British Council Pay band: 6 ( Salary depending on experience up to 840,000 KZT per month)

Department: English and Exam
Contract type: Indefinite

Closing Date: Tuesday 1st of April, 2025

Location: Kazakhstan - Almaty

You must have the legal right to work in the stated location. We will not be providing Visa sponsorship and relocation assistance is not provided.

Role Purpose

To support the Senior Marketing Manager, Exams in the development and implementation of the cluster/country marketing strategy and plans for Exams, ensuring alignment to the regional and global marketing strategy and brand, and to work in partnership with the Exams SBU to ensure that marketing programmes enable required business targets.

Role Context:

Marketing and Communications at the British Council is a strategic function which drives awareness, understanding and engagement with us across our diverse audiences. We use insight, knowledge and analysis of our market and our customers to engage them with our work and our products and services in the most impactful and effective way. We lead the development of our brand and use our expertise to tell inspiring stories to enhance our global reputation, build lifelong relationships, engage our staff and demonstrate our impact.

The scope of this role is the Wider Europe cluster consisting of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.

The Exams portfolio spans English proficiency testing, including the world’s leading English test, IELTS and the British Council’s own Aptis test, as well as a wide range of UK schools and professional qualifications. Our work promoting and delivering exams underpins the international higher education student market in the UK.

Main Accountabilities/Responsibilities but not limited to the following:

Strategy and Planning

• Supports the Senior Marketing Manager to develop and execute marketing plans for Exams in the cluster/country, ensuring they drive and support the regional strategic objectives for the British Council in a flexible, cost-effective way.
• Plans and executes go to market plans for Exams across the cluster/country, agreeing the programmes, delivery mechanisms, budgets and resources.
• Develops and executes campaigns to support a variety of routes to market and maximise impact and share of voice.
• Deploys the British Council brand architecture in line with brand management standards.
• Ensures that clear and consistent marketing processes are deployed for cluster/country Exams aligned to agreed global marketing processes.
• Monitors and reports on agreed marketing KPIs for Exams in the cluster/country.

Consultancy, analysis & problem-solving

• Applies professional marketing expertise to develop and enhance Exams marketing strategies, plans and approaches for the cluster/country.
• Applies core technical and professional knowledge to identify and assess current state of Exams marketing, suggests opportunities for improvement and supports the development of new or improved practice to drive business growth and reduce duplication.
• Presents information clearly supported as needed to tailor the presentation of findings to meet the differing needs of stakeholders in the cluster/country.
• Supports others in understanding of the context, opportunities and challenges for Exams marketing functions and teams.

• Makes appropriate linkages to issues in the Exams SBU and region, to help ensure that the development of Exams marketing strategies and plans is based on informed business insight and joined-up thinking.
• Proactively seeks colleagues and other feedback to monitor satisfaction with the provision of marketing for Exams and specialist advice and support, enabling improvements to be made where issues are identified.

Business Development

• Supports the implementation of new Exams marketing approaches and/or techniques which enhance efficiency and wider business impact, ensuring alignment across the cluster and to the regional Exams marketing strategy.
• Drives a clear focus on audiences and market segmentation.
• Explains to customers and colleagues within the cluster/country the need for compliance with agreed marketing policies and processes and produces reports to demonstrate compliance as needed.
• Champions the deployment of the British Council brand architecture, monitors compliance, and manages interventions to address and resolve non-compliance.

Subject/Sector expertise

• Provides proactive professional advice and support to colleagues to ensure local Exams specific requirements are compliant with marketing policy, process and governance.
• Ensure the development of high quality and effective Exams marketing plans and solutions using and sharing their marketing expertise.
• Proactively pursues an annual cycle of formally recognised Continuing Professional Development to maintain and deepen their professional expertise.

Commercial and financial management

• Using agreed corporate systems and processes, supports budget management for the cluster/country regarding Exams marketing plans and programmes.
• Conducts monthly and year-end reporting on progress against plan and deliverables, budget, and management of issues and risks.
• Shows an understanding of value for money/cost effectiveness in the advice, recommendations and support they provide to colleagues in the business teams supporting them to achieve the best results from their projects, products and services.

Relationship and stakeholder management

• Proactively participates in the Marketing Community of Practice and network of marketing professionals developing good working relationships with colleagues across the organisation and the business & operational teams across the cluster they support.
• Develops peer/personal networks within and outside Marketing to enhance own knowledge and expertise.
• Proactively builds and maintains excellent relationships with internal partners and stakeholders to ensure integrated, joined up and future-proofed approaches.

Leadership and management

• Plans and prioritises own work activities to ensure effective delivery of marketing activities for the country over a quarterly to annual time horizon.
• Shares intelligence, experience and ideas to support Cluster Marketing Lead in identifying/developing new ways in which marketing could positively impact upon the British Council’s operational efficiency and effectiveness.

Additional Job Requirements:

There may be a need for occasional domestic and international travel.

Role Specific Knowledge and Experience:

Minimum/Essential:

• Relevant degree e.g. marketing, or equivalent level of experience
• Experience in a marketing position at a national level within a medium to large organisation.
• Demonstrable experience of developing marketing strategies and plans, digital campaign management and KPI analysis
• Demonstrable experience in managing supplier relationships
• Stakeholder engagement and management
• Language skills – proficient in Kazakh, English, and Russian.

Desirable:

• Experience in a global organisation
• Experience in a relevant sector or industry e.g. education, Exams
• Relevant external professional organisations e.g. CIM, Melcrum, GCN, CIPR, WOMMA etc. (or equivalent experience)

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.

Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website.