Role Profile

Job DescriptionRef no:15/11/062

Job Title / Project Director, Libraries Unlimited
Directorate or Region / South Asia / Department/Country / Bangladesh
Location of post / Bangladesh / Pay Band / 8 (Country appointed)
Reports to / Deputy Director Bangladesh / Duration of job / 18 months (with a possibility of an extension of further 3.5 years).
CONTEXT AND ENVIRONMENT
The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries, and builds trust between them worldwide. We call this work Cultural Relations. We work in over 100 countries, connecting millions of people with the United Kingdom through programmes and services in the English language, the Arts, Education and Society. We believe these are the most effective means of engaging with others, and we have been doing this work since 1934. Our Head Office is based in London and we employ over 7,000 people worldwide, with an annual turnover of +£850m.
British Council has been operating in Bangladesh for over 60 years and has established deep trust and credibility with the government and many other organisations. These relationships put us in a strong position to build effective co-ordination and collaboration among different government departments and other stakeholders.
Both globally and regionally, the British Council have extensive experience of managing substantial Library Information Services and programmes. British Council’s longstanding international network of libraries has played a vital role in education and generation of leaders and, in South Asia, in particular, the libraries continue to be integral parts of the communities we serve. The British Council first began to offer library services in Bangladesh in 1954, in what was then known as East Pakistan. The British Council later expanded from one library in Dhaka to run branch libraries in the regional cities of Chittagong and Rajshahi. Today, there are British Council libraries in Dhaka and Chittagong, with more library services planned to open in Sylhet in 2016.
Libraries Unlimited addresses the urgent need in Bangladesh for greater access to information for all citizens. In particular, there is a lack of access to basic information for self-improvement to health, literacy, education, housing and government services. Additionally citizens have little access to information to improve their livelihood options and professional growth in terms of skills for employability, business opportunities and even entrepreneurship. Communities lack designated spaces that provide opportunities to participate in collective educational and cultural activities
To address this challenge, Libraries Unlimited will improve access to information and knowledge in Bangladesh. The programme has been designed based on the findings of the Library Landscape Assessment in Bangladesh (LLAB) published in June 2015 (the research report can be found here: Libraries will help millions of people in Bangladesh learn their way out of poverty. To achieve this, the current library structure needs to go through a radical process of transformation, upgrading infrastructures, services and resources to meet the needs of 21st century societies. The intervention proposed through Libraries Unlimited will trigger and help sustain this process of transformation. The three core areas of action are:
  1. Creating, through policy dialogues, advocacy and outreach to key stakeholders, a momentum to support the process of modernisation of libraries in order to meet the needs of the information poor
  1. Developing a number of model libraries in partnership with the Government of Bangladesh and NGO stakeholders, including improvement of infrastructure and technological upgrade
  1. An extensive nationwide training programme for government officials and library staff
JOB DESCRIPTION
PURPOSE OF JOB
The purpose of the Project Director is to ensure successful delivery of Libraries Unlimited, a key new project for the British Council and the Government of Bangladesh. This is a challenging post with multiple responsibilities and tight deadlines.The Project Director will oversee and manage the overall project taking direct responsibility for overall project design and delivery, policyadvocacy to all key stakeholders, financial reporting and will provide the necessary strategic leadership to the Libraries Unlimited Project Management Team. The Project Director will directly linemanage the Libraries Unlimitedcomponent leads for capacity development, model libraries and monitoring & evaluation together with managing thefinance manager and marketing and communicationsmanager.
The project director will drive Libraries Unlimited but will also be directly responsible for the recruitment of the relevant project staff together with the creation of the Project Management Team and satellite office setup. A crucial aspect of the role is financial management and oversight, together with the finance manager, of all expenditure and budget reporting. This role will also be responsible for setting and maintaining the strategic direction of the project, in agreement with all necessary stakeholders and in doing so will need toadhere to British Council’s standards for project, contract and financial reporting together with the appropriate key stakeholder management especially in relation to the relevantministries of the Government of Bangladesh. The post holder will not only be responsible for the implementation of the project to achieve project outcomes but will need to coordinate internal and external resources and provide thought leadership on policy andadvocacy with regards to the project as well. The project directorwill require an excellent understanding of government policy in relation to education and specifically around access to education and public libraries whilst also taking into account the other privately run libraries or library services. This is a transformational project for Bangladesh and its public library system and presents a unique opportunity to change public access to information and education through the public library systems and network.
The core purpose of the Libraries UnlimitedProject Management Team
The Project Management Team in Bangladesh will be responsible for the overall implementation of the project, including the recruitment of relevant staff, the creation of the Project Management Team and the management of the budget. The Project Management Team will oversee the delivery of all activities related to the project, including the design and implementation of model libraries and professional development. It will also manage critical relationships with the relevant ministries of the Government of Bangladesh as well as key stakeholders from the non-government sector.The Team will also oversee the monitoring and evaluation process.
ACCOUNTABILITIES, RESPONSIBILITIES AND MAIN DUTIES
1. Thought leadership on Policy/Advocacy and Stakeholder Management
  • Develop and maintain key relationships with stakeholders from across both the government and non-government sector
  • Establish, lead and support a Coordinating Committee of the main stakeholders in Bangladesh public access libraries to work with the Project Management Team to ensure the success of the project
  • Build a shared vision of what can be achieved through libraries, the public library network and various stakeholders through an stakeholder consultation process to include ministries and other organisations with an existing or potential stake in public access to education, particularly focusing on the role of libraries.
  • Assist key stakeholder ministries to adapt their mission statements and policies to reflect fully the role that libraries can play in opening access to information for all citizens of Bangladesh and support economic and social development efforts
  • Organise advocacy and marketing workshops to consolidate the vision on the modernisation of libraries in Bangladesh, utilising evidence from the evaluation of the pilot phase as it emerges
  • Oversee the commission of the design and delivery of a social marketing campaign and initiate marketing and communication activities including radio, TV and press advertising, celebrity endorsements and the use of social media in order to publicise the remodelled libraries to bring a positive change to the public perception of the role of information services and libraries
  • Identify the steps needed to arrive at a national policy for public libraries and provide support to government departments responsible for developing this policy and coordinate the establishment of a Working Group of legal and policy experts with knowledge of the libraries field to produce and disseminate appropriately a report with recommendations on the development of a National Policy
2. Libraries Unlimited Strategic Leadership and Project Management
  • Provide the necessary strategic leadership for Libraries Unlimited in order to drive forward the change required across the public library infrastructure, evolving the project design to ensure successful implementation to achieve project objectives.
  • Lead the strategic planning and design of the project, and adhere to British Council’s standards for project, contract and financial reporting
  • Lead the preparation and implementation of the inception phase, workplan, including facilitating a multi-stakeholder inception workshop
  • Report to Project Senior Reporting Officer
3. Operational Management of Libraries Unlimited
  • To lead and manage the Project Management Team
  • Recruit relevant staff to create the Project Management Team and oversee performance management of all project staff and consultants
  • To lead and manage the satellite office setup
4. Quality Assurance and Knowledge Management
  • Ensure robust monitoring and evaluation processes and procedures are put in place to ensure the full impact of the project is measured and is reported as required.
  • Assume full responsibility for any corporate risk and issues associated with the project
  • Monitor and update as necessary with regards to the key strategic programme risks and issues
  • Take informed and considered decisions on risks and issues which have been escalated by team members
  • Ensure that adequate programme management and quality assurance measures are in place to deliver the programme
  • Work with the marketing and communications manager to oversee and provide leadership and guidance of programme level knowledge management, communication and visibility
5. Finance, contract and risk management
  • Ensure sound financial management, planning and reporting of the project, working with the Finance Manager to oversee internal and external reporting, budget management, regular forecasting and meeting all the necessary British Council and possible external reporting standards
  • Ensure all contractual and financial requirements are met, working with the Deputy Director to ensure coordination within the team and provide input on any necessary stakeholder reporting, ensuring inputs from the project team are timely, quality assured and that submission deadlines met
  • Lead on internal planning and reporting including; risk and issue management, impact reporting and ensuring regional management information requests are met.
  • Provide leadership and guidance of programme level knowledge management, communications and visibility
6. Staff Management
The project director is expected to directly line manage the following:
  • Component lead for Training and Capacity Building
  • Component lead for Model Libraries
  • Component lead for Monitoring & Evaluation
  • Finance Manager
  • Marketing and Communications Manager
KEY INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS
Internal Relationships:
  • Director British Council Bangladesh
  • Deputy Director British Council Bangladesh
  • Head of Business SupportPartners British Council Bangladesh
  • Head of Finance British Council Bangladesh
  • Head of IT British Council Bangladesh
  • Library Manager British Council Bangladesh
  • Heads of Strategic Business Units of British Council Bangladesh
External Relationships:
  • Key contacts and stakeholders at Department of Public Libraries, Ministry of Cultural Affairs
  • Key contacts and stakeholders at Bangladesh Shishu Academy - Ministry of Women and Children Affairs
  • Key contacts and stakeholders at ICT Division and Bangladesh Computer Council - Ministry of Post, Telecommunications and Information Technology
  • Key contacts and stakeholders at Access to Information (a2i) program - Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)
  • Key contacts and stakeholders at Ministry of Education
  • Key contacts and stakeholders at Non-governmental partners such as BRAC, Bishwa Shahitya Kendro (World Literature Center), Department of Information Science and Library Management, Dhaka University and Rajshahi University, Library Association of Bangladesh etc.
Other Important Features or Requirements of the Job
  • The job may require frequent travel across Bangladesh and some occasional business trips internationally. It will also involve occasional weekend and evening work. Such requirements will be managed and compensated within British Council HR policies.
  • The post holder will understand and make decisions which are affected by our Equality Diversity and Inclusion policy. Additionally s/he will exploit the opportunities brought by diversity and build them into all planning.
  • The post holder will understand the importance of child protection and ensure that policies and processes are in place to offer maximum protection of young people at all relevant events and venues and ensure compliance with BC Child Protection policies.

Please specify any passport/visa and/or nationality requirement. / Bangladeshi passport holder or legally entitled to work in Bangladesh
Please indicate if any security or legal checks are required for this role. / ID, local/international police record check qualification and reference checks are required for external candidates.

The British Council is committed to a policy of equal opportunity and is keen to reflect the diversity of Bangladesh society at every level within the organisation. We welcome applications from all sections of the community. In line with the British Council's Child Protection policy, any appointment is contingent on thorough checks. In Bangladesh, and in other countries where appropriate systems exist, these include criminal records checks.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential / Desirable / Assessment stage
Behaviours
Please see The Behaviours Dictionary for behaviour definitions and levels / Behaviours assessed during interview stage of recruitment process
  1. Working Together (Mostdemanding): Creating the environment in which others who have different aims can work together.
  2. Making it Happen (Mostdemanding): Achieving stretching results when faced by challenge, uncertainty or major obstacles.
  3. Being Accountable (Most demanding):Showing real dedication to the long-term mission of the British Council or the team.
Behaviours not assessed during recruitment process
  1. Creating Shared Purpose (Most demanding): Inspiring others to want to take a specific role as part of a shared purpose
  2. Connecting with others (More demanding): Building trust and understanding with people who have very different views.
  3. Shaping the Future (More demanding): Exploring ways in which we can add more value.
/ The position holder will be required to demonstrate all six behaviours, on the job. These will be assessed during year end performance evaluations.
Behaviours to be assessed during the interview stage of recruitment are mentioned.
Skills and Knowledge /
  1. MANAGING PEOPLE (Level 3: Manages a team) Provides full line management to a team where all members are working in a similar area of expertise or business. Scope includes planning, setting objectives, role modelling an inclusive culture, recruitment, and development and performance management.
  1. MANAGING PROJECT (Level 3: Leads smaller projects) Analyses requirements with the sponsor/ stakeholders, defining the specification with awareness of equality and diversity impact, planning, revising, implementing and evaluating on small-to-medium scale and/or low risk projects.
  1. COMMUNICATING AND INFLUENCING (Level 4: Uses influencing techniques) Uses formal and informal negotiating and motivation techniques to influence others’ behaviour and persuade them to think and act differently, while respecting difference of view and culture)
  1. MANAGING FINANCE AND RESOURCES(Level 4: Plans and deploys resources) Negotiates and agrees the resources for a defined area as part of forward planning, monitoring progress and adjusting resources or priorities to meet goals.
Other Skills:
Strong quantitative and qualitative skills including Statistical analytical tools. / Shortlisting and Interview
Experience / Minimum of 10 years of project management experience with experience in maintaining liaison with Government Ministries.
Proven experience of:
  1. Project management for donor agencies, Trusts and Foundations
  2. Operating successfully in large development projects
  3. Managing partners and sub-contractors in delivering programme objectives and activities.
  4. Stakeholders relationship management including Government Ministries
  5. Contract and procurement management
  6. Audit Management
/ Professional networks, experience in working with libraries / Shortlisting and interview
Qualifications / Postgraduate degree in any discipline / Shortlisting
Submitted by / Recruitment team / Date / November 2015

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