Assistant Consultant

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.

Assistant Consultants - Language Assistants, Education

Pay Band: 6

Salary: £25,520 - £26,995 (+ £3,300 market allowance if based in London)

Positions Available: 2

Contract Types: 1 x fixed term contract until the 31st May 2025

                                    1 x 12-month fixed term contract

Role Type: Business Delivery

Location: UK only; London, Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast.

Requirements: Candidates must have the pre-existing (permanent) right to work in location.
Mobility / relocation / visa sponsoring support will not be provided. 

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

Closing date: Tuesday 24th September, 11:59pm UK time

Role Purpose

The Assistant Consultant is responsible for supporting the management and delivery of the Language Assistants programme.

The programme supports the recruitment and placement of Modern Language Assistants in schools in the UK. Modern Language Assistants are native speakers of French, Spanish, German, Italian and Mandarin, who assist with the teaching of their language in host primary schools, secondary schools, further education and higher education institutions.

The programme also organises English Language Assistant placements in schools and universities overseas for UK students and recent graduates, who assist with teaching English and promote knowledge and understanding of the English language and UK culture overseas.

The role will:

• Support the delivery of the outgoing English Language Assistants and incoming Modern Language Assistants programmes; including eligibility checking, matching of candidates, query handling and providing support to applicants and participants through the programme lifecycle
• Provide administrative support, managing information and records.
• Plan and deliver pre-departure / induction events and webinars.
• Manage stakeholders including government contacts, schools, universities, language associations and overseas delivery partners.
• Take responsibility for at least one of the wider programme activities e.g. marketing, customer service, alumni & engagement, child protection, monitoring and evaluation, systems and records management etc.

Context

Education is a powerful vector for cultural relations activity – especially as access to high quality education at all levels is more important than ever. The UK’s strength in education makes it an excellent partner for people-to-people, institution-to-institution and government-to-government connections.  It is one of the three core pillars of the British Council’s cultural engagement activity. 

This role sits in the Schools team of education.  The British Council aims to improve the quality of school education systems, benefitting young people and supporting the drive to deliver Sustainable Development Goal 4 while deepening ties to the UK in the process.  We apply technical knowledge of education system reform, programme design and implementation to strengthen the quality of teaching and learning, and to create international educational opportunities for young people in the UK and around the world.

Main accountabilities

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.

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

Language Requirements

Both roles require English Proficiency Level CEFR C2

1 of the roles requires competence at B2 level (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) in Spanish. The other role requires competence at B2 level in Spanish, French, or German.

Role specific knowledge and experience

Minimum/essential

• Experience of managing relationships effectively with a variety of stakeholders
• Experience of having lived, worked or studied abroad and/or knowledge of other cultures
• Experience of delivering excellent customer service through a range of media and platforms to diverse audiences
• 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 the standards and values of the British Council

Desirable

• Experience in and/or interest in the education sector
• Experience of international mobility programmes
• Experience of managing relationships with internal/external stakeholders
• Understanding of strategy for foreign language teaching and learning in UK schools.
• Experience of working on or delivering events and/or webinars

Role specific skills

• 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

Closing date: Tuesday 24th September, 11:59pm UK 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 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.