As a valued employee of the British Council, you already help us deliver our mission to support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. For over 90 years we have shaped brighter futures through education, arts, culture, language, and creativity.
You are part of our organisation in over 200 countries and territories and where we are on the ground in more than 100 countries.
We connect. We inspire.
Role purpose:
Leads the delivery and growth of the country Higher Education portfolio and British Council global programmes, including student mobility, alumni engagement, tertiary education partnerships, and client-funded initiatives. Ensures the successful end-to-end delivery of projects and grants by managing stakeholders, partnerships, compliance requirements, reporting obligations, and programme performance, while maintaining high standards of quality, accountability, and impact.
Role Accountabilities:
This role is responsible for managing a broad range of project, financial, stakeholder, and compliance activities to ensure the successful delivery of education programmes. It involves building and maintaining strong relationships with external stakeholders, including higher education institutions, delivery partners, and suppliers, while overseeing procurement processes, managing contracts, and holding suppliers accountable for delivering agreed outcomes. The role also requires effective collaboration across internal and external networks to support programme objectives.
A significant aspect of the position is financial and commercial management. Responsibilities include supporting financial planning and forecasting, monitoring budgets and expenditure, ensuring compliance with procurement-to-payment processes, reviewing financial performance against plans, and contributing to accurate reporting for clients, partners, and internal stakeholders. The role works closely with finance and programme teams to maintain financial accuracy, identify variances, and implement corrective actions while ensuring adherence to British Council financial policies and procedures.
The role contributes to programme planning and delivery by supporting project management activities, identifying and mitigating risks, managing procurement and contracting processes, ensuring compliance requirements are met, and overseeing reporting from grant recipients, consultants, and service providers. It also includes responsibility for data management, quality assurance, monitoring, analysis, and reporting to meet funding and programme requirements. Additionally, the role supports business development activities by contributing to proposal development, costing, pricing, and reporting for externally funded projects.
A strong commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is embedded throughout the role. This includes actively promoting an inclusive and anti-racist culture, supporting employee well-being, and integrating EDI principles into programme design and delivery. The role ensures that projects contribute positively to gender equality, disability inclusion, and broader social inclusion outcomes while continuously developing knowledge and awareness of EDI best practices.
Role specific knowledge and experience
Essentials
Desirables
Important Information
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 askhr@britishcouncil.org
We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.
We uniquely combine the UK’s deep expertise in arts and culture, education and the English language, our global presence and relationships in over 100 countries, our unparalleled access to young people and influencers and our creative sparkle.
We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.
For more information, please visit: http://www.britishcouncil.org
