The British Council is the world's leading cultural relations organization and creates opportunities for people in the UK and worldwide to understand each other, to work together and learn from one another. We see this as crucial to building secure, more prosperous and sustainable futures for us all. We build trust and understanding between different countries and cultures and develop strong international links that are of benefit to people in Britain and the rest of the world.
  
POSITION : Marketing Manager, Exams

Purpose of Job

• To directly contribute to growing British Council Nigeria’s operation, building positive perceptions of the British Council and the UK, with the British Council as a leading global Cultural Relations organisation.
• As an effective member of the Exams Team, with strong link to MarComms team, the Marketing Manager, Exams will be responsible for developing and delivering high quality promotional material and campaigns across a range of channels, supporting the British Council Nigeria’s Examinations strategy and offer.
• S/he will demonstrate a deep understanding of the organisation’s aims, stakeholders and target audiences, the Nigeria operating context and the ability to connect with operational colleagues.

British Council Operating Context

Current

Nigeria is one of the largest economies in Africa. It is also the most populous country with over 180 million citizens. The UK is its largest trading partner. Nigeria holds significant political power in the region and internationally and its society retains a positive attitude to the UK. Therefore, there continue to be major opportunities for the UK and BC to build on our strong existing relationships with the Nigerian government, institutions and customers/audiences. However, there are complex and substantial risks to this work i.e. security and compliance. 

Nigeria is the British Council’s largest operation in sub-Saharan Africa with offices in 4 cities - Port Harcourt in the south, Kano in the north, Abuja the Federal capital and Lagos the commercial centre. We also have a number of project offices across the country. Our 200 staff work across a range of states delivering large scale contracts, partnership programmes, examinations, projects as well as services in Arts, Education & Society and English & Exams. We are already achieving substantial impact and income (current annual income is £27.2 million) and have plans to grow and develop our impact further. Partners and clients include government, public and private institutions, foundations, private sector organisations and civil society. We work closely with the wider UK mission including DFID and UKTI.

Future
42% of Nigeria’s population is under 14. The government has recognised that its Vision 2020 must address the aspirations of this young population as part of its drive to achieve peace and prosperity. This has led to unprecedented interest and investment in Education, the Arts and good governance. This alignment with the UK’s priorities creates a growth environment for the British Council. To be successful in this, we are building understanding with our UK stakeholders of Nigeria as an emerging economy with substantial commercial and development opportunities as well as the challenges they may be more familiar with. In this we seek to integrate our approach with that of the wider UK mission.

We are expanding and scaling up our existing programmes, contracts and services in the Arts, Education & Society, English & Examinations and developing offers to fill important gaps such as in Skills. We are also working to ensure that we have a good balance of partnership, customer services and client funded work across all these sectors. To do all this we need to create the right enabling environment. In addition to developing the professional and technical expertise of our staff, we need to support them to build their relationships within Nigeria, the region and the wider global network. 

This will ensure we develop as well as adopt and use best practice. We also need rigorous and compliant frameworks to support our work in areas such as finance, tax & status, security, procurement, compliance and quality management. We have new premises in Kano and have a major premises project under development in Abuja. However, there is still more work to be done, especially in Lagos and Port Harcourt to ensure our premises and technology support our brand reputation for integrity, innovation and professionalism.

The Exams business in Nigeria has grown significantly in recent years. We doubled our income and volumes between 2011 and 2013. In 2014/15 we delivered 90,000 examinations, this financial year the target is 100,000 exams on a turnover of £8.5m. Nigeria examinations work encompasses School exams, IELTS, and a wide range of academic and professional qualifications. 

Customer service, operational quality and compliance assurance are critical to the business. Nigeria’s operating context means that risk management and contingency planning will be ongoing areas of focus. Developing flexible and appropriate delivery models will be critical in responding to the challenges of working across the country. There are a number of initiatives underway to address these needs. The Global New Operating Model for Exams (GNOME) and Global Financial Change projects are critical to our business plans.

The Marketing Manager role is a new role and the post holder will have the opportunity to help shape the role and business development team. The post holder will also have a working relationship with the new Head of Business Development and Digital Manager roles based in the Exams team.

Accountabilities, Responsibilities and Main Duties
Strategy Development and Implementation:

• Develop, plan, deliver and evaluate the Exams Marketing strategy and plan, working with the Exams Management Team, the regional Comms and Digital team and relevant corporate teams. The Marketing strategy and plan will include agreed targets and reflect the strategic focus of the Nigeria exams operation.
• As an ‘internal consultant’ to the business area, provide support and direction on the creation, planning, delivery and evaluation of business specific marketing strategies and campaigns, which include market sizing, financial data, targets, customer segmentation, competitor analysis and market data

Management and Delivery of the Marketing Function:

• Manage the day-to-day activities associated with all marketing efforts, including: project management; commissioning content; content creation; creative development; campaign tracking and reporting as necessary.
• Closely collaborate with business and project leads to develop an integrated and sustainable marketing approach, capitalising on common customer base, promoting synergies and economies of scale, and delivering maximum impact and business returns.
• Track performance of marketing campaigns through measurement and analysis to understand effectiveness and ROI
• Conduct quarterly reviews of market-specific strategies and action plans and develop initiatives that support country-specific marketing activities. 
• Working with the Digital and Social Media Manager (Exams), drive the content and creative strategy for business areas on all digital platforms, including but not limited to websites and social media, e-mail marketing and digital campaigns.
• Across all activities, manage brand guidelines to ensure all vendors and internal customers follow corporate standards.

Sourcing of Goods and Services, Supplier Management:

• Working with product managers and Head of Operations, lead on the commissioning (procurement) of MarComms services from external suppliers supporting projects, programmes and events, defining Terms of Reference to provide a clear brief to suppliers. Services include: PR; Events Management; Marketing; Communications; Media coverage. Ensure all campaigns are based on sound briefs that support business and brand objectives, are customer-focused, closely adhere to brand guidelines and are produced to British Council standards
• Proactively manage the relationship with key suppliers and specifically the quality of service / value for money from suppliers engaged on specific activities
• Lead on and manage the procurement of exams team ‘collateral’ including but not limited to brochures; banners etc
• Commission high quality and creative photography and videography which captures the essence and impact of our work.

Brand Champion:

• To support the MarComms team to promote brand standards across all channels of engagement, including digital and print.

Collaborative Working:

• Proactively engage with product and customer service leads and their teams to understand in depth the nature of the British Council’s operation and ambition, supporting effective marketing activities and credibility in the role
• Coach and support individuals and teams - the internal customer.
• Actively support equality and diversity and work to the British Council’s EDI policy at all times

Continuous Professional Development:

• Engage in professional networks and continuous professional development to ensure that knowledge, networks  and expertise are kept updated

Key Relationships

• Head of Operations, Exams
• Nigeria Exams Team
• Director Communications and Digital and Social Media Manager
• Exams Management Team
• Regional Communications & Digital teams
• UK based Marketing, Brand and Communications teams
• Key colleagues in Strategic Business Units (SBUs)
• Suppliers including marketing, communications, PR and events management
• Key partners and customer groups

Other important features or requirements of the Job
The post holder will be expected to travel within Nigeria. As with any business that experiences peaks and troughs of activity, there is likely to be a need to work outside office hours from time to time. Occasional attendance at events at weekends and evenings.

Person Specification 
Essential:

Behaviours assessed during interview stage of recruitment process

• Making it Happen - Most demanding level
• Connecting With Others - Most demanding level
• Working Together - Most demanding level

Behaviours not assessed during recruitment process

• Creating Shared Purpose- More demanding level
• Shaping the Future - More demanding level
• Being Accountable - More demanding level

Skills and Knowledge

• Communicating and Influencing - L3
• Using Technology - L3
• Managing Projects - L3
• Analysing Data and Problems - L3
• Teamwork.

Desirable:

• Supplier management
• Knowledge of the education and qualification system in the UK and Nigeria

Experience

• A minimum of 5 years of proven experience in a similar role within an educational context (or corporate sector, public/NGO)
• Track record with developing promotional campaigns online/offline communications to drive customer growth and/or sales growth

Desirable:

• Experience in a similar role in an international organisation

Qualifications

• Degree level qualification in a relevant field or equivalent experience

Desirable:

• Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Level 6 Diploma in Professional Marketing (or equivalent)

Note

• As part of the recruitment exercise, shortlisted candidates will undergo recruitment tests in Lagos or Abuja.
• Interviews to be held in Lagos only.