Director Operations, France

The Role:
 
As our Director Operation of France, you will be based from our Paris office with the flexibility of working a day per week remotely.

You will lead on all areas of change, staff engagement and operational internal and external compliance across the British Council operation in France, in order to support the Country Director function to deliver its six core purposes.    

This role provides particular support to two core purposes: Engagement & Leadership of the Country Team and Protecting Trust in the British Council and the UK.

This role will support the Country Director in leading the France operation through extensive and unprecedented organisational change, including restructuring English and Examinations teams, major changes to E&E delivery, and premises changes.  As well as the Country Director, you will work closely with the E&E Head of Market France, Global Change leaders and the Europe Geographical Director to ensure an efficient and effective transition to a new operating and delivery model, across the whole country programme. 

France is among the largest overseas British Council operations with a number of specific features and challenges. Engagement with staff, duty of care, people management processes, operational change and corporate law is complex.

The operating environment across our portfolio requires effective governance and high degrees of compliance, both internally and externally.   

Accountabilities:

•    Manage day-to-day HR/People issues, engaging internal and external advice appropriately, ensuring that contractual relationships with all staff are managed effectively for the British Council, in accordance with our values and taking into account our responsibility for staff wellbeing.  Ensure compliance with corporate People policies and approaches including performance management and staff survey actions. 
 
 
•    Take responsibility for ensuring compliance with organisational and business systems and processes across the country operation in all teams.  Compliance with British Council policies and processes, is modelled and championed and staff held to account.

•    Lead and represent management in Works Council (CSE) meetings when delegated by the Country Director, including preparing meeting agendas with the CSE secretary, facilitating consultations, presenting management positions, and ensuring full legal compliance in follow-up.  This responsibility includes undertaking the interim Chair role where required, ensuring operational leadership of the CSE is retained at the appropriate senior level.     

 
•    Own the relationship with internal and external legal counsel for labour-relations matters, ensuring that all positions presented to the CSE and unions are legally compliant and aligned with British Council risk appetite with the support of the People Advisor. 

 
•    Assume end-to-end ownership of CSE governance processes (agenda setting, convening meetings, presenting Management positions, drafting minutes/decisions, and overseeing the implementation of actions).  Oversee management-side governance for all union/formal staff representation engagement.  

Change Management.

 
•    Lead and align all change implementation workstreams in France (teaching, exams, cultural engagement, professional services, premises), working closely with the Country Director, Geographical Directorate, global E&E change teams, E&E Head of Market and professional functions, ensuring the whole-country operation context, legal compliance issues, and dependencies across change workstreams are understood, represented, and paramount.  

 
•    Design and direct country-level change governance which docks effectively with global change teams and the E&E Head of Market, and which ensures the best possible change outcomes for the France operation in the context of global strategy across all business areas. 

 
•    Ensure all legal obligations are fulfilled in the implementation of all change actions across the France operation, including leading effective and efficient relations with authorities in France. 

 
•    Develop and maintain detailed programme schedules, tracks critical paths and interdependencies, and ensure tasks are completed to agreed tolerances. 

Requirements of the role:
 
•    Extensive experience of working in a corporate environment in France in a medium size or large operation as Chef D’Exploitation or equivalent.

•    Inclusive Leadership: Leads teams to create new solutions to address future challenges. Actively seeks out and considers diverse perspectives to inform decision-making and collaborates more effectively with others. 

•    Geographical Knowledge and Experience: Connects complex information on geopolitics and demographics, establishes a vision, anticipating changes internationally, whilst effecting change through priorities. 

Closing Date:   Applications will close at 23:59 on Monday 27th April 2026, UK Time.

 
 
Important Information:

Contract type: 18 Months Fixed Term Contract. 
Pay band:  SMP
Annual Salary: Starting at 69,600 Euros per annum. 
Excellent benefits including 35 days annual leave. 
Location: Paris, France. Remote working of one day per week from home.

 
Requirements:

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

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.