Teaching Assistant

British Council · Riyadh, Khobar

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Teaching Operations Assistant – Hourly Paid (NPW)

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

The assignment is limited to operational, administrative, customer-service and appropriately supervised student-coordination support. It does not include independent lesson planning or delivery, teaching English, learner assessment, responsibility for learning outcomes, or acting as a teacher or substitute teacher. Any interaction with learners must remain within the agreed scope and applicable safeguarding procedures.

1. Role Information

2. Role Purpose

To provide flexible, hourly-paid operational, administrative and customer-service support to the British Council Teaching Centres in Saudi Arabia. The assignment supports the smooth running of teaching-centre activities through student coordination, customer enquiries, administrative processes, learning management system support and appropriate operational assistance relating to young learners.

The role addresses specific and variable operational requirements. Activities are undertaken in coordination with Teaching Operations, Customer Services and teaching teams, in accordance with established procedures, safeguarding requirements and health and safety standards.

The engagement is on an hourly-paid NPW basis, subject to approved contractual arrangements. It does not, by itself, establish an employment relationship, guarantee a minimum number of hours, or guarantee ongoing work, renewal or future employment. Actual status and terms must be consistent with the contract and applicable local requirements.

3. About the British Council

The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. It creates friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries, making a positive contribution by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust. The British Council works with more than 100 countries across arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. Founded in 1934, it is a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body.

4. Function Overview

The British Council Teaching Centres in Saudi Arabia provide English-language learning services in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar. They serve young learners and adult students through public courses and deliver training to corporate clients, government ministries, private companies and partner institutions.

Centres operate according to customer demand, with activities taking place across different days and times. Operational requirements may include evening and weekend support, registration periods, course commencements, customer-facing activities and young-learner attendance periods. This assignment provides additional operational capacity without assuming the responsibilities of a teaching position.

5. Main Opportunities and Challenges

• Support efficient day-to-day operations across customer service, administration and student coordination.
• Provide a professional and welcoming service to customers, students, parents and guardians from diverse backgrounds.
• Respond appropriately to customer queries and escalate matters requiring specialist input or management decisions.
• Support safe movement, coordination and supervision of young learners within clearly defined operational boundaries.
• Maintain accurate records and handle personal information in accordance with information-management, confidentiality and data-protection requirements.
• Work across agreed operational schedules, including evenings and weekends where required and authorised.
• Maintain clear boundaries between operational support and teaching responsibilities.
• Recognise and promptly escalate safeguarding, welfare, health and safety concerns.

6. Main Accountabilities

A. Teaching-Centre Operations and Young-Learner Coordination

• Provide operational assistance to authorised British Council staff during young-learner attendance periods.
• Support orderly movement of young learners within designated areas, in accordance with local procedures and safeguarding requirements.
• Assist with routine logistics relating to attendance, including directing students to appropriate locations and notifying authorised staff of attendance or welfare concerns.
• Where specifically authorised and appropriately briefed, provide limited, supervised practical assistance to young learners in accordance with safeguarding procedures.
• Refer behavioural, welfare, medical and other concerns to the responsible teacher, coordinator or designated safeguarding contact.
• Liaise with the Young Learner Coordinator, Teaching Operations and Customer Services teams regarding absences, attendance queries and operational issues.
• Support teachers with non-instructional logistical requirements, without assuming responsibility for lesson delivery, classroom instruction or learner assessment.

Scope restriction: The individual must not independently teach, lead learning activities as an instructor, prepare or deliver lessons, assess students, manage a class in place of a teacher or assume the professional responsibilities of teaching staff. Any permitted interaction with learners must remain within the agreed assignment and applicable safeguarding procedures.

B. Customer Service

• Welcome and direct students and customers to appropriate service points, particularly during registration, course commencement and peak periods.
• Support customer flow and assist customers in navigating registration and other routine service processes.
• Respond to routine first-line enquiries in person, by telephone or through approved channels, in line with British Council customer-service standards.
• Refer complex, sensitive or specialist enquiries to the appropriate team or authorised colleague.
• Respond to routine email and written enquiries within the agreed scope and refer matters requiring decisions or specialist advice.
• Provide parents and guardians with approved administrative information about course arrangements, attendance procedures and relevant digital systems.
• Maintain professional, respectful and culturally appropriate communication.

C. Administration and Systems Support

• Assist Teaching Operations and Customer Services with routine administrative and logistical tasks.
• Support maintenance and updating of waiting lists, customer records and course-related administrative information.
• Assist with communicating approved course schedules, registration arrangements, class changes and other operational information.
• Handle registration forms, class lists, registers, timetables, reports and related documents in accordance with information-management standards.
• Support preparation, printing and distribution of authorised young-learner and adult-student administrative reports.
• Assist with routine data entry and authorised LMS updates, including adding students or modules where access and approval have been granted.
• Provide basic approved guidance to parents and students on LMS access, share authorised guidance materials and escalate unresolved technical issues.
• Assist with distribution, collection and collation of customer surveys, feedback forms and approved promotional materials.
• Undertake routine clerical tasks such as filing, scanning, document preparation, archiving and updating approved databases.
• Maintain accurate and timely records and protect confidential information, using British Council systems only for authorised purposes.

D. Safeguarding, Health and Safety

• Complete required safeguarding and health and safety briefings and follow applicable policies, procedures and instructions.
• Maintain appropriate professional boundaries when interacting with children, young people, adults and other customers.
• Remain alert to signs of distress, harm, abuse, neglect or other safeguarding concerns and report them promptly through designated channels.
• Follow instructions regarding young-learner supervision, attendance, movement, collection and handover.
• Do not undertake supervision beyond the authorised scope, agreed arrangements or the individual’s training and competence.
• Comply with local health and safety requirements and promptly report incidents, hazards or unsafe conditions.
• Maintain confidentiality and handle personal information in accordance with applicable policies and legal requirements.

E. Assignment and Working Arrangements

• Undertake only activities falling within the agreed NPW assignment and authorised scope of work.
• Record hours worked accurately using the approved process and submit required timesheets or activity records for verification.
• Obtain required authorisation before undertaking additional hours or activities outside the agreed assignment.
• Coordinate attendance and scheduling with the designated operational contact in accordance with approved engagement arrangements.
• Raise uncertainty about duties, working arrangements, safeguarding responsibilities or assignment scope before proceeding.
• Comply with relevant site rules, confidentiality requirements, codes of conduct and other applicable requirements communicated for the assignment.

7. Key Relationships

Internal

• Teaching Operations Coordinator and Teaching Operations team
• Customer Services team and Customer Services Manager
• Teachers and Senior Teachers, for operational coordination only
• Young Learner Coordinator
• Designated safeguarding and health and safety contacts, as required

External

• Students and customers
• Parents and guardians of young learners
• Other authorised service users and visitors

8. Role Requirements

Threshold Requirements

Right to work: The individual must have the appropriate legal right to undertake the proposed engagement in Saudi Arabia, in accordance with applicable requirements.

Safeguarding: As the assignment may involve direct contact with children and young people, the individual must complete required pre-engagement checks, including appropriate police and reference checks, and satisfy applicable safeguarding requirements before commencing relevant activities. Checks must be appropriate to the duties, local law and British Council procedures.

Engagement approval: The assignment must be approved through the applicable NPW engagement process, with scope, hourly rate, authorised hours, duration, activities or deliverables, reporting arrangements and other relevant contractual terms documented before commencement.

Person Specification

9. British Council Core Skills

Communicating and Influencing – Level 1: Listens to others and communicates clearly, with appropriate language, grammatical accuracy and awareness of a diverse audience.

Planning and Organising – Level 1: Organises assigned activities over short timescales and follows established procedures to complete routine tasks.

Using Technology – Level 1: Uses relevant office software and authorised British Council systems to complete administrative activities, maintain records and support established processes.

Assessment: Application review and interview.

10. British Council Behaviours

• Making it happen: Completes assigned activities efficiently and to the required standard.
• Working together: Cooperates with relevant colleagues to support Teaching Centre operations.
• Being accountable: Takes responsibility for the accuracy and quality of assigned work and raises issues promptly.
• Connecting with others: Communicates respectfully and seeks to understand the needs of students, customers, parents and colleagues.

Assessment: Interview.

11. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The British Council is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We seek to ensure fair access to opportunities and prevent unjustified discrimination. We aim to comply with applicable equality legislation and promote an inclusive environment in which people are treated with dignity and respect. Reasonable adjustments may be considered, where applicable, to support participation in the assessment process.

12. Safeguarding Statement

The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults with whom it works. Individuals undertaking this assignment must follow applicable safeguarding policies, professional boundaries, reporting procedures and instructions provided by authorised staff. Engagement is conditional on satisfactory completion of required checks and any other applicable pre-engagement requirements. Any safeguarding concern must be reported promptly through designated channels.

13. NPW Engagement Disclaimer

This document describes the scope of an hourly-paid, non-permanent operational support assignment. It is intended to support assessment and approval of the proposed engagement and does not, by itself, constitute an offer of employment, an employment contract or a guarantee of work for any particular period or number of hours.

The assignment must be governed by the approved NPW contract and applicable local requirements. The contractual documentation must specify the agreed scope, duration, rate, authorised hours, payment arrangements, reporting requirements and applicable termination or extension provisions. Any extension, variation or additional work is subject to required approvals and formal documentation. The assignment must not be used as a substitute for an established teaching position or to assign independent teaching responsibilities to the NPW.

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