Operations Manager - Kano Literacy and Mathematics Accelerator (KaLMA) at British Council Nigeria

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:
 
Job Title: Operations Manager - Kano Literacy and Mathematics Accelerator (KaLMA)

Location: Kano
Role Type: Business Delivery
Pay Band: 6
Duration: Fixed Term, Until 31 December 2020 with possibility for renewal subject to donor funding
Reports to: KaLMA Team Lead
 
Role Purpose

• This is a fixed term role to support delivery of the Kano Literacy and Mathematics Accelerator (KaLMA) project
• The post holder will support the development, delivery and oversight of programme support processes including procurement, human resources (consultants), logistics, estates and security, assets and inventory management, administration, knowledge management, finance and budget management.

Project Overview
Nigeria is one of the largest economies in Africa. It is also the most populous country with over 190 million citizens. Nigeria holds significant political power in the region and internationally and its society retains a positive attitude to the UK. There are therefore major opportunities for the UK to increase influence, funding sources and, through this, our impact by building on our strong existing relationships with the Nigerian government, private and civil society institutions and customers/audiences

However, there are complex and substantial risks to this work like security and compliance. North West Nigeria faces a perennial problem of low learning outcomes. Data from the Nigeria Education Data Survey 2015 and the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN) Composite Survey 2012 and 2016 indicate not only low attainments in literacy and numeracy but also declining trends. The ESSPIN Composite Survey 3 Gender and Inclusion Report, 2016 also points to gender gaps in learning outcomes, with boys significantly outperforming girls on all tests except P2 numeracy.
 
KaLMA aims to build foundational Hausa and English literacy and numeracy skills for primary 4 (P4) to primary 6 (P6) children using the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach, equipping them with foundational literacy and numeracy skills before they leave primary school. KaLMA is a partnership between the British Council and TaRL Africa. TaRL Africa is a newly formalised partnership between Education NGO Pratham, and research centre J-PAL, who have been working together developing cost-effective, scaleable literacy and numeracy interventions for more than 15 years. The fruits of these efforts have been the development of what we now refer to as the TaRL approach.
 
The KaLMA project will be delivered in all 240 public primary schools in Wudil and Dawakin Tofa LGAs of Kano State. KaLMA will target all P4-6 children (23,559 in Dawakin Tofu and 28,152 in Wudil) and teachers (approximately 256 in Dawakin Tofa and 418 in Wudil). We have purposefully chosen to pilot in all schools so that we develop and learn about models which can be easily replicated and scaled across Kano and other North Western states.
 
Implementation of KaLMA is expected to begin in September 2019 and a fixed term employee contract for this post will be issued only after the contract with the donor is signed.  The British Council reserves the right to withdraw this post at any time until the employment contract is signed.

Main Opportunities/Challenges for this Role

• This role will work closely with the KaLMA Team Lead to support the implementation of the project and provide assurance of compliance with British Council and donor project delivery standards
• 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
• This makes Nigeria a very challenging environment in which to deliver programmes.  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
• S/he 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
Specific Duties include but are not limited to:

Managing Project(s):

• Manage project activity to agreed contractual terms of reference, timelines, costs, targets and established performance indicators • Manage project events’ financial elements in accordance with agreed project
• Accountable for the successful delivery of programme management systems, processes and key strategies ensuring that donor, programme and corporate standards are met
• Accountable for effective management of project logistics including assurance of end-to-end journey management planning for consultants and out of state staff in line with British Council policies
• Work with the designated Child Protection Focal Point to ensure compliance with donor and British Council child protection and safeguarding policies
• Support effective identification and management of a range of geo-political and operational risks and make appropriate recommendations for changes to delivery workplans and resources necessary to mitigate potential difficulties and optimise performance
• Develop and manage relationship with project delivery partners, contractors and suppliers.

Monitoring & Evaluation:

• Responsible for reporting project performance using British Council Results & Evidence Framework (REF)

Financial Management, Contracting & Procurement:

• Responsible for developing detailed activity and event budgets for approval by Programme Manager and managing delivery against budgets with an emphasis on value for money
• Responsible for preparing monthly financial performance reports, monthly cash flow and quarterly project forecasts against the annual budgets to the timelines set for internal use
• Lead on the development and implementation of project information knowledge management policies and processes
• Lead on the preparation of contracts, contract amendments and extensions for provision of project goods and services
• Oversee procurement processes and manage processes designed to safeguard project assets and resources and in line with established corporate policies
• Work with the British Council Finance team to establish, supervise and manage robust financial systems to support programme delivery that are responsive to evolving operational requirements, compliant with donor contractual requirements, British Council standards and control principles and reflect the high-risk environment
• Work with programme teams and delivery partners to promote strategies which encourage and support costs savings and value for money
• Work with the British Council security team to develop and oversee systems, processes and emergency procedures to ensure consultants and staff safety, security and welfare

Line Management:

• Provide effective line management to team KaLMA Operations Officer in line with British Council’s corporate policies
• Manage the project delivery support team, including finance officer, operations officer and driver.

Key Relationships:

• KaLMA Team Lead
• KaLMA Project Delivery Team
• British Council Finance Team
• Regional Procurement Team
• KaLMA Delivery Consortium Partners

External:

• Project consultants, suppliers and vendors.

Role Requirements

• Passport requirements/Right to work in country: Current Right to live and work in Nigeria
• Direct contact or managing staff working with children?: Appropriate child protection assurance checks in accordance with British Council policy

Notes:

• Some weekend and unsocial work required
• Travel around Northern Nigeria, Nigeria and other locations will be required from time to time

Person Specification

• Language requirements: Bilingual Proficiency in English and Hausa

Essential:

• Fluency in written and spoken English - Shortlisted candidates will either demonstrate they have met the required standard through presentation of an agreed English language certificate, or will be required to take the APTIS test and demonstrate a B2 level of English proficiency.

Desirable:

• As the post holder will need to be culturally sensitive to norms and operating practices, familiarity with Kano or Northern Nigeria is desirable.

Qualifications

• Essential: Relevant Undergraduate Degree or equivalent professional experience
• Desirable: Formal Programme Management qualification.

Role Specific Knowledge & Experience:
Essential:

• 2 years experience working with donor funded programmes
• Experience implementing education projects with partners.

British Council Core Skills
Managing Projects (Level 2):

• Examines project data and performance, reporting on progress and recommending corrective action as needed

Managing People (Level 2):

• Supervises a small team of people doing similar jobs to deliver short term tasks to agreed quality and time standards

Communicating and Influencing (Level 2):

• 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:

Managing Finance and Resources (Level 2):

• Uses financial systems and processes appropriately as part of the job and on behalf of a team:

Managing Risk (Level 2):

• Has track record of identifying and highlighting risks and suggesting mitigating actions:

Planning and Organising (Level 2):

• Organises own work over weeks and months, plans ahead for other, taking account of priorities and the impact on other people:

Using Technology (Level 1):

• Operates as a basic user of information systems, digital and office technology
• Able to use office software and British Council systems to do the job and manage documents or processes.

British Council Behaviours

• Connecting with others - Essential: Making regular opportunities to understand others better
• 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
• Creating shared purpose - Essential: Communicating an engaging picture of how we can work together
• Working together - More Demanding: Ensuring that others benefit as well as me
• Shaping the future - More Demanding: Exploring ways in which we can add more value.

Remuneration

• N8,106,740 per annum.

Application Closing Date and Time
26th September, 2019 (23:59 UK time).

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

Click here to download Job Details (Pdf)

Click here to download BC Behaviour (pdf)

Click here to download BC Core Skills (pdf)

Note

• In your application form, please clearly explain how you meet the essential and desirable skills, qualification and experience criteria mentioned in the person specification section of the role profile
• This will help us determine your fit for the role and increase your application's chances of success.