The Role:
This role supports the British Council's mission to foster cultural relations and educational opportunities between the UK and China. Operating within the Cultural Engagement Strategic Business Unit, it contributes to global programmes in arts, education, English, and research. The focus is on strengthening UK-China people-to-people links, promoting collaboration in education and the arts, enhancing English language learning, and supporting the UK's strategic interests through cultural diplomacy and commercial examination services.
Accountabilities:
The role provides strategic leadership and technical oversight for education programmes and contracts, ensuring quality, impact, and alignment with global standards. It manages day-to-day operations, financial performance, and compliance, while leveraging digital tools and embedding equality, diversity, and inclusion throughout delivery. The postholder leads planning and contributes to regional and pillar strategies, ensuring alignment with global objectives and fostering collaboration across teams. They build and maintain high-level relationships with government, institutional, and sector stakeholders to support UK-China engagement and identify new opportunities. Drawing on deep sector expertise, they contribute thought leadership, provide briefings, and support internal capacity building. The role also promotes the UK education sector, ensuring the British Council's value proposition is clearly communicated and its reputation upheld. It leads business development efforts, including pipeline management, bid development, and contract delivery, while ensuring commercial viability and strategic impact. Financial responsibilities include budget planning, deal structuring, and investment decision-making. Finally, the role actively contributes to an inclusive, anti-racist culture, supporting staff wellbeing and embedding EDI principles in all aspects of work.
Requirements of the role:
- Qualified to degree level or equivalent by experience and relevant qualifications.
- In depth understanding of international education market
- Demonstrable expertise in medium to large scale programme management in the relevant Education sector (minimum 5 years' experience)
- Extensive knowledge of UK and international policy in the sector and approaches to internationalisation.
- Active and up-to-date network of senior level sector contacts
- Previous experience of building effective networks across organisations
- Confident user of information technology
- Ability to analyse relevant equality issues and identify opportunities to address these in the portfolio
- Experience of leading diverse and dispersed teams and championing learning and development (experience of matrix working and influencing through others more important as a sector lead, may not have direct reports)
Closing Date: Applications will close at 23:59 on 2nd November 2025 UK Time.
You must have the legal right to work in Beijing at the time of application.
Important Information:
Department:
Education and Society
Contract type:
Indefinite
Pay band
: 8
Location
: Beijing (China)
Requirements:
Please note that candidates must have the pre-existing, legal right to work in China.
Mobility / relocation / visa sponsoring support will not be provided.
British Council supports working in new ways such as hybrid working, subject to full approval by line management and conditional upon our ability to provide the appropriate level of service. This may not be appropriate for all roles but can be explored at interview.