Senior Teacher - Young Learners

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Teacher's Success Story 

Role Purpose:

The British Council Japan is looking for a dedicated Senior Teacher to help maintain and enhance academic quality at our teaching centre by leading and supporting in‑house teacher development initiatives. In this role, you will play a key part in promoting high‑quality teaching and ensuring effective learning of English across our programmes. You will contribute to creating a rewarding and stimulating learning experience for all our students, while actively supporting the wider aims of the British Council and its cultural relations mission.

Role Accountabilities:

We are looking for a Senior Teacher who will play a central role in supporting our teachers and strengthening the overall quality of our English teaching. In this position, you will provide effective line management, guidance and performance support to teaching staff, ensuring that classroom practice aligns with British Council standards and our global approach to teaching and learning. You will actively monitor staff wellbeing, offer personal support where needed, and act as a duty officer to assist teachers, parents and students. You will also contribute to recruitment, induction and mentoring programmes, helping new teachers settle into their roles and succeed in new teaching contexts.

A key part of the role involves driving teaching excellence. You will help design and deliver an annual CPD programme aligned with regional priorities, identify development opportunities for teachers, and model best practice through demonstration lessons, observations and professional development sessions. You will stay up to date with developments in ELT and share relevant insights with your team, representing the British Council at local ELT events where appropriate and promoting examples of best practice within and beyond the centre.

You will also support product and service delivery by ensuring that academic frameworks and guidelines are fully understood and implemented by teaching and operational colleagues. You will help teachers communicate key policies to learners, collaborate with Teaching Operations and Customer Services to resolve academic enquiries, and contribute to regional product development and evaluation. The role also includes supporting the piloting of new courses and materials and introducing new products to teaching teams through training and guidance.

Safeguarding, EDI and SEND are integral to this role. You will help embed a strong safeguarding culture in teaching and learning, contribute to country safeguarding plans, and support the delivery of regional EDI objectives. You may act as a safeguarding focal point or SEND champion, working closely with colleagues to ensure that inclusion policies are effectively implemented across the centre.

This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on teaching quality, teacher development and learner experience while contributing to the wider mission of the British Council.

Qualifications & Experience:

Essentials:

• Undergraduate/University degree.
• Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (Cambridge CELTA) or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Trinity TESOL) certification.
• Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Cambridge DELTA or Trinity DipTESOL) or equivalent as recognised by the British Council.
• A minimum of 2 years post-diploma i.e. DELTA/Trinity DipTESOL experience gained from teaching a variety of age groups and levels from young learners through to adults.
• Knowledge and experience of management of Young Learners course delivery.
• Knowledge and experience of line managing/ coordinating teaching teams.
• Knowledge and experience of of teacher training.
• Proficiency in English equivalent to a Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) C2 level.

Desirables

• Relevant Young Learner qualification (e.g. TYLEC, YL Extension to CELTA etc).
• TYLEC trainer qualification or equivalent.
• Relevant Early Years certificate / qualification.
• Relevant masters/post graduate qualification.
• Extensive experience in teaching relevant age groups:
  • Primary aged 6 to 10 (800+ hours)
  • Lower Secondary aged 11 to 14 (400+ hours).
  • Upper Secondary aged 15 to 17 (400+ hours).
  • Early Years aged 2 to 5 (400+hours).

Important Information:

• Location: Tokyo.  
• Salary: The role offers a starting salary of 509,000 yen per month, with final remuneration determined by qualifications and experience.    
• Contracted hours per week: 40 hours - Full time. 
• Working Hours: The schedule runs from Wednesday to Sunday, with some flexibility required depending on business needs. Teaching typically takes place in the afternoons and evenings, with daytime hours on weekends.  
• Proof of Identity & Right to Work: Candidates are expected to have researched whether they have the right to live and work in Japan. The British Council Japan welcomes international candidates and will support successful applicants in obtaining a work visa. 
• Medical insurance: Teachers are registered for National Health Insurance in line with statutory requirements 
• Contract type: 2 years Fixed-Term contract renewable.  
• Start date: May 2026.
• Annual Leave: Employees are entitled to 35 days of annual leave per year, in addition to 14 public holidays.  
• Income tax and national insurance: 
  • Your salary is a gross salary and is subject to local taxes and statutory deductions. The British Council will make deductions from your salary at source in respect of tax and other sums due where appropriate.
  • If the laws and regulations of Japan require you to account directly for any tax or other sums that are due in respect of your salary, it is your responsibility to properly account for such tax and other sums to the appropriate authorities.  The British Council will make no additional payments to you in respect of any liability for tax or other sums that you may have.
  • Any liability you may have for tax or other sums due in other jurisdictions will be your responsibility, save as set out in this contract.  No additional payment will be made to you by the British Council in respect of such liabilities.
  • Possible Changes to Your Duties:You may be assigned to different duties designated by the British Council to meet operational demands.
  • Possible Changes to Your Place of Work: You may be transferred to a different workplace designated by the British Council to meet operational demands.
  • Renewal contract: In deciding whether or not to agree to renew your employment, the British Council will take into account following factors:
    • (a) your workload at the time of the end of the employment term; 
    • (b) your job performance and work attitude;
    • (c) your ability and competence;
    • (d) business conditions of the British Council;
    • (e) progress of your work;
    • (f) your level of constructive cooperation/teamwork with both your colleagues and your line manager; and
    • (g) any other factors that the British Council may reasonably consider relevant to the decision to renew or not.
  • The Maximum Number of Renewals: There is no limit on the number of renewals.

Closing date  – Wednesday 4th March 2026.