Empowerment Lead, English & School Education

We 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.

We work with people in over 150 countries and reach over 700 million people.

We connect. We inspire.

Purpose of the Role:

The purpose of this role is to develop the strategy and provide support and advice to enable the growth of our Empowerment global programme.

Through English language and related life skills development, our Empowerment global programme builds resilience, broadens horizons and provides agency and voice for young people who may have been displaced, affected by conflict, crisis or misunderstanding, or are from disadvantaged backgrounds or isolated communities. The programme involves partnerships between the British Council and a large number of external organisations. 

You will work with the Empowerment and wider English and School Education team on the planning and innovation of strategy to meet English and School Education objectives and KPIs, working within the non-formal and formal education sectors. This will include supporting country teams to deliver high quality projects, relevant teaching / learning resources and content development, shaping and rolling out the business development strategy, coordinating follow up to the Global Refugee Forum, supporting with monitoring, evaluation and reporting and consolidating our overall offer.                                          

Accountabilities are, but not limited to:

Strategy and/or planning 

Contribute to global programme planning process (aligned to the corporate planning annual timetable), supporting country teams as they design programme activity and advise on targets. 

Contribute to reporting of progress against plans – this includes providing inputs for monthly and quarterly reviews, reviewing progress against targets and driving continual improvement to successfully deliver the plan.

Plan and manage learning and development and capacity building for English and School Education colleagues and others, in relation to the global programme. 

Contribute to developing effective impact narratives related to the themes within our English and School Education portfolio, aligned to the strategic vision and corporate strategic evidence map.

 
Sector/subject expertise 

·    Is recognised internally as an authority and ‘go-to’ expert/advisor in relation education in emergencies/education and socio-economic or other disadvantage.

·    Contribute to the design and implementation of Empowerment projects in countries and providing guidance and support. 

·    Maintain an authoritative knowledge of the UK’s strengths, reputation and capacity within language education and disadvantage in order to work with colleagues and practitioners to maximise its impact and income generation.  

·    Represent the British Council externally to enhance its reputation as a credible authority in education and marginalisation and to promote intercultural understanding and new collaborative opportunities with partners, including contributing to research and presenting at academic and professional conferences.  

·    Contribute to the development and delivery of training, support and knowledge-sharing activities to build skills and capability across the British Council at a global and country level. 

·    Develop trust-based relationships with a range of key practitioners, partners, organisations and stakeholders to promote the British Council’s work in Empowerment and secure support for them. 

Qualifications & Experience:

• Strong presentation and communication skills
• Embedding culture and behavioural change to improve effectiveness and efficiency
• Programme and project management
• Evidence based decision making and problem solving
• Relationship building and management

Educational research skills

• Proven track record and strong experience in designing and managing international development programmes related to one or more of the following areas:

• emergency education
• working with displaced/refugee learners and teachers
• gender and/or disability
• employability skills for disadvantaged groups

• Experience managing relationships with development and education partners
• Experience of designing and implementing stakeholder engagement strategies and stakeholder management 

Experience managing a dispersed team 

Important Information:

Department: Cultural Engagement. 

Contract type: Indefinite.  

Pay band: 8

Salary: £40,179 - £47,418. Plus an additional £3,300 London Market Allowance for those in the London area only.

Benefits:

32 days annual leave, plus public holidays. 

Excellent Civil Service Pension.

Location of the role: UK ONLY

Closing Date: Sunday 22nd November 2026 at 23:59 UK time.

Please note that candidates must have the pre-existing, legal right to work in the UK at the time of application.  

Mobility / relocation / visa sponsoring support will not be provided. 

Interviews are planned for early December 2026.  

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 we 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 and 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