Assistant Consultant

The Project Coordinator provides integral operational support to both business delivery and business development teams; ensuring quality and compliance with published standards by utilising and supporting a single, common, approach across all our products and services. The Role This role sits in the Schools team within Schools Connect within Education. Schools Connect aims to support the UK Education Departments to learn from each other and from overseas systems (especially those recognised as high performing). We support policy dialogue and knowledge exchange and run programmes such as the Singapore Building Education Bridges. We also support overseas delegations to engage with UK stakeholders and visit UK schools. We aim to support the teaching and learning of modern foreign languages in the UK. Within the International opportunities for school workstream, our work brings an international perspective to the UK school experience. We aim to use our international experience and networks to support teachers and schools with advice and guidance on how to find a partner and how to engage learners working with their international peers. There will be opportunities for the Assistant Consultant to work on a varied portfolio of projects across the International Opportunities for Schools workstream, supporting school partnerships including the new Learning Sectors programme supported by Formula 1. Within this programme, young people around the world build the skills such as international collaboration, critical thinking and digital literacy and gain practical skills for future STEM careers, challenging stereotypes and building and understanding of diversity in the STEM workforce. The Assistant Consultant will play a crucial role within the team in recruiting schools for partnership projects, selecting and matching schools, facilitating and delivering webinars for teachers, and supporting schools on their international school partnership journeys including support with wider Schools Connect and International Opportunities for Schools workstream activity. An exciting role with opportunities for skills development in project delivery and project management., Operational Delivery

• Uses a range of standardised systems and processes to plan and coordinate effective, timely and cost effective logistical support to enable the delivery of high quality services to a range of customers
• Receives instructions and requests from senior managers and/or customers (internal or external), and plans and organises given resources accordingly (often at short notice) to ensure that work is carried out efficiently and effectively
• Provides timely feedback on operational issues and events to more senior managers, enabling the adaptation of work plans where necessary and supporting continuous improvement in the efficiency/cost effectiveness/quality of service delivery/systems in the unit or department
Service Delivery
• Takes end-to-end accountability for researching and obtaining satisfactory and timely resolution of complex/escalated customer (internal or external) operational complaints and issues, coordinating input from other colleagues/departments/managers as required, to do so. Ensures the customer is kept informed throughout the process.
Business Development
• Supports the identification and development of professional networks, relationships and partnerships to increase the British Council's impact and reputation.
• Ensures high quality and accurate pipeline data for country/pillar.
• Conducts specific pipeline and partner/competitor analysis to contribute to business development planning and prioritisation.
• Provides support with development of new business proposals, ensuring that internal and external professional standards are met.
Relationship & stakeholder management
• Develops good working relationships with appropriate colleagues throughout the British Council to facilitate effective and efficient service delivery.
• As required, supports senior colleagues in hosting/attending external events or meetings, ensuring these run efficiently and effectively and that a positive, professional image of the British Council is projected. These events may be face to face, delivered digitally or in a blended model.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with project partners, end user(s), suppliers and contractors, to facilitate the smooth running of the project and ensure ongoing alignment of interests.
Risk & compliance
• Follows agreed corporate risk management processes and procedures when delivering services (e.g. safeguarding, EDI, anti-racism, security policies, financial protocols, anti-fraud measures, cyber security) to protect the interests of the British Council and its customers at all times.
• Contributes actively to monthly control checks (MCC) and annual compliance check (ACC) process to ensure risks & issues are captured across the entirety of the project/programme
Analysis & reporting
• Using standard procedures and templates, regularly records, analyses and reports on operational activity levels and performance data, to support senior managers in making timely and effective business decisions that respond to operational needs.
• Contributes to establishment and implementation of an effective M&E process for a particular project/programme, for instance through capturing audience participation or feedback through a recognised M&E process.
Commercial and/or financial management
• Operates and runs regular reports on range of standard, corporate financial processes and procedures to enable effective budget and resource management for the team, unit or project(s) - e.g. purchase order system, vendor creation, SAP reporting, procurement processes.
• Actively seeks to maximise value for money when acquiring resources, goods or services for the team, unit or project by adopting current best practice in procurement and advising managers on the use of tenders etc.
Leadership & management
• Plans and prioritises own work activities, which span across a range of different work streams, responding to changing and at times competing requirements to ensure effective delivery of responsibilities over a weekly/monthly time horizon.
• Tasks, coordinates or assists/motivates others (e.g. third party suppliers, external partners and internal colleagues) to complete activities in accordance with agreed service delivery/ contractual/ project milestones or requirements (e.g. cost schedules, time deadlines etc)
• Provides on-the-job coaching and mentoring to less experienced colleagues, as required.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• To actively contribute to 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.
• Understand the British Council's approach to equality, diversity and inclusion and how it applies to your role, making time for learning and development relating to EDI and anti-racism.
  
  English at Proficiency Level CEFR C2
• Knowledge of the UK schools education systems
• Experience of using technology effectively in the workplace
• Demonstrated knowledge and/or experience of project delivery, particularly client-funded and/or partnership projects
• Experience of maintaining project standards in delivery, in line with Centre of Excellence Project Management Standards.
• Experience of working across different cultures
• Experience of promoting equality, diversity and inclusion within projects
• Understands and promotes ethical conduct, and able to ensure that own behaviour and the behaviour of others is consistent with these standards and values of the British Council.
• Confident user of information technology (Word; Excel; Powerpoint), Microsoft 365 functionality and working knowledge of British Council SAP system (aptitude if recruiting externally)
• Able to set up and coordinate digital events on basic platforms (Microsoft Teams) including considering issues around accessibility and safeguarding
• Well-organised, able to develop and follow prioritised work plans, to track progress towards goals and use data and evidence to assess achievement
Desirable
• Association of Project Management (or equivalent) certification
• Experience of communicating and working with schools customers/audiences
• Knowledge and experience of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)
• Knowledge of and passion for the Education sector
  
  We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.
We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications. Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people., 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.

Salary: £25,520 plus £3,300 London Market Allowance {only for those based in the London area} Benefits Include, but are not limited to:
• 32 days annual leave, in addition to public holidays
• 3 days volunteering leave
• Career average defined benefit pension scheme
• An unrivalled opportunity for you to get to use all the experience you've built up working in and/or leading global organisations to support us in building trust across the world.