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.

Payband: 4

Location: Lahore

Duration: 1 Year Fixed Term Contract

Department: English and Exams (Finance)

Closing Date: Application will close by 20 May 2022, 23:59 PST Time

Role Purpose:

Carry out day-to-day activities pertaining to exams financial operations activities and financial data analysis for planning activities. Assist the country exams team and core finance teams with administration and financial management of exams products. Provide support in day-to-day activities pertaining to taxation administration for the Exams department

Challenges and Oppurtunities:

• Managing across a portfolio of products when the team has been used to managing by product
• Managing a combination of regular activities and huge peaks of school exams
• Managing key UK business parter expectations

Main Accountabilities:

• Responsible for preparing and executing monthly and yearly closing procedures by posting revenue and expenditure accruals and deferrals in the period of activity. Ensure period end results are in line with plan / forecast and provide variance analysis where required.
• Ensure financial transactions and documents are recorded in files and folders with appropriate indexing and naming for management reporting and audit tracking.
• Support in internal and external audit review by furnishing appropriate documentary evidences, approvals and explanations within close timelines.
• Manage accounts receivable and aged debt recovery by invoicing, tracking and maintaining follow-up correspondence with various local and international business partners for any exam conducted on credit.
• Process board invoice payables to UK exam boards by performing invoice reconciliation and verification in coordination with exams operations teams.
• Process exams refunds to candidates along with other off-system vendor payments by correctly following existing SOPs and ensure due diligence.
• Responsible for preparing and submitting Cash Flow Forecast on a monthly basis, along with explanations of variance with actuals and possible reasons for re-forecasting future months in order justify adjustments made.
• Process petty cash replenishments for out-reach offices and monitor cash reserves.
• Support in monthly computation of direct / indirect taxes and preparation of tax package for reporting
• Support in preparation of tax refunds annual corporate tax and monthly sales tax returns.
• Support in ensuring timely tax reporting, tax provisions and other internal or external tax related requirements
• Provide support to Financial Controller in setting up and reporting applicable FCCF controls and period end checklist.
• Responsible for nation-wide exams revenue recognition and recording journal entries in SAP
• Prepare periodic revenue reconciliation reports for each exam product and give revenue assurance against exam conducted with sign off from management.

Relationship & stakeholder management

• Close co-ordination with Exams operations, procurement, business development and BSS teams and exam boards

Risk & compliance

• Provides support and reporting for audits and performance reviews.
• Follows agreed corporate risk management processes and procedures when delivering services

Safeguarding

• The post holders must ensure that his/her behaviour is in line with child protection code of conduct with interacting with children.

Role Requirements

• Must have the right to work in Pakistan
• 2 years’ experience in financial Sector
• Understanding of local tax laws.
• Experience of financial management in an ERP environment with functional use / knowledge of SAP
• Experience using FBR portal.
• Bachelor’s in finance / Qualified ACCA, CA. (Desirable)

Safeguarding

Knowledge and understanding of child development and its impact on behavior.

Knowledge and understanding of child transitions.

Knowledge and understanding of legislation and ethics surrounding confidentiality and security of information.

Ability to work in a way that promotes the safety and well‐ being of children.

Experience and Qualifications:

Experience of working with children and vulnerable adults

Experience of safe planning, organization, and delivery of activities for children

Our Values and Behaviours

British council values and behaviours are applicable across our organisation, in all roles and at all levels. They are important because they say what we stand for at the British Council and help us to deliver our strategy. We use them to guide our decision making, as well as guiding how we treat one another and the people we work with. These will be assessed in the selection process. Our values are:

Open and Committed; Expert and Inclusive; Optimistic and Bold.

The behaviours for each values pair can be found on our Intranet SharePoint site for internal staff and at our Careers portal for external applicants.

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.

If you have any problems with your application please email [email protected]

Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our ‘ASK HR’ email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.