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 support the CSSP2 Grants Manager in contributing to the effective co-ordination and management of Civil Society Support Programme’s (CSSP) grant funds, in line with programme’s strategic direction and in compliance with policies and requirements of CSSP2, the British Council and donors.

Main opportunities

CSSP2 grants will be managed across four regions in addition to Addis Ababa.  Holistic and effective upstream grant management processes as well as cross functional / regional team working will be challenging but critical to the success of multiple programme workstreams such as MEL and Finance. Robust resource planning and strong cross functional cooperation will be key to achieving challenging KPIs and managing activity peaks and troughs inherent in the grant management cycle

Main accountabilities but not limited to the following:

• The day to day oversight of routine / planned grant management activities
• Quality of support to the delivery of critical grant disbursement KPIs which account for 25% of the performance-based payment (i.e. £1.3m of income is directly related to the achievement of grant disbursement profiles)
• The quality of support to front line staff (particularly hub staff) in meeting key grant management standards and schedules.
• Quality of financial and non-financial grant management information systems required for e.g. registers, key/statutory documents, delivery milestones, capacity building and remedial activities etc upon which to base key programme decisions
• Grant contracts drafted and administered in line with programme standards and recorded decisions

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.

Location: Addis Ababa, Sub Saharan Africa, ET

Pay band: 6

Contract type: Fixed Term- Until March 31, 2022 with possibility of extension

Department: BSS

Company: British Council

Role specific knowledge and experience:

• Direct experience of managing and administering CSO grants in the donor funded context
• Experience of working in multi-disciplinary and multi-organizational teams and partners to achieve common objectives in a complex matrix management structure
• Project and Contract Management
• Financial management
• Fluency in English (C1 or IELTS 6.5 or equivalent), Amharic and/or a language spoken and used in one of the regional states of the country.

Essential Requirements–

• The successful candidate will need to possess the following requirements:
• A first degree or comparable professional experience in Social Studies, CSO/third sector development or similar discipline