Career Opportunities: IELTS Speaking Examiner (43749)

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Job Title: English Language Assessment Consultant (IELTS Speaking Examiner - 43749) 
  

Pay Band: c. 300,000-420,000RMB p/a* | Locations: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing | Start date: 02 June 2025 or 01 July 2025** | Department: Exams China | Contract type: Full Time | Duration: 1-year Fixed Term (Renewable) 
Unfortunately, due to Chinese visa regulations, female candidates aged 53-63 and male candidates aged 58-63 can only be considered for employment in Shanghai. Visa applications of successful applicants in these age brackets may be rejected by the Chinese authorities. Applicants who will be over the age of 64 before the official start date may not be considered due to Chinese Labour Law restrictions.  

*predicted based on historical data 

** To be considered in this round of recruitment, applicants should submit their application by Monday, 16 December 2024.

We are only accepting applications from candidates who are currently living in China.
  

Role Purpose: 

To conduct interviews and carry out assessments for the IELTS Speaking module, including second marking where necessary, maintaining the standards required by the IELTS Professional Support Network (PSN) and the British Council. 

Role context: 
The British Council delivers IELTS tests to candidates in more than 40 cities throughout China. Our exams work is managed in China through our subsidiary, BC Education Consulting (Beijing) Company Limited. 

IELTS examiners in China are based in one of our four regional offices and reside in either Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Chongqing. Examiners work from their home to deliver interviews and may occasionally be required to work in the regional office. 

Examiners are part of the wider British Council network and, as demand for high-quality language assessment grows in the region, the role provides an opportunity for those interested in building a career in the area of language assessment. 

Examiners deliver IELTS Speaking tests to candidates mainly from around China and occasionally from overseas. An Examiner’s principal duties are to deliver speaking tests and complete second marking tasks. A high standard of professionalism and reliability is required; to this end, examiners are managed under the British Council Performance Enablement framework and the IELTS Professional Support Network (PSN) framework. There are opportunities for suitably qualified and experienced examiners to apply for other senior positions as vacancies arise.  
  
Main Accountabilities: 
Service delivery

Post holders are responsible for delivery of IELTS Speaking Test interviews. They work closely with the exams support teams and report directly to their Team Leader in one of our 4 regional offices.  

Examining Responsibilities  

• Conducting IELTS Speaking interviews.  
• Marking IELTS Speaking tests.  
• Conducting other IELTS and British Council exams as required.  
• Second marking for the Speaking module.  
• Adhering to the IELTS Professional Support Network and British Council policies.  
• Other duties relevant to British Council English Language and assessment services.  
• Participating in Examiner meetings and other relevant meetings as required.  
• Maintaining the reputation and integrity of IELTS and the British Council at all times.  
• Professional Academic support for the China Exams Teams where necessary.  
• Ensuring all duties are delivered in line with the British Council’s policy on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and to ensure that policy is taken into account when planning and delivering activities.  
• Managing information created and received in compliance with the British Council’s information management standards, policies, the UK data protection principles and local legislation.  
• Participating in required British Council training and applying relevant principles and policies in carrying out duties, including but not limited to Safeguarding and Health and Safety.  

 
Core Skills required:  

•    Communicating and influencing 
•    Planning and organizing 
•    Using technology 
•    Managing risk 

 
Benefits:   
Work from home in one of China’s cosmopolitan metropolises: Beijing; Shanghai; Guangzhou; Chongqing 
  
Flexible working: 
In addition to 6 fixed ‘core’ days each month, choose which days you would like to make yourself available for work 
  
Salary: 
The IELTS examiner package in China is based on a ‘core + top-up’ model. There are two components to the package: a core number of days’ work in exchange for a basic salary and a ‘top-up’ component that allows for flexibility in terms of schedule and the opportunity to increase earnings further. The top-up component is paid on a piece-rate basis, allowing examiners to have more control over their time and income. Across most months in the year, top-up earnings represent the bulk of examiner income. Core days are scheduled in advance and are based on operational requirements. Examiners are then able to make themselves available for top-up work on other days during that month. 

There is seasonal fluctuation, and examiners are usually very busy during months where demand is high (mainly April, July, August and December), while having more free time at other times. The Examiner Administration teams provide information about likely fluctuations in work opportunities so that examiners can plan annual leave accordingly and smoothen their annual income. 

Top-up Day Piece Rates  

• Speaking Exam interviews CNY 129 per interview (usually an examiner conducts around 20 interviews per day) 
• Speaking Exam second marking CNY 88 per interview (amounts of work are variable)

Leave entitlements: 

• 1 month (6 core days) paid annual leave per year + 2 paid professional development core days per year
• Paid sick leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, marriage leave and compassionate leave 

  
Insurance: 

• A comprehensive private medical insurance package 
• Social insurance and pension contributions 

  
Professional Development: 

Access to a wide range of learning and development resources, including opportunities for support with funding 
  
Transferrable Skills: 
IELTS Speaking Examiners are employed in the majority of countries globally 

Right to work in country: 

Visa Support: Support in applying for a visa will be provided to you. You will be responsible for the initial costs incurred by the application and will be reimbursed once on-board. 

  
Role-Specific Knowledge & Experience Requirements:  

Essential 

• A minimum of 3 years’ full-time (or equivalent part-time) teaching experience to adults (age 16 and above).  
• If an applicant’s EFL/ESOL qualification is at certificate level (or equivalent), one of the three years of full-time teaching must be post-EFL/ESOL certificate qualification. If the EFL/ESOL qualification is at diploma level or higher, the teaching experience can have been completed before the qualification.  

(Note: “full-time teaching” is classified as a minimum of 14 hours of face-face teaching per week. Freelance and volunteer teaching are not included.)  

• Familiarity with one or more high-stakes examination formats 

Desirable 

• 2+ years’ experience as an IELTS examiner 
• Experience in an operational or educational management position 
• Experience living and working in China 

Languages:  

Essential 

• English  

IELTS Examiners must be the equivalent of an IELTS Band 9 in Speaking and a minimum of Band 8 in Reading, Listening and Writing. An IELTS Band 9 is defined as an ‘Expert User’ on the IELTS Band Scales and is described as follows:  

Has fully operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete understanding.  

A Band 9 in the module an Examiner is examining is an essential requirement for all Examiners to be able to examine effectively. Examiners can be identified at any time to sit the test.  

On the basis of your application, performance in the interview and in the training workshop, you may be required to take the full IELTS test. The recruitment process cannot continue until the results of the IELTS test have been released. All applicants who are required to take the IELTS test must sit the Academic module and are required to pay the full test fee. 

  
Certification and Professional Qualifications: 

Essential 

• CELTA or equivalent TEFL/TESOL qualification from a recognized institution (at minimum certificate level) 

OR 

• EFL/ESOL-related studies completed as part of an undergraduate or postgraduate course from a recognized institution (minimum certificate level) 

OR 

• A degree in Education (if supported by an undergraduate degree that includes studies focused on the English Language) 

All qualifications must be validated by a reputable institution and accredited by a professional certification board. If requested, applicants are required to provide additional information. 

Desirable 

• DELTA or other Diploma level qualification with a TEFL/TESOL focus 
• Recognised Young Learners’ Teaching qualification (e.g. CELTA YL or TYLEC) 
• For existing examiners, most recent 2 PSN Monitoring results to ‘standard’ 

  
Education:  
Essential 

• Bachelor’s degree 

*To APPLY, please attach the following documents as required and provide: 
  
1. Scan copy of your degree (Bachelor's and/or Master Degree); 
  
2. Scan copy of your CELTA/DELTA/Trinity TESOL qualification at minimum certificate level; 
(For other TEFL/TESOL certificates, please enclose the transcript of the course and website of the institution). 
  
3. If you are a Current or Previous Examiner, please provide your three most recent Speaking monitoring reports or all reports if you have received fewer than three; If you do not have copies, please ask the administrator at your current or previous centre to send them to you. 
  
Enquiries about the post can be sent to ChinaExaminerRecruitment@britishcouncil.org.cn  

On-boarding: 
Successful applicants will be offered tentative start dates of 02 June 2025 or 01 July 2025. Please be aware that the on-boarding process can be lengthy and after accepting an offer, you are likely to be asked to complete a number of administrative tasks. 

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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.

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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 askhr@britishcouncil.org

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