语言评估顾问团队负责人

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.

Role Purpose
To provide effective line management of and academic support for groups of full-time Language Assessment Consultants primarily engaged in the delivery of the IELTS speaking and writing modules. To ensure high standards of assessment which meet quality standards in order to support business growth.  Manage risks and ensure that KPIs, monitoring and evaluation targets are met in order to deliver British Council strategic objectives. Contributing to the on-going professional development programme for assessors to promote diversity of work opportunities and support the wider exams team and development of assessment activities in the region.

Role context

In China, the British Council operates across five offices: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Nanjing. We employ over 750 staff across the country.

The British Council operates under three legal entities in China. 1) We operate as the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in Beijing and Cultural and Education Section of the British Consulate-General in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing. 2) Our Exams work across China operates as a Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise – BC Education Consulting(Beijing) Company Ltd (BC教育咨询（北京）有限公司)/ BC Education Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd Chongqing Branch (BC教育咨询（北京）有限公司重庆分公司)/ BC Education Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd Guangzhou Branch (BC教育咨询（北京）有限公司广州分公司)/ BC Education Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd Shanghai Shenyu Education Technology Branch (BC教育咨询（北京）有限公司上海申宇教育科技分公司). 3) We also operate as the Ying He Advertising (Beijing) Company Limited (英合广告（北京）有限公司). This position will be employed by one of the four branches of the Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise, depending on the city of employment.

The British Council promotes and delivers a range of exams and assessment products and we are responsible for delivering the IELTS test in China.

Main accountabilities but not limited to the following:

Responsible for the performance management and professional development of a group of  Language Assessment Consultants in China in line with IELTS PSN requirements and British Council HR policies. The post will work closely with the Examiner support teams and will report directly to their Deputy National Examiner Manager in one of our four centres.

People Management

• Lead and manage a team of language assessors as part of the wider examiner management team, implementing best practice in line management in accordance with HR policies and procedures.
• Participate in a comprehensive people management development programme and actively demonstrate the required skills in day-to-day management to meet the associated KPIs.
• Manage employee relations, engagement and wellbeing through regular 1:1 meetings with line managees.
• Ensure that all staff have appropriate skills, knowledge, support and training to enable the business to achieve targets. Coach and develop line managees to develop their skills and manage underperformance effectively. Providing career development through coaching and stretch assignments.
• Ensure all line managees are managed in accordance with the British Council’s Performance Management and Professional Development (PMPD) framework with timely completion of written records within country and corporately specified deadlines.
• Monitor and manage performance in accordance with the IELTS PSN framework through PSN monitoring and other feedback mechanisms.
• Ensure that all staff have appropriate skills, knowledge, support and training to enable the business to achieve targets. Leading training sessions for examiners including PSN training and standardisation.
• Participate in the recruitment and induction of new members of staff to corporate standards, in conjunction with HR.
• Contribute to the professional development programme through materials development, workshop delivery and other support roles as necessary. Support the Examiner management team to promote and develop non-examining tasks and monitor completion of non-examining tasks.
• Provide necessary support for the wider exams team including complaint handling, rater reliability systems, and operationst Teams.

Language Assessment

• Conduct IELTS speaking interviews.
• Conduct second marking and Enquiry on Results marking (where applicable) for the speaking module.
• Monitor Enquiry on Results markers (where applicable).
• Conduct and rate other IELTS and British Council exams.
• Other tasks relevant to the British Council English language and assessment services such as consulting, item writing or materials writing.

Other duties

• Maintaining the reputation and integrity of IELTS and the British Council at all times and adhering to the IELTS Professional Support Network and British Council policies.

• To ensure all duties are delivered in line with the British Council’s policy on Safeguarding  and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and these are taken into account when planning and delivering activity.
• Manage information created and received in compliance with the British Council’s information management standards, policies, the UK data protection principles and local legislation.
• Other duties as assigned including but not limited to project work, duty rotas and assigned duties.

Requirements:

• English C2 Proficiency, expert user level (equivalent to IELTS band 9)
• CELTA or equivalent TEFL/TESOL qualification from a recognized institution (at minimum certificate level).
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree plus

All qualifications must be validated by a reputable institution and accredited by a professional certification board. If requested, applicants are required to provide additional information regarding their qualifications (e.g. transcript, course curriculum, evidence of external validation, accreditation by a certification standards board etc).

Role specific knowledge and experience:

Minimum/essential

• Experience of managing a team and providing support to line managees from induction onwards.
• A minimum of 5 years’ full-time (or equivalent part-time) teaching experience (age 16 and above), 1 year of which must be post-CELTA or equivalent.
• 4 years’ examining experience (both modules) or 2 years’ examining experience with a minimum of 600 candidates in each module.
• Satisfactory monitoring and certification history (Last 2 PSN Monitoring results to standard)

Desirable

• Experience of working in Asia and of supporting overseas colleagues on arrival in China
• Materials development/ writing experience

Role specific skills:

Familiarity with one or more high-stakes examination formats

Further Information

Contract Type – 1 year, fixed term contract

Location – Guangzhou, China

Salary: Team Lead for Language Assessment Consultants Package

Closing Date – 5 October 2022 – 23:59 China Time (GMT +8)

As per PSN rules, all candidates must in addition fill in the App 35 (please email to: EA.Recruitment@britishcouncil.org.sg to get the form with subject “APP 35 for Team Leader for Language Assessment Consultants-Req ID 33382”) and submit it as attachment by the deadline.

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 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.