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 realize 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 recognized 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.

Role Purpose

The program officer will support the delivery of British Council School Projects in Ethiopia to agreed targets, impact, customer service standards and financial management standards with and through partners to meet the projects’ objectives within the defined timeline and targets and partner expectations.. 

Main opportunities and challenges for this role:

 This role is expected to support the successful delivery of the British Council’s Ethiopia’s activities as part of Connecting Classrooms Project. The role will include a strong aspect of coordination, administrative and financial support as well as project management when required.

Main accountabilities but not limited to the following:

• Support the administrative and financial as well as procurement delivery as per British Council policy and client requirements.
• Support the achievement of all agreed outputs as required by the line manager
• Build and maintain professional relationships with coalition partners and other key players
• Support the management of financial resources to implement project activity accurately allocated, forecasted, monitored and reported
• Ensure that procurement is managed in the highest standards suppliers selected and managed to maximum value for money
• To identify, assess, report and monitor progress in addressing risks to the achievement of project objectives
• Support the delivery of the monitoring and evaluation plan for Ethiopia, using the programs monitoring and evaluation framework.
• Liaise with communication team, responsible for the effective communication and dissemination of the program.
• 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.

Additional Information: 

• Role holder must have existing rights to live and work in the country the role is based.

 A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.

 Equality Statement

 The British Council is committed to a policy of equality and to valuing diversity and is keen to reflect the diversity of the societies in which we work at every level within the organization. We welcome applications from all sections of the community. We aim to abide by and promote equality legislation by following both the letter and the spirit of it to avoid unjustified discrimination, recognizing discrimination as a barrier to equality of opportunity, inclusion, and human rights. All staff worldwide are required to ensure their behavior is consistent with our policies. 

The British Council has Disability Confident Employer Status. We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role. Applicants are encouraged to highlight any specific requirements or adjustments needed to enable participation in the recruitment process.

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.

Pay band: PB4

Department: ESS

Contract type: Fixed term contract; until 31 March 2022

Job Requirements

Role specific knowledge and experience:

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work effectively with tight deadlines. 

Essential Requirements

• The successful candidate will need to possess the following requirements:
• English language (IELTS 6 or above equivalent).
• Amharic
• University Degree in Project Management, Educational Leadership and Management or Social Studies including in development or Social Studies.

 Desirable requirements

• Project Management for Development (PMD)
• Financial Management for Development (FMD) equivalent
• Management of Risk (MoR)

How to Apply

Register using the following link

 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.