Graduate Recruitment at British Council Nigeria

The British Council is the world's leading cultural relations organization and creates opportunities for people in the UK and worldwide to understand each other, to work together and learn from one another. We see this as crucial to building secure, more prosperous and sustainable futures for us all. We build trust and understanding between different countries and cultures and develop strong international links that are of benefit to people in Britain and the rest of the world.

We are recruiting to fill the below position below:


Job Title: Maintenance Officer

Location: Abuja
Reports to: Assistant Finance Manager
Pay Band: 2
Directorate or Region: Sub Saharan Africa
Department/Country: Abuja, Nigeria
Report to: Facilities Manager (Abuja & Kano)
Duration: Indefinite

Purpose of Job

• Working directly with the Facilities Manager, to pro-actively contribute to the achievement of British Council objectives by supporting the effective and efficient planning, management, delivery and evaluation of facilities, the office and residential estate, office vehicles and maintenance of an appropriate working and living environment for staff and visitors.
• The post holder will have office and estates maintenance experience in an organisational context and will be willing and able to provide hands on technical support in the role.
• The Facilities Unit in British Council Nigeria, under the leadership of Director Business Services, supports the operations of the British Council through effective and efficient planning and management of all its facilities/resources. You will be part of a 40+ strong Business Services team across the Nigeria operation with specific day-to-day responsibilities for the Abuja estate, where we current employ approximately 40 staff with a plan to grow in the coming year.

British Council Operating Context
Current: 

• Nigeria is  the largest economy in Africa. It is also the most populous country with over 180 million citizens. The UK is its largest trading partner. Nigeria holds significant political power in the region and internationally and its society retains a positive attitude to the UK. Therefore, there continue to be major opportunities for the UK and British Council to build on our strong existing relationships with the Nigerian government, institutions and customers/audiences. However, there are complex and substantial risks to this work i.e. security and compliance. 
• Nigeria is the British Council’s largest operation in sub-Saharan Africa with offices in 4 cities – Port Harcourt in the south, Kano in the north, Abuja the Federal capital and Lagos the commercial centre. We also have a number of project offices across the country. Our 200 staff work across a range of states delivering large scale contracts, partnership programmes, examinations, projects as well as services in Arts, Education & Society and English & Exams. We are already achieving substantial impact and income (current annual income is £27.2 million) and have plans to grow and develop our impact further. Partners and clients include government, public and private institutions, foundations, private sector organisations and civil society. We work closely with the wider UK mission including DFID and UKTI. 

Future:  

• 42% of Nigeria’s population is under 14. The government has recognised that its Vision 2020 must address the aspirations of this young population as part of its drive to achieve peace and prosperity. This has led to unprecedented interest and investment in Education, the Arts and good governance. This alignment with the UK’s priorities creates a growth environment for the British Council. To be successful in this, we need to build understanding with our UK stakeholders of Nigeria as an emerging economy with substantial commercial and development opportunities as well as the challenges they may be more familiar with. In this we will seek to integrate our approach with that of the wider UK mission.
• We intend to expand and scale up our existing programmes, contracts and services in the Arts, Education & Society, English & Examinations and develop offers to fill important gaps such as in Skills. We also intend to ensure that we have a good balance of partnership, customer services and client funded work across all these sectors. To do all this we need to create the right enabling environment. In addition to developing the professional and technical expertise of our staff, we need to support them to build their relationships within Nigeria, the region and the wider global network.
• This will ensure we develop as well as adopt and use best practice. We also need rigorous and compliant frameworks to support our work in areas such as finance, tax & status, security, procurement, compliance and quality management. We have new premises in Kano and have a major premises project under development in Abuja. However, there is still more work to be done, especially in Lagos and Port Harcourt to ensure our premises and technology support our brand reputation for integrity, innovation and professionalism.

Accountabilities, responsibilities and Main Duties
Working with the Facilities Manager, the post holder will be responsible for the following:

Facilities Services Deliver:

• Assist Facilities Team in-country to effectively and efficiently manage the Abuja facilities, estate and office vehicles as defined in the Regional and Country Delivery Plans enabling delivery of all key sectors of the British Council programme.
• Maintain the office and estate by ensuring security and optimum delivery of customer care including opening and closing of the office premises on schedule every day.
• Responsibility for the pro-active maintenance management of the Abuja office and compound undertaking daily checks on facilities and equipment to ensure operational efficiency and effectiveness. Undertake minor maintenance repairs.
• Assist the Facilities Manager and Facilities Officer with the efficient and effective management of the premises and, in particular, the day to day reactive and planned preventative maintenance. These include but are not restricted to mechanical, plumbing, building fabric repairs, cleaning, fumigation, and decorating and room setups.
• Manage soft general maintenance issues which arise throughout the building, i.e. light bulb changes, replacement/fixing of desks/furniture and report any specialist maintenance repairs required when necessary to the Facilities Manager.
• Ensure the maintenance of all office buildings, grounds and utilities and that any repairs or defects are reported and recorded in an accurate and timely way. Agree a weekly minor maintenance schedule with the Facilities Manager and complete the repairs on time and to standard.
• Ensure compliance with health and safety regulations, British Council standards and codes of practice, undertaking regular checks across the estate, logging and reporting findings.
• Applying maintenance skills and experience, supervise service providers, ensuring successful completion of repairs/maintenance as contracted, within budget and to timescales. Provide assurance to Facilities Manager of satisfactory completion of works.
• Assist the Facilities Manager in ensuring that facilities emergency services are available out of hours.
• Assist with Health and Safety compliance and record administration, including Risk Assessments and first aid provisions. H&S in line with British Council global standards.
• Ensure that storage areas are kept tidy and clean at all times and items are easily accessible.
• Ensure that all furniture, equipment, stationery and documents are stored safely, securely and are not subject to damage.
• Be the point of contact on site in the absence of the Facilities Manager and the Facilities Officer.
• The above highlights the main duties and responsibilities; it is not an exhaustive list. The post holder will be expected to perform different tasks in relation to the role as necessitated by changing business objectives of the organisation or emergency situations.

Events Support and Management:

• To support the management and delivery of events for all BC Nigeria activities, ensuring all facilities, equipment and health and safety aspects are appropriate, set up and tested in a timely way, well in advance of the event. In delivering this you will work collaboratively with the business unit responsible for the event and manage external contractors, overseeing their work on site.
• Assist in obtaining Temporary Work Permit for visitors coming for British Council business.

Financial planning and management:

• To create purchase orders for services and to ensure good PO Management in line with the procurement process, Approved Price List (APL) and Approved Suppliers List (ASL). Financial responsibilities with regards to facilities related POs is approximately GBP 25,000 per annum.
• To ensure timely payment of invoices.
• To assist with effective facilities management planning and business risk requirements to ensure expenditure and other targets are achieved effectively.

Key RelationshipsThe post holder will work with a range of stakeholders, both internal and external. 

• Internal: All Abuja office staff including senior management, SSA & UK Facilities Team
• External: Facilities contacts and contractors including the British High Commission (BHC) Technical Works Group (TWG), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS)

Other important features or requirements of the job

• The post will be accommodated at the office Domestic Quarters.
• Some weekend and evening work will be necessary to ensure maintenance of the estate.
• Travel to other locations in Nigeria may some times be required.

Person Specification

Behaviours

• Connecting with Others (Essential)
• Being Accountable (Essential)
• Making it Happen (Essential)

Other required behaviours at ‘Essential’ level (not assessed at interview)

• Shaping the Future
• Creating Shared Purpose
• Working Together

Assessment stage

• Interview

Skills and Knowledge
Essential:

• Ability to communicate clearly, in English, in written and spoken English.
• Demonstrate an understanding of health and safety in the work environment
• Demonstrate an understanding of Customer service in an facilities environment
• Proficient in Microsoft outlook, word & excel.

Desirable:

• Hands on mechanical experience (cooling, ventilations, plumbing, power management)
• Use of SAP

Assessment Stage

• Short listing
• and Interview

Experience

• Proven knowledge and experience of facilities service delivery in a reputable firm.
• Able to prioritise tasks, demonstrate professional attitude and adhere to timescales/deadlines.

Assessment Stage

• Short listing and Interview

Qualifications
Essential:

• Post-Secondary Qualification
• Vocational Studies with certification in NITEC (National Institute of Technical Education Certificate) specialising in Facilities Maintenance Technology, Plumbing, Mechanical or Electrical Maintenance.

Desirable:

• NABTEB (National Business and Technical Board Examination).

Assessment stage

• Short listing

Application Closing Date
3rd August, 2016.

Start Date
20th July, 2016.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Click here to download job details (MS Word)

Click here to download BC Core Skills (pdf)