Job Description

Location: UK or Poland

(residents only – relocation and sponsorship not provided)

Role purpose

Schools and Parent Engagement Manager will lead and continuously improve how businesses engage with parents and guardians of young English learners and test takers, ensuring communication is clear, culturally sensitive, and aligned with educational goals. This role brings alignment across global products and platforms and market engagement channels and supports the development of trust, transparency, and active involvement from families in the learning journey.

Role context

E&E is a commercially run business with an income of over £700 million per annum generating financial surpluses that are critical to the overall financial sustainability of the British Council

Our work in English teaching generates annual revenues of nearly £200m annually, with activities spanning a global network of 80 English teaching centres in 50 countries, teaching 400,000 students each year, as well as an emerging portfolio of on-line products and services already reaching over 120 million English learners and teachers annually.

Our work in examinations generates annual revenues of nearly £500m and spans English proficiency testing, including the world’s leading English test IELTS (run in partnership with Cambridge Assessment English and IDP) which is now taken by 3 million candidates worldwide each year, as well as the British Council’s own Aptis test, and a wide range of UK school, professional and other qualifications.

Main accountabilities

Strategic Engagement & Communication

• Working with School Proposition and Product teams, as well as teams in market, develop and implement a global parent engagement strategy tailored to diverse cultural contexts and engagement types (i.e. learners, test takers).
• Create scalable communication frameworks across global products and platforms and market engagement channels (e.g., newsletters, progress reports, parent portals, events) with areas that markets can adapt locally.
• Ensure messaging aligns with pedagogical goals and reflects the values of the British Council.
• Ensure existing best practice from regions is adopted for global standards.

Content & Resource Development

• Collaborate with curriculum and product teams to produce parent-facing materials that explain learning outcomes, methodologies, and progress tracking.
• Design toolkits and training resources for school staff to support effective parent communication and engagement.

Training & Support

• Deliver training and guidance to local colleagues on best practices for engaging parents and guardians.
• Facilitate workshops, webinars, and forums for parents to understand the learning journey and how to support their children.

Feedback & Continuous Improvement

• Establish feedback loops with parents and guardians to gather insights and improve engagement strategies.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of engagement initiatives using qualitative and quantitative data.

Collaboration & Advocacy

• Work closely with teams in market and teaching staff to ensure consistent parent engagement practices.
• Advocate for the role of parents in language learning and promote inclusive practices across the network.

Technology & Innovation

• Identify and implement digital tools that enhance parent-school communication (e.g. use of LMS, apps, dashboards, messaging platforms).
• Stay informed about trends in parent engagement and education technology to inform strategy.

Safeguarding & Compliance

• Ensure all parent engagement practices comply with safeguarding policies and data protection regulations.
• Promote ethical and respectful communication across all channels.

Language Requirements

Written and verbal fluency in English.

Certification and Professional Qualifications

Desirable:

• Evidence of continuing professional development in areas such as stakeholder engagement, intercultural communication, or education leadership.
• TEFL qualification

Education

• First degree or equivalent qualification/ experience

Role specific knowledge and experience

Minimum / essential requirements

• Proven experience in parent or stakeholder engagement within an educational setting, ideally across multiple regions or cultures.
• Strong understanding of the needs and expectations of parents and guardians in relation to children’s language learning and assessment.
• Experience designing and implementing engagement strategies or frameworks.
• Familiarity with safeguarding policies and practices in educational environments.
• Experience working with digital tools for communication and engagement (e.g., CRM systems, parent portals, messaging platforms).
• Full time residency in the UK or Poland with unlimited right to work.

Desirable

• Experience in a global or multi-site education organisation, preferably in language education and assessment.
• Knowledge of English language learning and assessment pathways for children
• Experience in training or coaching staff on parent engagement practices.
• Understanding of cultural sensitivities and inclusive communication practices across diverse communities.

Role specific skills

• Ability to build trust and rapport with parents and guardians from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
• Skilled in managing expectations and fostering collaborative relationships between families and schools.

British Council values and behaviours

British council values and behaviours are applicable across our organisation, in all roles and at all levels. They are important because they say what we stand for at the British Council and help us to deliver our strategy. We use them to guide our decision making, as well as guiding how we treat one another and the people we work with. These will be assessed in the selection process. Our values are: Open and Committed; Expert and Inclusive; Optimistic and Bold

Unit: English & Exams / Product / Delivery and Governance

Work style: hybrid

Pay band: 7

Annual salary range:

PLN 132,000 - 168,000 (Poland)

£31,000 - £34,000 (UK)