Company: British Council
Job Title: Arts Project Manager
Employment Type: Full-time
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Job Field: Arts / Project Management / Cultural Relations
Experience: Minimum 2 years
Qualification: Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent professional experience
About British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. Founded in 1934, it works across more than 100 countries in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society, creating opportunities, building connections and promoting trust between people in the UK and other countries.
Role Context
The Arts Project Manager will support the delivery of the British Council’s Arts portfolio in Nigeria by managing the day-to-day coordination, logistics, procurement, compliance and reporting for assigned projects. The role covers creative economy, cultural exchange, capacity-building, grants and client-funded programmes.
The successful candidate will work under the direction of the Arts Programme Manager to ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget and in line with British Council quality, safeguarding and impact standards.
Key Responsibilities
- Coordinate the delivery of assigned arts projects, grants and cultural initiatives against agreed plans and milestones.
- Maintain delivery plans, track risks and issues, and monitor progress against agreed outcomes.
- Ensure compliance with safeguarding, health and safety, data protection and grant management requirements.
- Manage procurement and contracting processes for consultants, creative practitioners, delivery partners and suppliers.
- Ensure value for money and compliance with British Council procurement policies.
- Track contract performance and escalate issues where necessary.
- Monitor project budgets and expenditure and flag financial risks and variances.
- Process procurement-to-payment workflows and contribute to accurate financial reporting.
- Ensure compliance with financial controls, audit requirements and donor regulations.
- Collate reports from delivery partners, grant recipients, consultants and suppliers.
- Support monitoring, evaluation, learning and impact reporting.
- Maintain project documentation and knowledge management systems.
- Build and maintain relationships with artists, creative practitioners, delivery partners, suppliers and other stakeholders.
- Work collaboratively with internal teams and external networks to support high-quality project delivery.
- Research partnership opportunities and support business development activities.
- Contribute to funding proposals, budgets, costings and strategic planning.
- Promote inclusive, anti-racist and accessible approaches to programme design and delivery.
- Champion safeguarding, wellbeing, environmental sustainability and inclusive cultural participation.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent professional experience.
- Minimum of two years’ experience managing arts, cultural, creative economy or development programmes from inception through completion.
- Understanding of project management methodologies and project lifecycles.
- Experience managing programme budgets, financial reporting, forecasting and expenditure.
- Experience managing grants, procurement, contracts, suppliers and delivery partners.
- Experience building and managing relationships with government, creative sector organisations, donors and international partners.
- Experience managing monitoring, evaluation, learning and reporting processes.
- Knowledge of safeguarding, procurement, compliance and risk management requirements.
- Experience using digital technologies and online collaboration tools to deliver programmes.
- Strong communication, planning, organisational and stakeholder management skills.
Desirable Qualifications and Experience
- Professional Project Management qualification such as APMG PMD Pro, PRINCE2, PMP or Agile.
- Experience in the arts, creative industries, cultural relations or international development sectors.
- Knowledge of Nigeria’s creative economy and cultural sector.
- Experience developing funding proposals, business cases and partnership agreements.
- Experience managing international cultural exchange programmes and artist mobility initiatives.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should apply online through the British Council careers portal.
Application Closing Date: 16th September, 2026