Job Description

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people.Pay Band - 8 | Contract Type - Indefinite | Location - Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaLocally Recruited: Applications are welcomed from candidates with a right to work in Malaysia for an employment purpose.Role PurposeTo provide financial leadership focussed on delivering a sustainable and financially successful contracts business, working closely with the regional leadership team to provide financial insights and management information to support decision-making. Provides consistent financial management of all external proposals and contracts. As the custodian of the financial resources of donor funding, this role ensures that contracts are accounted for and reported accurately and that they pass internal and external scrutiny.To ensure a complete and accurate costing model is behind each proposal and that independent objective finance expertise is provided throughout the development of all types of contract proposal. To deliver surplus in the Commercial Contracts and maximise leverage in the Grant Partnerships, ensuring that pricing is appropriate and value for money is delivered through cost control. This role is accountable for ensuring contracts make sound financial sense and will provide recommendations to Tripartite Approvals Board regarding whether to proceed with a contract/project in terms of financial viability and robustness. It will also have financial overview of the contract portfolio across the region, ensuring that there is a balance of risk and return.Accountabilities, responsibilities and main duties:(including people management and finance)Strategy and planning

• Develop financial strategies to support regional business plan reflecting financial growth ambitions, programme objectives, new and efficient models of operation and the investment requirements to deliver these.
• Determine focus markets, product and service offer, balance of portfolio and resourcing model to deliver income and surplus targets.
• Develop insights into donor landscape and financial implications of different contract types and service offering.
• Engage proactively in the development of business plans and objectives, contribute to the development of operational processes and lead the implementation of systems and process improvements in contract finance.
• Provide recommendations that create greater efficiencies and add value.

Stakeholder engagement and capacity building

• Establish strong working relationships with non-financial management in order to both support and challenge financial performance.
• Develop understanding of funders and external partners and promote proactive engagement to support business growth.
• Build capacity in region of financial and commercial awareness and an understanding of value for money.
• Represent the region in the global finance community, ensuring the region\'s needs are understood, learning and expertise is shared and global standards and initiatives are championed and complied with.

Business Development

• Review all bids, new commercial contracts and partnership agreements -review the contract pricing model (CPM) before each proposal is internally approved.
• Own the CPM within the region and ensure it is used to financially evaluate all new proposals.
• Provide financial review and regional financial sign-off of all bids and contracts.
• Act as a liaison with global and specialist finance functions including tax and treasury to assess now business opportunities and understand risk.
• Make recommendations on the contract pricing model to improve profitability of projects.
• Support the contract management lifecycle: bid pipeline review, risk assessment, pricing support, financial reporting & analysis and approval.
• Apply standards for bidding and submission to ensure all cost elements are built into contracts/project proposals.
• Develop and execute negotiation strategies and play a key role in the bidding process including carrying out financial due diligence on prospective suppliers/partners.
• Review contracts for reporting requirements and ensure that processes are designed and adhered to in order to meet reporting obligations.
• Ensure all new projects are set up in line with regional and corporate financial requirements.
• Review and report the signed contracts and pipeline in the portfolio, against multi-year plans in order to assess the achievability of targets.
• Produce management information reporting, associated analyses/insights that support effective decision-making by the regional leadership team.

Business Performance

• Provide regional advice on the development / maintenance of financial policy manuals, guidance notes and templates to ensure financial accounting & commercial business management is applied consistency.
• As the custodian of financial resources, review actuals against budget and income/ surplus targets for all contracts, identify and manage overspend or the risk of it.
• Support the provision of information in line with funder requirements and internal reporting needs.
• Co-ordinate the regional financial planning and forecasting processes for commercial contracts ensuring financial plans accurately reflect projected financial performance.

Risk management and compliance monitoring

• Embed British Council standards for contracts, including payment terms and provisions.
• Develop and maintain guidance notes including Due Diligence, Surplus Share, Glossary etc and liaise with Corporate policies team to ensure consistency
• Supervise and quality-assure the drafting of key policy documents to ensure full compliance to the organisation\'s rules and regulations governing transactions.
• Ensure that the regional and global leadership teams are aware of material financial risks and provide support and mitigation solutions.
• Provide oversight of all internal and external audits relating to commercial contracts and a rolling review of programme financial performance.
• Collaborate with regional finance team in rolling out new initiatives/training and development to help manage project risks, particularly those operating in higher risk environments.

Role specific knowledge and experience:

• Experience in contract management.
• Proficiency in financial modelling and analysis, especially costing and pricing.

Role Specific Skills and Qualifications:

• Relevant accounting qualification with at least 3 years post qualification experience.
• Strong negotiation and persuasive skills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

Closing Date for Application: 01st September 2024, 23:59 Malaysia Time (GMT+08)A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) StatementThe 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 emailPlease 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.

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