Arts Programme Manager

This role sits within the Cultural Engagement (CE) Strategic Business Unit (SBU).

CE brings together our portfolio of work in arts, education, English, and research. Our portfolio is delivered through a set of globally led programmes that locates our work and impact within our strategic framework. These programmes deliver our key performance indicators and impact ambitions. 

Our programmes are funded by the British Council’s grant in aid, through partnerships and external clients.  

The British Council has a contextualised programme and project management framework with clear standards and procedures for programme management set out by the CE Centre of Excellence. This framework is in line with Cabinet office functional standard for project delivery, FCDO Operating Framework and the Association for Project Management Body of Knowledge.  

Pay Band: 6
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Contract type: Indefinite contract – Local
Closing date: Thursday, 27 February 2024.

Role Purpose:

Leads the successful delivery of a range of Cultural Engagement projects including managing the contract or project plan, managing client or internal stakeholders, successfully achieving reporting and meeting compliance standards. Or works within a larger programme on a particular component. These projects may be funded by British Council or by another client or funding mechanism.

Main Accountabilities:
Relationship & Stakeholder management

  • Has relationships with delivery partners and stakeholders within country and is able to procure services and contract delivery partners.
  • Holds suppliers to account for delivering against contract.
  • Build strong internal relationships and networks.

Commercial and Financial Management  

  • Ensure sound financial planning, working closely with finance teams to ensure British Council and client financial year plans are up to date.
  • Ensure accurate and timely monthly (re)forecasting is in place, by running regular reports in the SAP system on actuals, monitoring outstanding purchase orders, reviewing commitments, analysing and commenting on reasons for variances to plan and recommending corrective actions.
  • Monitoring monthly finances, including correct expenditure, ensuring the P2P process is being followed and correcting any mis-postings or journals needed.
  • Lead on British Council, partner or client reporting (including, with Finance Manager, financial reporting) and ensure reports are delivered on time, to budget and to a high standard.
  • Compliance to BC financial policies and procedures.

Project Management

  • Contributes to development of, owns and delivers on Project Management Plan
  • Identifies risks in a project or programme and puts together mitigation strategies with SRO
  • Responsible for internal and client, procurement, contracting, compliance and reporting pm
  • Checks on and reports on compliance.
  • Manages procurement on a project/programme.
  • Responsible for data management including timely data entry, quality assurance of data, undertaking basic analysis of monitoring data, and developing progress reports to meet funding needs
  • Undertaking programme-specific data collection as needed. This includes working with colleagues to identify indicators and tools for data collection, quality assuring all data, and undertaking basic analysis.

Business Development

  • Supports the identification and development of professional networks, relationships and partnerships to increase the British Council’s impact and reputation.
  • Ensures high quality and accurate pipeline data for country/pillar.
  • Conducts specific pipeline and partner/competitor analysis to contribute to business development planning and prioritisation.
  • Provides support with development of new business proposals, ensuring that internal and external professional standards are met.

Qualifications

Minimum/essential: First degree level qualification

Desirable: Foundation level Project Management certificate

Minimum/essential

  • Experience of managing projects from start to finish and familiarity with project life cycles.
  • Understanding of procurement, evaluation and reporting requirements of projects.
  • Proven experience of managing project finances.
  • Experience of managing stakeholders 
  • Project management qualification desirable.
  • More than 2 years working in project or programme management. 
  • Experience of using technology and project delivery.
  • Good understanding and experience of supporting monitoring and evaluation.
  • Specialist knowledge of the arts scene in Bangladesh and a broad knowledge and familiarity of UK culture.     

Desirable: Recent professional experience of working in a creative, producing, programming or project management capacity, ideally in the arts sector.

Role specific skills: Artists or arts project management

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted and called for interview. We will only shortlist applications submitted on a British Council application form submitted electronically through our careers portal. Any hard copies of the application and incomplete application in the portal will not be accepted.

To apply, please click on the following link that will take you to the careers portal of British Council – Apply here

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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 organisation. 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, recognising discrimination as a barrier to equality of opportunity, inclusion and human rights. All staff worldwide are required to ensure their behaviour 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.