Team Leader - Operations
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Sep 26, 2026. First seen by Alion on Aug 26, 2026. British Council scores A on the Alion truth index.
We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. For 90 years we have shaped brighter futures through education, arts, culture, language, and creativity.
Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries.
We connect. We inspire.
Pay Band: 5
Country/Location: Noida [country to be confirmed]
Department: English & Exams
Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract (FTC)
Contract Duration: 1 Year
Closing Date: 29 September 2026 , 11:59 PM (IST)
Work Schedule: This is a 24/7 on-site role with rotating shifts, including night shifts. The position offers two days off per week, which may not always fall on weekends. Flexibility and adaptability to a continuous shift-based environment are essential. There is no hybrid work arrangement for this position, and it requires working onsite five days a week.
Training & Assessment Requirement
Successful candidates will be required to complete mandatory process training and achieve the required pass mark in a competency assessment before undertaking independent production responsibilities. Support, coaching, and reassessment opportunities will be provided where applicable.
Role Description/Purpose
This role will deliver optimum floor support by mentoring, coaching and guiding team members, and by taking ownership for delivering an excellent customer experience. The Team Leader - Operations will be responsible for supervising, planning and managing functions relating to operations, with an important part of the role focused on supporting the operations leadership team in delivering effective and efficient services.
Role Accountabilities
As a process expert, you will manage complex transactions and queries and handle escalations in coordination with senior leadership and stakeholders. This includes managing the applications linked to process inboxes and dealing with enquiries, drawing on expert knowledge of the tools and technologies used within the process, and helping to improve service quality by evaluating and updating current processes and procedures. You will maintain schedule adherence, workforce management (including break management), and shift management and rotation in line with inputs from the WFM/MIS supervisor, take pre- and post-shift handovers with the team, act as an information source and first-level escalation point for the floor, and create and maintain SOPs and knowledge articles for the team on a regular basis. You will also receive first-hand training on process updates and share this with the team through a channelised Knowledge Transfer process, acting as a doer whenever required. The role sits within a 24/7 operation, requiring adherence to internal SLAs for a 24-hour turnaround on delivery performance targets, working in shifts with two weekly offs that will not necessarily fall on a Saturday or Sunday, operating from the office, and cross-working with colleagues located globally across British Council.
You will be expected to read, understand and comply with information security policies, raising any incidents or non-compliance with information security or IELTS-related compliance policies, and ensuring compliance with organisational policies such as the code of conduct and IT policy. Using standard procedures and templates, you will produce weekly, monthly and quarterly reports for the Delivery Manager, analysing operational activity levels and performance data to support timely and effective business decisions, sharing agreed reports and dashboards on a regular basis, and practicing and ensuring compliance with BCMS policies and procedures.
On the people management side, you will carry out performance measurements, quality monitoring and evaluation across the team to monitor service quality and improve efficiency, prepare and direct schedules, monitor attendance, and schedule breaks and shifts as necessary. You will compile and maintain lists of on-call and key schedules and personnel, conduct regular team meetings and one-to-one sessions, ensure team members receive appropriate support and training, create growth plans for top performers and development plans for underperformers, handle people management queries and concerns, and coach and mentor BQs and MQs within the team in coordination with other support teams. The role also calls for the ability to pre-empt problems and identify solutions through logical analysis, along with a drive to achieve organisational goals and support continual improvement projects.
Qualifications & Experience
Essential:
- Education: Bachelor’s degree
- Minimum 3-5 years of work experience in Front/Back-office processes, including having managed a team of 10-15 team members for at least 1-2 years
- English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 7 or an equivalent internationally recognised qualification
- Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Excel (BCMS will test Excel skills as part of evaluation)
- Demonstrable experience delivering training and feedback using a range of methods
- Ability to independently handle the floor, and to plan well and prioritise work
- Proactive approach with a focus on problem analysis and resolution
- Green Belt or another quality-improvement-related certification
- Proficient in Microsoft Office, especially Excel and Outlook
- Great interpersonal and communication skills to build effective working relationships with key stakeholders and colleagues
- Versatile, with a willingness to help one another even where this falls outside the core job description
- Motivated self-starter, eager to learn and develop as the role expands
- Willingness to contribute to BCMS objectives in service delivery
Desirable:
- Experience independently managing shifts in previous organisations
- Experience working in a secure process/environment in previous roles
- ISO 9001 trained/certified
- Black Belt trained/certified
Further Information
Right to Work: Locally recruited
Applications are welcomed from candidates currently in this location with a natural right to work.
Applications are also welcomed from candidates currently based in other British Council country offices. However, please note candidates must have a natural right to work in the country, on a permanent basis, as immigration clearance and/or on-going visa support is not provided by the British Council for this role. Relocation support is also not provided.
India (OCI)
Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders will need have, or be able to obtain, a valid special work permit issued from Government of India (GOI) to work in the British High Commission (BHC). BHC will not be able to sponsor work visas or obtain/ assist with the special work permit from GOI. Offers of employment made to OCI card holders will be conditional upon candidates obtaining a special work permit.
Note: For requisite special permission to take up employment in any foreign Diplomatic Missions in India, OCI Cardholder must visit https://ociservices.gov.in
A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from all sections of the community as we believe that a diverse workforce gives added depth to our work. The British Council is a Disability Confident Employer. The Disability Confident scheme helps challenge attitudes, increase understanding of disability and ensure staff are drawn from the widest possible pool of talent. We guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the minimum role requirements. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.
Safeguarding Statement
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 in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.
If you experience any difficulties with submitting your application, please email [email protected]