Tullow Group Scholarship Scheme (TGSS) — British Council, Multicountry

A Tullow Oil funded complex, multi-country postgraduate scholarship that supported building capacity for national development across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas.

Together, we ran portfolio-level governance and operations—selection integrity, contracting and compliance, partner alignment across countries, risk management, and a consistent candidate experience from application to alumni engagement.

• Selection integrity: Transparent criteria, robust assessment processes, and panel protocols to protect fairness and quality while managing large applicant volumes across geographies.
• Student journey excellence: Clear pre-departure, welfare, and academic support pathways with institutions in the UK, France, and Ireland, reducing friction and improving completion.
• Partner and host alignment: Coordinated ministries, universities, and country offices for timely processing, issue escalation, and coherent comms.
• Alumni tracking and value: Systematised alumni data capture, career pathways, and engagement so outcomes (public service, private sector leadership, entrepreneurship) could be evidenced and leveraged.

Re-entry and contribution: Supported return-to-work linkages and recognition, increasing the likelihood that graduates apply skills in home countries and contribute to institutional performance.

The scheme matured from a scholarship pipeline into a leadership pipeline: alumni transitioned into senior public- and private-sector roles, launched growth-oriented businesses, and some advanced to ministerial office. With a strong return-to-country norm and better alumni data, the scheme demonstrated credible national-development value—beyond scholarship counts.