The British Council builds connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language. We work in two ways – directly with individuals to transform their lives, and with governments and partners to make a bigger difference for the longer term, creating benefit for millions of people all over the world. We help young people to gain the skills, confidence and connections they are looking for to realise their potential and to participate in strong and inclusive communities. We support them to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications. Our work in arts and culture stimulates creative expression and exchange and nurtures creative enterprise. We connect the best of the UK with the world and the best of the world with the UK. These connections lead to an understanding of each other’s strengths and of the challenges and values that we share. This builds trust between people in the UK and other nations which endures even when official relations may be strained. We work on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2019-20 we connected with 80 million people directly and with 791 million overall, including online and through our broadcasts and publications.
Programme Director Higher Education Nigeria
Overview
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 and education. 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.
Role Purpose
The Director Programmes will manage the development and delivery of Higher Education portfolio in Nigeria including partnership work.
This post will lead programmes/projects to a high standard and in compliance with British Council policies and procedures. The programme director will act as Senior Responsible Officer as required on programmes with an appropriate level of complexity and will manage large and geographically dispersed programme delivery teams.
Role specific knowledge and experience:
The main essential knowledge and experience points that we are looking for you to evidence are:
• Project management or equivalent qualification
• Extensive experience (more than 5 years) of leading and managing programmes or large projects
• Experience of managing multi country or large programmes that have met project closure standards and passed audits
• Experience of working with several different funding sources and knowledge of different programme frameworks and compliance rules
• Experience of working within a consortium arrangement or with other funding partners or sponsors and management of associated contracts
• Extensive experience of managing complex, senior, client, stakeholder and partner relationships and reporting requirements
• Experience of identifying risk, mitigating risk and monitoring risk and reporting risk through appropriate channels
• Experience of developing MEL frameworks and designing data collection mechanisms
• Experience of leading a large, diverse, dispersed project or programme team
• Experience of presenting and communicating programme success to a range of external audiences
Role Specific Skills
• Significant understanding and experience in Higher Education in Nigeria
Further Information
Pay Band – 8
Contract Duration – 2-year fixed term
Location – Nigeria
Requirements – All applicants should have a pre-existing legal status to live and work in Nigeria. The British Council will not facilitate/sponsor visa applications and work permits.
Closing Date – 12 September 2022 (23:59 South Africa Time)
A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.
Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Statement
The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.
The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.
We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989.
Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.
If you have any problems with your application please email [email protected]
Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our ‘ASK HR’ email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted