Exams Assistant

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.

British Council Pay band:  2

Department:  English and Exams
Contract type: Indefinite

Closing Date: Tuesday 20th Jan, 2026, (23:59 GMT)

Location: France - Paris

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.

British Council supports working in new ways such as hybrid working, subject to full approval by line management and conditional upon our ability to provide the appropriate level of service.  This may not be appropriate for all roles but can be explored at interview.
 

Role Purpose:

The purpose of this role is to support the efficient, effective operational co-ordination and delivery of Exams (planning, scheduling, logistics test day or post-test services) at the right cost and customer experience and to support continuous improvement in the efficiency/cost effectiveness/quality of service delivery/systems within the Exams unit. The role will follow agreed corporate risk management processes and procedures when delivering services (e.g. child protection, security policies, financial protocols, anti-fraud measures) to protect the interests of the British Council and its customers at all times.

Depending on the operational needs of the department you will be required to deliver some of the duties listed below to support the Exams department business. The duties listed hereafter are non-exhaustive and can evolve depending on the operational needs encountered in the Exams department.

Function Overview:

The English and Examinations Strategic Business Unit (E&E) is one of three strategic business units in the British Council (the others being Arts and Education & Society) all of which have the remit to build trust for the people of the UK by building relationships through aspects of our language and culture.  E&E achieves this by enabling people across the world to access the life-changing education and work opportunities that are created by learning English or gaining valuable UK qualifications.  Promoting the English language also provides a medium for communication, helping break down barriers of misunderstanding or mistrust between cultures. The British Council's 2020 vision for English & Examinations is to be the world authority in high quality English language teaching, learning and assessment, as well as the International distributor of choice for UK professional and school qualifications.

The Examinations business makes a significant contribution to British Council financial sustainability, and as such, it is essential that the business evolves in order to maintain its position in a fast-changing operating context. There is a need to standardize and automate activities across the globe to deliver efficiencies, and there is also a requirement to develop new digital products and services to meet changing customer demands and competitive pressures. In a cost and resource-constrained environment, balancing the on-going requirements and allocation of funds will be critical, as will the integration and planning of the implementation of the different changes across a global network of 110+ countries charged with the on-going delivery of impact and income whilst changing key elements of the supporting operational platform.

Main opportunity and challenges for this role is to ensure delivery of exams at test centre level, working with new systems and processes and ensuring that new ways of working are taken up and adhered to.

Main Accountabilities/Responsibilities but not limited to the following:

Operational support to Test Day staff

• Act as the point of contact for Venues/Venue Supervisors on the day and support the management of Venue Staff and Examiner engagement, relationship and performance
• Assist with the deployment of the right mix and profile of Examiners and Venue Staff for Test Day delivery using BOSS and other relevant systems
• Assist in the Test Day Staff work reconciliation and payment of venue staff and examiners
• Support management of Examiners and Venue Staff

Operational Support to Exams Business and Customers

• Assist and escalate where required, risks or issue resolution, including co-ordination of customer communication directly or through customer services
• Be responsible for daily maintenance of online Registration and Pay solutions across Exams products
• Set up and monitor online registration for all products, compile final entry listings, exams/candidates timetabling as well as distribute relevant documents to candidates
• Assist with booking of appropriate Test Day venues using BOSS and other relevant systems
• Support B2C and B2B Customers with their registration entries, operational, system and technical issues and report issues and resolutions to the Business Development and Account Relationship functions in country
• Support the transition of B2B Customers to computer-based testing for some of our products (APTIS, Linguaskills, Primary Testing)
• Assist with organisation of candidates who require special arrangements on Test Days

Operational support to Exams delivery

• Support the delivery of our exams operations at B2C and B2B test centre level, working with new systems and processes
• Support the safe handling of confidential materials in accordance with compliance standards during the multiple exchanges in country. This includes movement and activities related to the primary storage area known as the Confidential Materials Room (CMR) as well as final preparations of the Exam delivery before and during Test Day
• Support the running of Test Day activities including preparation tasks (exam materials, stationery, uniforms, banners, IT equipment) and timely scanning and submitting of exam papers to meet requirements for marking as well as for processing enquiries on results
• Assist with the planning and tracking of exams capacity requirements against demand to handover to test day teams in country for delivery, supporting the translation of demand into capacity/resource requirements for venues, people, and test materials
• Assist with post-test processes such as results and exam certificate management, secure handling of used confidential materials and candidate data

Other requirements

• Support the planning process for contingencies
• Manage remote relationships within country to ensure counterparts understand requirements and execute to plan on Test Day
• Support EU / South West Cluster Exams operations.

Role Specific Knowledge and Experience: 

Minimum/Essential:

• Experience in identifying and minimizing risk.
• Experience in compliance environment Experience of working in a high volume, busy operational environment, delivering to standard
• Relevant work experience in a similar role
• English, proficient in both speaking and written communication
• French language skills desirable but not essential

Desirable:

Experience of supporting on delivery of computer-based exams

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

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.