Job Description

The British Council builds connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language.

We work in two ways - directly with individuals to transform their lives, and with governments and partners to make a bigger difference for the longer term, creating benefit for millions of people all over the world. We help young people to gain the skills, confidence and connections they are looking for to realise their potential and to participate in strong and inclusive communities. We support them to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications. Our work in arts and culture stimulates creative expression and exchange and nurtures creative enterprise. We connect the best of the UK with the world and the best of the world with the UK.

These connections lead to an understanding of each other's strengths and of the challenges and values that we share. This builds trust between people in the UK and other nations which endures even when official relations may be strained. We work on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2019-20 we connected with 80 million people directly and with 791 million overall, including online and through our broadcasts and publications.

Job Title: VCS Supervisor - Lead

Purpose of job:

To provide support to the Head of Video Call Speaking (VCS) Operations in the delivery of the VCS tests, providing excellent levels of customer service to test centres globally. The post holder will be responsible for being the point of escalations for the VCS Supervisors for any test day related queries.

Experience areas:

• Highly organised with strong time management and prioritisation skills
• Ability to remain calm, friendly and work well under pressure with little supervision
• Ability to pay close attention to detail
• Excellent IT skills (Microsoft word, Excel, and Outlook)
• Ability to flexibly manage change
• Able to build string relationships with colleagues and stakeholders

Knowledge of:

Essential

• 3 years of total experience and a minimum of 1-3 years of Team leader experience.
• Should have managed a team of up to 5 people
• Meet English proficiency at a minimum level of IELTS band 7 or equivalent internationally recognised qualification.
• Demonstrable experience of excellent written and verbal communication skills for a wide variety of audiences
• Demonstrable experience of delivering training using a range of methods
• Demonstrable experience of working to tight, and immovable deadline
• Demonstrable experience of working as part of a dispersed team to successfully deliver business outcome

Desirable

• Experience of IELTs processes or administration

Accountabilities, responsibilities and main duties:

(including people management and finance)

Accountabilities:

Service delivery

• Ensures the results are released to test centres on test day
• Manages the various applications-related VCS team inboxes/CRM, dealing with enquiries.
• Improves VCS service quality by assisting in evaluating and updating current VCS procedures
• Receives instructions and requests from VCS Delivery Managers, and plans and organises given resources accordingly (often at short notice) to ensure that work is carried out efficiently and effectively
• Provides proactive and timely support to the Head of VCS Ops and team members if and when required.

Customer service

• Takes end-to-end accountability for researching and obtaining satisfactory and timely resolution of complex/escalated queries from Examiners and Centres. Coordinating input from other colleagues/departments/managers as required, to do so. Ensures the Examiner/Centre is kept informed throughout the process.

Relationship & stakeholder management

• Develops good working relationships with appropriate colleagues throughout the BC to facilitate effective and efficient end to end VCS process

Risk & compliance

• Follows agreed corporate risk management processes and procedures when delivering services (e.g. child protection, security policies, financial protocols, anti-fraud measures) to protect the interests of the BC and its customers at all times.

Analysis & reporting

• Using standard procedures and templates, to produce weekly, monthly and quarterly reports for the VCS Delivery Managers on VCS services. These reports analyses operational activity levels and performance data, to support managers in making timely and effective business decisions that respond to operational needs.

Commercial & resource management

• Operates and runs regular reports on range of standard, corporate financial processes and procedures to enable effective resource management for the VCS- e.g. purchase order system, FABS, SAP, procurement processes.

Leadership & Team 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.
• Likely to manage the day to day performance of a more junior team (temporary staff), dealing with sickness, discipline, motivation etc, to ensure high quality service delivery is maintained at all times
• Tasks and coordinates offshore centre to complete activities in accordance with agreed marking deadlines.
• Handling people management related queries/ concerns.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Educated to Degree level or equivalent work experience

Further Information

Pay Band - 5

Contract Type - FTC

Department/Country-GM/India - Noida

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

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.