Programme Manager, Education (China)

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.

Job Title: Programme Manager, Education (China)

Pay band: 6 / G

Location this role could be based: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Chongqing

Department: Education

Contract type: 14 months (until August 2025)

Role Purpose

Implementation of projects with a low level of complexity funded by British Council or by another client or funding mechanism. Leads the successful delivery of a range of  projects from start to finish including managing the contract or project plan, managing client or internal stakeholders, successfully achieving reporting and meeting compliance standards. Or works within a larger programme or multi country programme on a particular component.

Main accountabilities

Relationship & Stakeholder management

• Has relationships with delivery partners and stakeholders within country and is able to procure services and contract delivery partners.
• Holds suppliers to account for delivering against contract.
• Build strong internal relationships and networks

Commercial and Financial Management  

• Ensure sound financial planning, working closely with finance teams to ensure British Council and client financial year plans are up to date.
• Ensure  accurate and timely monthly (re)forecasting is in place,  by running regular reports in the SAP system on actuals, monitoring outstanding purchase orders, reviewing commitments, analysing and commenting on reasons for variances to plan and recommending corrective actions.
• Monitoring monthly finances, including correct expenditure, ensuring the P2P process is being followed and correcting any mis-postings or journals needed.
• Lead on British Council, partner or client reporting (including, with Finance Manager, financial reporting) and ensure reports are delivered on time, to budget and to a high standard.
• Compliance to BC financial policies and procedures.

Project Management

• Contributes to development of, owns and delivers on Project Management Plan
• Identifies risks in a project or programme and puts together mitigation strategies with SRO
• Responsible for internal and client, procurement, contracting, compliance and reporting  pm
• Checks on and reports on compliance
• Manages procurement on a project/programme
• Responsible for data management  including timely data entry, quality assurance of data, undertaking basic analysis of monitoring data, and developing progress reports to meet funding needs
• Undertaking programme-specific data collection as needed. This includes working with colleagues to identify indicators and tools for data collection, quality assuring all data, and undertaking basic analysis.

Role specific knowledge and experience

• Experience of managing projects from start to finish and familiarity with project life-cycles.
• Understanding of procurement, evaluation and reporting requirements of projects.
• Proven experience of managing project finances.
• Experience of managing stakeholders 
• Project management qualification desirable.

• More than 2 years working in project or programme management. 
• Experience of using technology n project delivery.
• Good understanding and experience of supporting monitoring and evaluation.

Requirements

• Degree and/or equivalent experience
• The British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency in English is required. (C1 preferred)
• The role may include occasional travel within the territory, region or internationally.

Additional Information

Conditions of Employment: Local Direct Hire

• Applications are welcomed from candidates currently in this location with a natural right to work.
• Applications are also welcomed from candidates currently based in other British Council country offices. However, please note candidates must have a natural right to work in the country, on a permanent basis, as immigration clearance and/or on-going visa support is NOT provided by the British Council for this role.  Relocation support is also NOT provided.

Closing Date: Sunday, 19 May 2024 at 23:59 Beijing Time (GMT+8)

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 askhr@britishcouncil.org

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.