IELTS Manager

Ensure the highest compliance with regulations in the delivery of IELTS. Meet challenging business targets and ensure quality British Council Customer Experience is delivered consistently at test sessions across South Africa & CBC. The post holder is expected to regularly evaluate the quality of our overall IELTS service provided through customer feedback, self/external audits and make improvements accordingly. Leadership of the IELTS delivery team is central to the role, demonstrating and cascading the values, behaviours and knowledge required by Examination Delivery Professionals. The role will be also responsible for the IELTS delivery in Mozambique and Namibia and will report directly to the Country Examinations Manager in South Africa. The main division of responsibilities will be between operational delivery, compliance and financial tasks.

The following are particularly important in the way we work:

• we are compliant in all aspects of examination delivery.
• we are entrepreneurial in seeking and exploiting new opportunities;
• we focus on delivering excellence to the customer in order to achieve maximum impact;
• we work with and through partners to ensure that our work is relevant and to increase impact and sustainability;
• we are forward-thinking in our use of new technologies to communicate with our customers and to efficiently deliver services;
• we are clear and confident about our offer to partners and customers: access to UK excellence; our reputation as a trusted partner and provider; our ability to work across sectors; our access to international networks;
• we put our values – people, creativity, mutuality, professionalism, integrity – at the heart of our work. We are committed to equal opportunity and to the celebration and promotion of diversity and inclusion.

 Context and environment:

 South Africa is a medium-large exams operation in SSA, and works as an exams hub for Cross Boarder Operations. The role supports the administrative, financial and business development activities of the SA & CBC exams team.  The team is headed by a Country Exams Manager, and is responsible for delivering more than 15,000 UK exams, in South Africa.

Our business has grown considerably over the last 18 months and is expected to grow further. Theexams business of South Africa and the CBC includes examinations for IELTS, Aptis, Professional, University and Schools exams.

 The SA team comprises a Country Examinations Manager, Exams Managers, a Customer Services Manager, Examination Officers, Exams Assistants and Customer Services Officers.

 Accountabilities, responsibilities and main duties:

(including people management and finance)

The post holder will be accountable to the Country Examinations Manager (CEM) for delivery of our examinations work to plan and targets, ensuring that corporate standards are met. 

• Business development: assist with increasing capacity to accommodate planned growth in the IELTS business
• Financial control, monitoring and reporting: to manage the IELTS businesses to target by monitoring and reporting income and costs on a monthly basis
• Reliability: to ensure examinations are delivered securely according to board requirements
• Quality: to deliver a high standard of customer service to our IETLS test takers as measured by our own Compliance and Quality Standards, IELTS partner standards and customer service standards.
• Impact: to achieve impact for the UK and the BC through providing access to quality UK qualifications
• Leadership: to manage and motivate the IELTS team ensuring the highest standards of delivery, including from test day supervisors, venue staff and examiners.
• Ensure adherence to Qualilty Compliance Assessment (QCA) or implement QCA action plan according to defined schedule. 

Main duties:

 IELTS test delivery

• Responsibility for the full cycle of operations of IELTS tests. To ensure that IELTS tests are delivered to examination board, partners’ and QCA standards. To assist in delivery at peak times.
• Compliance: To manage inspection visits from examination boards as well as for carrying out regular inspections to examination venues across South Africa, Nambia and Mozambique, monitoring security processes against standards set by the examination board and QCA. Good recordkeeping is essential of all visits made.
• To conduct spot checks of service delivery where necessary to ensure readiness for unnanounced audits. Arrange and conduct self-audits as required.
• To respond to and implement appropriately recommendations from exam boards, partners and QCA reviewers.
• To identify areas for increased efficiency and security in examination delivery and prepare plans to implement these.
• To ensure training of venue staff and test day supervisors for IELTS examinations is appropriate and takes into account feedback from partners and quality checks.
• To assist with implementation of new operating models for exams work. 

Team Leadership and Management

• Effectively lead, engage and line manage IELTS Officers by providing regular and timely feedback on performance in compliance with all aspects of British Council performance management as set out by HR policies. Drive the highest levels of professional behaviours within the IELTS team.
• This post is responsible for leading a team of more than 30 examiners, 10 clerical markers and more than 100 venue staff.
• Recruit for excellence in accordance with corporate recruitment standards, IELTS Examiner Professional Support Network (PSN) standards and employment law.
• To contribute to Exams team objectives by attending and contributing to staff meetings.
• To substitute for management team members.

Service Delivery and Improvement

• Lead on the implementation of the IELTS delivery improvement plan.
•  Manage internal stakeholder relations including implementation of Service Level Agreements with key departments, review and revision of these as appropriate. Agreed standards are met and stakeholders are kept up to date through regular reports and/or meetings.
• Manage the team to ensure appropriate staffing levels are maintained at all times in line with IELTS standards and customer needs.
• Map the Customer Journey, measuring the Customer Experience regularly to make improvements.
• Communicate the branded Customer Experience to IELTS staff, venue staff and examiners. Evaluating service performance and continuous service improvement.
• Regularly evaluate the level of customer service being provided and use the results to implement improvements to IELTS test takers. Evaluate through: Scorecard, customer satisfaction questionnaires, Customer Comments, Net Promoter questionnaires, Mystery Shopping results, customer focus groups QCA and conversations with test takers and members of staff.
• Work with the Customer Service Manager and Marketing lead to evaluate customer feedback with a view to service improvement and to identify new markets.
• Communicate improvements, customer insights and success stories to customers and staff; including the global IELTS network.

IELTS Marketing – support exams marketing by:

• Ensuring that quantitative and qualitative information about IELTS is regularly collected and analysed. To raise awareness of IELTS in relevant sectors for the purposes of IELTS examiner recruitment.
• Planning for IELTS Growth: Contribute to increasing the number of IELTS tests to meet exam board and market demand.

 Continuous Professional Development and Performance Management

• Recognise learning gaps and address these with training, coaching or shadowing and address performance issues quickly, effectively and in line with HR policy.
• Ensure the continual professional development of the IELTS Team, test day supervisors, venue staff and examiners by putting development plans in place and offering quality induction, training and coaching required allowing them to fulfil their duties to the highest standards.
• Ensure that own professional development and training is continued
• Line Manage exams officers according to essential HR standards.
• Manage overtime, time in lieu and annual leave in line with financial control standards and in order to minimise costs.
• Staff Management

Direct: IELTS Officers

Indirect: IELTS Officers, IELTS Assistants, Test Day Supervisors, Examiners, Invigilators, Clerical Markers

 Key relationships:

Key internal relationships include:

Senior Management Team, Examinations & Customer Services Managers, SBU leads  - especially Education and English, Examinations Services staff, Examiners, Venue staff, Clerical Markers and Test Day Supervisors

 Key external relationships include:

Regional IELTS Management Team, Regional Exams Team, Examiner trainers and co-ordinators, UKVI, UKTI, Educational & Immigration agents, Universities and Tuition providers

 Other important features or requirements of the job 

(e.g. travel, unsocial/evening hours, restrictions on employment etc)

Travel to monitor test day delivery and to lead training and promotional events in centres outside of south Africa is required; therefore, occasional out of hours working including overnight and weekend stays is required. Examination deadlines are absolute, so early morning starts and evening working may be required. 

Please download the documents below and submit, along with your CV to Recruitment.SA@britishcouncil.org

PLEASE NOTE that we cannot accept applications that are sent without the accompanying completed application forms: Part 1, 2 & 3 (find in download at the bottom of the page).