British Council
Director People Team Effectiveness
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Role Purpose
Reporting to the Chief People Officer, the Director, People Team Effectiveness is accountable for the internal operating discipline of the People Function: governance, performance reporting, functional engagement, cost insight, continuous improvement, and the capability, culture, future technology roadmap and ways of working needed for the function to be fully effective. The role enables the CPO and People Leadership Team to run the function with clarity, pace and accountability by maintaining the routines, insight, forums and reporting needed to track delivery and make timely decisions. It develops the conditions for the People Function to perform well as one integrated team, including building engagement, collaboration, accountability, learning and confidence among People team colleagues themselves. It facilitates development of the People Function Technology roadmap, working with People Function domain leaders and specialists from Digital & Technology to define the future HR tech stack requirements, sequencing, dependencies and decision points.
Main Accountabilities
-
Coordinate strategy execution, technology roadmap and performance Coordinates delivery of People Function priorities, providing clear oversight of progress, performance, risks and dependencies. Establishes effective performance rhythms and reporting to support the CPO and People Leadership Team, and facilitates the People Function technology roadmap with domain and Digital & Technology leaders, ensuring clear requirements, sequencing and decisions.
-
Strengthen governance, risk management and decision support Strengthens proportionate governance across the People Function, providing clear oversight of risks, dependencies, escalations and decisions. Ensures leadership forums are purposeful, well planned and focused on delivery, accountability and effective decision making.
-
Develop the capability, culture and ways of working of the People Function Develops the People Function’s capability, culture and ways of working so it operates as one effective, engaged team. Embeds the operating model, improves collaboration and hand-offs, reduces duplication and complexity, and uses insight to improve service quality, colleague experience and overall effectiveness.
-
Lead communications, engagement and advocacy for the People Function Leads clear, engaging communications that build understanding and commitment around People Function priorities, progress and ways of working. Provides leaders with effective briefings, narratives and collateral, showcases impact and improvement, and uses colleague feedback to inform leadership action.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
-
Lead cost insight, efficiency and stewardship support Provides consolidated cost, capacity, workforce and demand insight to support resource planning and portfolio reviews led through People Partnering & Change Delivery. Coordinates efficiency and value-for-money commitments, using data to understand cost-to-serve, delivery risk, service impact and benefits, while promoting responsible stewardship of people, budget and external spend.
-
Lead and develop the People Team Effectiveness team (4 people) Leads and develops a high-performing People Team Effectiveness team, setting clear priorities and building capability across governance, performance, communications, engagement, cost insight, HR technology and improvement. Ensures the team operates as an enabling hub for the wider People Function, modelling inclusive, values-led leadership and continuous learning.
Knowledge & Experience
Education
Essential:
- Evidence of continuing professional development in strategic HR and organisational transformation
Desirable:
- Agile SAFe qualification or equivalent.
- Programme, portfolio or transformation qualification such as MSP Practitioner or equivalent.
- Change management qualification such as Prosci, CCMP or equivalent.
Experience
Essential:
- Significant senior leadership experience in HR, including in business-facing HR roles, as well as in functional strategy execution, business planning, governance, performance management, operational effectiveness or organisational improvement.
- Strong understanding of HR operating models and how to build HR capability
- Knowledge of how to build and maintain HR, functional governance, performance management, cost insight and resource stewardship.
- Experience translating strategy into clear plans, measures, governance rhythms and delivery disciplines.
- Proven ability to use data, insight and evidence to improve functional performance, service quality and decision making.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen, including experience supporting cost optimisation, budget stewardship and value-for-money activity.
- Experience leading communications, engagement, stakeholder advocacy or change adoption activity in a complex organisation.
- Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, including experience working directly with executive leadership teams.
- Ability to create clarity, focus and accountability in a complex, matrixed environment.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Desirable:
- Experience within a global, matrixed organisation.
- Experience shaping HR technology strategy, technology roadmap development, future tech stack requirements, digital enablement or AI-enabled ways of working.
- Experience developing functional performance frameworks, cost-to-serve analysis or efficiency improvement plans.
Important Information
- Location: UK (Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London), Nigeria (Abuja, Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt)
- Working Arrangement: This position is open to flexible working arrangements. Available for homeworking arrangements in the UK.
- Contract Type: Indefinite
- Pay band: 10 LMFGS
- Right to Work Requirements: You must have the legal right to work in the location in which the role is based.
- Languages: Written and verbal proficiency in English is required
- Closing date for applications: 23:59pm, Tuesday 20 October 2026 (British Summer Time, BST)
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and 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. 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
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Location