Job Title Assistant Director Business Transition, India

Directorate or Region South Asia Department/Country India

Location of post New Delhi Pay Band 8 / Grade E

Director Exams India & Customer Reports to Duration of job 2 + 1 years Services South Asia

Purpose of job:

To provide professional project management leadership in overseeing the implementation of the India Status project in line with British Council India strategy and corporate requirements within the Status programme. To lead on the systems and change management activities surrounding the transition to private limited company status for part of our operations by April 2015. Manage the project timeline and key milestones in country against the agreed project plan and in close collaboration with the relevant business teams in India, local advisors and SAP partners and the Status Project Coordinator in the UK.

Context and environment: (e.g. dept description, region description, organogram)

The British Council is the UK’s International organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations.

India is a priority country for the British Council and our operations through a network of 9 offices across India, including the 4 main metro cities and five further cities, engage with over 3 million people a year. We work across 3 strategic business units, Education & Society, English & Exams and the Arts.

The main focus of this role will be to ensure a smooth transition to a new operating model as an enabler to allow us to achieve our ambitions for some parts of our business. While the post will report to Director Exams India & Customer Services South Asia, the new business model may involve various parts of our work in India. South Asia Region: The region is of high priority for the UK covering both high-growth economies (notably India, with a population of 1.2bn) and other countries important to the UK from a security perspective, principally Pakistan and Afghanistan. It comprises India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iran (non-represented) and Nepal. Programme priority areas are English, where there is a need to develop a stronger product offer for teachers and learners; Higher Education (with large opportunities in market intelligence and knowledge transfer) and the Arts. The region also includes one of the largest Exams businesses in the network.

Responsibilities and main duties: (including people management and finance)

 Develop and implement a detailed project plan to ensure smooth transition for agreed businesses to the new operating model  Identify key stakeholders for each strand/work stream of the project and ensure that detailed plans are developed and implemented; strands will include Project Management (including identifying

1 of 5 November 2013 risks/challenges & developing mitigation plans to ensure a smooth and seamless transition), Premises (in close collaboration with outsourced consultants & relevant business teams), HR (in close consultation with HR colleagues), Finance, SAP, Tax, Governance & Legal, Branding, Communications  Collaborate closely with relevant teams to balance the requirements of the various businesses which will operate under the new model as appropriate for each of the above strands  To ensure that the new private limited company operations are supported by robust systems and processes and that relevant staff are trained as appropriate. This will involve: o Enabling processes for incorporation of the company and liaising with legal and tax advisers to ensure compliance with local legal requirements, and internal British Council processes o Liaise with tax and legal advisors to set up the most efficient capital structure of the existing company o Identifying any changes to banking requirements that are required to comply with the new status, and liaise with Treasury team to ensure changes are put in place o Working with local SAP partners to deliver a gap analysis, an agreed blueprint and statement of requirements to meet the statutory requirements of India o Management of changes to systems (SAP), processes and people, as agreed with Global Finance Change Programme o Impact analysis on operational processes and revision of those processes as appropriate, as agreed with the Global Finance Change Programme o Ensure development and delivery of communications plan covering the changes with particular focus on the HR strand o Management of cut-over and go-live (such as transfer of assets to subsidiary) plus stabilisation to the agreed position as per the implementation plan (including relevant knowledge transition) o Working with Corporate Services Training team to identify relevant process and systems training, as agreed with Global Finance Change Programme o Set up new systems and compliance frameworks as required under the new entity o Review of entity resource requirements for finance post go-live (on 1st April 2015)  Liaise closely with relevant business to ensure the selection and set up of appropriate premises for the new model and ensure accurate financial modelling is completed in line with agreed timescales  Sign-off of stabilisation process (3 months after go-live)  Hand-over of management of BAU requirements to deputed managers in the entity  Monitor and complete project closure procedures, including approval of go-live report and due diligence file as agreed with Status and Global Finance Change Programme as appropriate  Ensure smooth running of the new entity once set up is complete

2 of 5 November 2013  Ensure completion of the first set of accounts  Identify and escalate key risks and issues to Country Director (SRO) and S&T team in the UK

Key relationships: (include internal and external)

Internal: - Country Director India, Director Operations India, Assistant Director Operations India - Regional Director Decision Support, Head Finance India, Head HR India, Assistant Director Operations India - Regional Director English, Teaching Centre Manager, Corporate Training Management and Senior English Project Consultant - Assistant Director Exams Operations India, Assistant Director Exams Marketing India, Heads Exams India, Head IELTS Operations India, Head Exams Partnerships India, Head Exams Compliance India - Country Director Nepal - Status Project Coordinator and Finance Coordinator UK, Status team in UK (including Head Treasury, Legal Advisor, Tax Advisor, Status Programme Manager, Group Financial controller) - Head GSS Finance, Noida, and SAP specialists - Role equivalents across the British Council network

External: - External tax consultants, legal advisors, SAP partners and other professional consultants as needed for the project

Other important features or requirements of the job (e.g. travel, unsocial/evening hours, restrictions on employment etc)

Please specify any This role is open to all in the BC network, however the candidate passport/visa and/or nationality should have a legal right to work in India requirement. Please indicate if any security Reference Checks as per British Council India HR policy or legal checks are required for this role.

3 of 5 November 2013 Person Specification Desirable Essential Assessment stage Behaviours Making it happen (most Interview demanding) Creating shared purpose (more demanding) Being accountable (most demanding) Connecting with others (more demanding)

Working Together (more These behaviours will demanding) be needed to Shaping the future (more successfully carry out demanding) the role, but will not be assessed for recruitment purposes

Skills and Generic Skills: Knowledge Excellent working Short listing Project & Contract Management: knowledge of SAP & Interview (highly desirable) Development and delivery, Managing risk, Monitoring, evaluation and reporting, Business and system processes (L3) Tendering and procurement (L2) Financial Planning and Management Risk Management (L3)

Computer Skills Using Outlook, Using Word, Using Excel, Using PowerPoint, Using Internet Explorer (L3) E-Learning (L2) Communication Skills Speaking, Reading, Writing & Listening skills, Understanding purpose, Understanding the audience (L3) Knowledge Sharing (L2) English language – Strong communications skills in testing may be English - English Language required (tbc after competence: interview) Minimum C1 CEFR Level / IELTS band 7 or equivalent internationally recognised qualification

4 of 5 November 2013 Experience At least 7 years’ demonstrated Experience of setting Short listing project management experience up a foreign company & Interview in India At least 2 years’ experience in an organisational consultancy role Proven record of liaising with external Track record in managing projects tax advisors, with multiple stakeholders and accountants and legal drawing on external advice advisors

Qualifications Post-graduate qualification in PRINCE 2 or Short listing management, finance or law equivalent project management qualification

Indian Company Secretary Institute (ICSI) qualification or equivalent

Legal and finance specialism

Submitted by Date 22nd November 2013

5 of 5 November 2013