalent.

Assessment Stage: Shortlisting

Role Specific Knowledge & Experience
Minimum / Essential:

Microsoft Office 2016 package exploitation and support
Extensive knowledge of O365 functionality, including Skype for Business, Teams, OneNote, One Drive, Planner, Sway
Demonstrable knowledge of contemporary software applications for collaborative working and project management
Ability to write structured, cohesive narrative reports in plain English

Assessment Stage: Shortlisting, Post-shortlisting: (IELTS Academic module 6.5 in writing)

Role Specific Skills (if any)

Practical knowledge of computer networks (client-server and work group networks)
Practical knowledge of working with Microsoft Windows Server products in the Active Directory environment.
Demonstrable experience in IT training delivery, including knowledge of training transfer and evaluation principles
Stakeholder management and consulting skills (see ‘Communicating and influencing’ below)

Assessment Stage: Shortlisting and Interview:

British Council Core Skills

Communicating and influencing level 4: Uses influencing techniques Uses formal and informal negotiating and motivation techniques to influence others’ behaviour and persuade them to think and act differently, while respecting difference of view and culture
Managing people level 3: Manages a team 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 modeling an inclusive culture, recruitment, development and performance management.
Managing projects level 3: Leads smaller projects Analyses requirements with the sponsor/stakeholders, defining the specification with awareness of equality and diversity impact, planning, revising, implementing and evaluating on small-to-medium scale and/or low risk projects
Using technology level 3: Identifies improvements Identifies where new or improved technology could benefit business efficiency, the customer experience or market opportunities and makes evidence-based recommendations
Managing risk level 3: Develops the culture Has track record of analysing potential risks, promoting risk awareness, and holding others to account for their practices

Assessment Stage: Shortlisting and Interview, Post-shortlisting occupational profile assessment:

British Council Behaviours

Creating Shared Purpose (More Demanding): Creating energy and clarity so that people want to work purposefully together
Connecting with Others (More Demanding): Actively appreciating the needs and concerns of myself and others
Shaping the Future (More Demanding): Exploring ways in which we can add more value
Working Together (More Demanding): Ensuring that others benefit as well as me
Being Accountable (More Demanding): Putting the needs of the team or British Council ahead of my own
Making it Happen (More Demanding): Challenging myself and others to deliver and measure better results

Assessment Stage: Interview, Required for the role but not used in recruitment

Application Closing Date and Time
17th December, 2019 (23:59 UK time)

2) Job Title: State Office Admin and Resource Assistant

Location: Anambra
Contract type: Fixed Term
Region: Sub Saharan Africa
Location: Anambra
Department: Education & Society
Job Category: Education (non-teaching)
Pay Band: Pay Band 4

Role Purpose

To oversee the resources function in the Anambra Office in line with the programme strategy, implementation plan and financial plan and to client and corporate standards.

Geopolitical / SBU / Function Overview

The British Council in Nigeria is implementing the European Union Managing Conflict in North East Nigeria (MCN) programme under their Trust Fund (EUTF) and the Rule of Law and AntiCorruption programme in Nigeria and Agents for Citizen-Drivern Transformation (ACT) Programme under the EU Development Fund programme (EUDF).
In partnership with COFFEY, we are delivering the Policing work under their Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) and are managing the Programme Coordination Office for DFID’s Deepening Democracy in Nigeria Phase 2 (DDiN2) Programme.
To support our existing contracts as well as future contracts, we are developing flexible structures that meet the global British Council standards to provide support to our FCR (Justice, Security and Conflict) work in Nigeria.
The Managing Conflict in North-East Nigeria (MCN) Programme is a €21m EUTF-funded Programme (2017-2021) has the overall aim of enhancing state and community level conflict management capability to prevent the escalation of conflict into violence and help mitigate the impact of violence on the most vulnerable population in a number of locations in North-Eastern Nigeria. The Programme has an annual turnover of around £5-£6m and works in 3 states – Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
The Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) programme in Nigeria is a €25m EUDF-funded Programme (2017-2021) and has the overall aim of enhancing good governance in Nigeria by contributing to strengthening of the rule of law, curbing corruption and reducing impunity. The programme has an annual turnover of around £5-£6m and work in 5 states – Adamawa, Anambra, Edo, Kano, Lagos, as well as in Abuja.
The Agents for Citizen-driven Transformation (ACT) programme is an EU funded programme under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) and will be implemented over a period of five years from July 2018. The ACT programme will contribute to the progressive achievement of several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as to the national development priorities identified in the Nigeria Vision 20:20 Economic Transformation Blueprint. The Overall Objective of the programme is to contribute to more inclusive, effective, accountable and gender-responsive development in Nigeria; while its specific objectives is to enhance the credibility and role of CSOs as drivers of change for sustainable development in Nigeria. The programme has an annual turnover of around £3-£4m and will be implemented at the Federal level and in selected states where EU programmes concentrate.
The Nigerian context is generally challenging, having poor infrastructure and currently facing a volatile security situation. There is still a significant reliance on the cash economy, corruption is high and the regulatory and compliance structures that exist are highly ineffective. The current economic situation is not good with high levels of poverty, high unemployment, rising inflation and inequality. This makes Nigeria a very challenging environment in which to deliver programmes. The State Office is located in Awka, Anambra State.
The post holder must, therefore, have the ability to work in an ambiguous and difficult environment in which British Council processes need to be adapted or developed to cope with unusual requirements and difficult context. The post holder will work closely with the programme delivery and management teams as well as having significant interactions with the technical teams and Nigerian partners.

Main Accountabilities
Accountabilities, responsibilities and main duties:

Accountabilities: Accountable for ensuring that the state office resources/administrative functions support the operations of the state for the EU programmes.

Responsibilities and Main Duties

Logistic and Facilities – 15%
Handle arrangements for all incoming visitors to the state office including transport and accommodation arrangements:

Main duties will include:

Ensure transport arrangements for all incoming staff/consultants to the state offices are in line with British Council policies.
Ensure hotel accommodation reservations are made on time and that staff and consultants are informed on arrangement of their transport and hotel arrangements.
Ensure that appropriate service contracts are in place for the state office and necessary services of the equipment are carried out in line with the agreed schedule.

Workshops and Events – 15%
Assist with the running of the logistical arrangements for all workshops, events and meetings:

Main duties include ensuring that:

All workshop logistical arrangements are in line with agreed standards.
Procurement of workshop items are in line with procurement policy.
Logistical support is provided to workshops, meetings and events according to stated requirements so that all workshops and events are carried out successfully and to agreed standards.

Office Management – 15%
Maintain appropriate filing system, accountable stationary register and asset register (in liaison with the Facilities & Procurement Manager) so that all contracts, reports and correspondence are filed properly and all stationary and equipment is recorded correctly:

Main duties include ensuring that:

All documents are accurately filed.
The Accountable Stationary register is up to date.
The Asset Register and Inventory is up to date and all the required items are correctly recorded .

Procurement – 15%
Liaise with all outside contractors and service suppliers concerning all services/utilities supplied to the state office:

Main duties include:

Ensure that all procurement is held in line with British Council’s procurement policy.
Ensure that Purchase Orders (PO) are raised before any services are carried out or goods are supplied by selected vendors, and all payments and approvals are in line with British Council policy and delegation of authority.

Health, Safety and Security – 15%
Ensure the state office meets all the British Council’s standards around Health, Safety and Security.

Main duties include ensuring that:

Fire drills are completed and fire equipment is maintained.
Any security issues are reported promptly back to the Abuja office team
The office vehicle fleet is maintained and that drivers complete and record details of all the vehicle safety checks

Finance – 15%
Carry out basic finance duties as required in the state office in line with British Council policy:

Main duties will include:

Holding and maintaining the office Petty Cash
The correct filing of all finance documentation
Distributing the monthly WHT and PAYE payments to the necessary state authorities

IT Management – 10%
Assist with the maintenance of regional office IT infrastructures liaising with the IT and Web Support Officer.

Main duties include ensuring that:

All IT equipment is properly maintained and serviced when due.
GTI laptops are functioning well and that state office staff have the appropriate access.
Back-ups are completed in line with agreed standards.
Escalate on timely basis any IT issues to be resolved – either to the IT and Web Support Officer or via Service now

Staff Management:

Line manage the state office driver

Other administrative work:

As required.

Key Relationships Internal:

National Programme Managers, Operation Managers, State Teams, Procurement and Estate Manager, HR Manager, Finance Manager, IT and Web Support Officer, Programme Officers, Admin and Resource Assistants in other locations.
All Visiting National and International Consultants.
Other Project Teams

External:

External relationship management where appropriate (i.e. linked to function of role), to include: EU, Civil Society Organizations,Facilitating Organizations,Vendors and other Suppliers, etc.

Role Requirements
Threshold requirements:

Passport requirements/ Right to work in country – Existing right to live and work in Nigeria.

Assessment stage: Short-listing

Direct contact or managing staff working with children? – Appropriate child protection assurance checks in accordance with British Council policy
Notes: Some unsocial hours, weekend work and travel may be required where the need arises.

Person Specification

Qualifications Essential:

Graduate level education

Desirable:

Evidence of continuous professional development

Assessment stage: Shortlisting

Role Specific Knowledge & Experience Essential:

Minimum of 2 years’ experience of working on programme logistics for an international organization.
Experience of working as part of a successful team/function.
Experience working with SAP.

Desirable:

Experience of operating in a complex, multi-cultural context.
Experience of managing fleet of vehicles.

Assessment Stage: Shortlisting

British Council Core Skills
Managing People (Level 1):

Support people – Provides support to less experienced members of the team and is aware of individual differences. Helps colleagues perform tasks and use systems and processes.

Planning and Organising (Level 1):

Is Methodical – Able to plan own work over short timescales for routine or familiar tasks and processes.

Communicating and Influencing (Level 1):

Communicates clearly and effectively – Listens to others and expresses self clearly, with grammatical accuracy and awareness of a diverse audience in speaking and writing.

Managing Risk (Level 2):

Supports a risk management culture – Has track record of identifying and highlighting risks and suggesting mitigating actions.

Assessment Stage: Shortlisting and Interview

British Council Behaviours

Creating shared purpose (Essential) – Creating energy and clarity so that people want to work purposefully together.
Being accountable (More demanding) – Putting the needs of the team or British Council ahead of my own.
Working together (More demanding) – Ensuring that others benefit as well as me.
Connecting with others (More demanding) – Actively appreciating the needs and concerns of myself and others
Making it happen (More demanding) – Challenging myself and others to deliver and measure better results.
Shaping the future (Essential) – Looking for ways in which we can do things better.

Assessment Stage: Interview and Performance Management

Application Closing Date and Time
24th December, 2019 (23:59 UK time)

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Click here to download Job Details 1 (Pdf)

Click here to download Job Details 2 (Pdf)

Click here to download BC Behaviour (pdf)

Click here to download BC Core Skills (pdf)