Jobs at British Council – Relationship Manager

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 Responsibilities:

• Monitors and evaluates market/customer/stakeholder trends in order to identify areas where the Test Delivery Partner business can be developed and proposes plans that respond to opportunities or threats appropriately, profitably and in accordance with corporate policies/priorities.
• Identifies and manages the organisation, production and submission of high quality, market responsive proposals for new Independent Test Centre, ensuring timely and appropriate input from all necessary internal stakeholders/experts/functional advisors. Ensures compliance with agreed internal governance/review/sign-off arrangements.
• Proactively participates in internal working group/peer networks to maintain a detailed understanding of both current and prospective IELTS products/programmes/services, and uses these insights to inform effective delivery of business development activities.
• Identifies opportunities where new promotional/marketing/PR and outreach initiatives could improve the effectiveness of business development activity. Makes evidence-based recommendations to Head Candidate Channel Relationships to secure commitment/resources necessary to respond to such opportunities, including analysis of potential R.O.I.
• Supports regional colleagues on the negotiation and signing of IELTS Service Level Agreements with regional independent IELTS centres
• Contributes to the assessment of new centre opening and centre suspension/closure exercise, set up the infrastructure, systems and processes for new centre opening
• Represents the BC at customer/client/partner presentations and negotiations, ensuring the commercial/strategic interests and professional reputation of the organisation are protected and promoted.
• Participates actively in internal networks and knowledge management systems to ensure market and customer intelligence is shared in a timely and high-quality fashion to maximise the effectiveness of BC’s Test Delivery Partner development and commercial planning.

Job Requirements:

• May provide formal line management to a small team, which might consist of staff both within and beyond the local office base.
• Sets and oversees delivery of the annual workplan for business development initiatives within the area of Test Delivery Partners, coordinating with a range of SBU and regional staff to ensure effective delivery.
• Identifies requirements & recommends training and development provision to build improved business development capability within the unit/team/area.
• As an experienced business development professional actively contributes to wider regional and SBU strategies.

Qualification & Experience:

• Knowledge of, and previous experience working with IELTS Test Centers
• IELTS product knowledge
• Experienced in managing stakeholder relationships to create mutually beneficial relationships, enhance business reputation and profit.
• Demonstrable experience of working from customer insight to identifying opportunities to improve products and/or services
• Demonstrable experience of successfully and positively representing a global organisation /product in a variety of fora
• Degree/post grad diploma in business, education or similar
• Demonstrable experience of creating a successful engagement strategy for a client group both in the UK and globally

Job Details:

Company: British Council

Vacancy Type:  Full Time

Job Location: London, England

Application Deadline: N/A