Head of Value Management Office

Location: London (hybrid)  

Role Description and Purpose: 

This role will be responsible for establishing and leading the product VMO function and embedding value management as a core discipline across English & Exams.  The Head of Value Management Office will design, own and manage a function providing our organisation a reliable, independent mechanism to ensure that value is being created (across the full product lifecycle) and monitored / tracked.

Project and programme teams are currently delivering at pace in a product environment of fast change, increasing market demand & financial pressures. There is a need to ensure that there are processes in place to assess whether the investments in these initiatives are on track to deliver the benefits & outcomes they promised and to continue to track their value once delivered.

To support this, the role will make sure that delivery is aligned with strategic business objectives. It will oversee the effective design and implementation of programmes from inception to decommissioning, via dispersed teams to deliver high-quality products and services on a global scale. 

The role sits within the team accountable for the design, development, and performance management of both digital and analogue products, which support the propositions For Schools, Higher Education, and Work. This team ensures that the product portfolio is strategically aligned, commercially viable, scalable, and responsive to customer, delivery, and technology needs. It plays a critical role in ensuring the right mix of quality and innovation to support the direction set by Proposition Directors. 

Role Accountability: 

As a successful candidate, you will be driven to support the British Council in creating value and ensuring that organisation initiatives deliver value in general, whether it would be across innovation, exploration or hard financial goals.

You will develop frameworks and tools to assess potential initiatives holistically in terms of value, defined goals, and outcomes in ambitions but realistic terms, and realise and track value delivery as it unfolds.

You will be a champion of value delivery, proactively supporting colleagues from a wide range of areas, mindsets and experience levels.

You will implement best practices where they matter and apply, understand that one size does not fit all, and that uncertainty and complexity always exist and that individual initiatives, while built on shared foundations, might need adaptation.

The role defines vision and process for how value should be managed within the British Council and supports others in their defining project roadmaps and plans by bringing in a value centric view.

The role also provides expert advice to internal clients, supporting the development of new initiatives from business case through to delivery.

It defines and communicates performance expectations and benefits and leads retrospectives and post-launch reviews to embed learning and improve future delivery. The role also leads senior relationships across the British Council and with external partners to ensure joined-up delivery and stakeholder alignment. 

You will also play a key role in embedding the British Council’s commitment to equality, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism, fostering a culture where people feel valued, supported, and treated equitably—particularly through periods of change. 

Essential Core & Role Competencies

Minimum / Essential: 

• Experience embedding value management thinking into agile delivery environments, where benefits may be agile funded and tracked at sprint or product level rather than the traditional project/programme lifecycle
• Practical experience with benefits management frameworks - defining benefit types, setting baselines, assigning ownership, and tracking realisation through and beyond delivery, etc.
• Able to design practical measurement approaches for both financial and non-financial benefits.
• Experience in designing benefits realisation assurance.
• Track record of developing and leading small, high performing analytical or data teams.
• Able to read and interrogate complex financial models & business cases to identify weak/optimistic assumptions and provide evidence-based reports on the numbers.
• Sufficient understanding of technology and digital products and services, including ability to review and understand their business cases for determining the true value and risks.
• Demonstrable experience in leading and successfully managing large (£-multi-million) projects concurrently for a multi-national organisation with considerable global reach.  
• Experience with both project and product life cycles.

 Desirable: 

• Experience in delivering learning and / or assessment programmes and projects.  
• Professional programme management qualification(s), such as Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) Practitioner, or equivalent programme qualification (MPA / PMI, etc).  
• Background in portfolio management, transformation programmes, or strategy execution.
• Exposure to digital, technology, or product-led organisations.
• Strong understanding of investment prioritisation and portfolio optimisation.
• Experience supporting senior leadership decision-making through data and insight.

Job info:

Seniority: Band 9 / Senior Management Professional

Salary range: £61,600 - £71,600 p/a, depending on experience

Contract: permanent