British Council
Head of Skills, Capability & Leadership
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We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. For 90 years we have shaped brighter futures through education, arts, culture, language, and creativity. Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. We connect. We inspire.
Role Purpose
The Head of Skills, Capability & Leadership will lead the development and execution of the future-fit enterprise skills and capability strategy that enables the British Council’s transformation, commercial growth and digital ambition. This role is a leadership position within our Organisational Design & Effectiveness team and will play a critical role in guiding and empowering teams to identify and progress organisation effectiveness throughout the British Council.
Championing a modern, learner-centric tech-enabled ecosystem you will guide and empower multi-disciplinary teams across the British Council, identifying and accelerating priority skills growth and talent capability. This role will have a heightened focus on leadership learning and enablement; creating the pathways, experiences and support that help leaders at all levels thrive in complexity, steward our culture and deliver impact.
Main Accountabilities
Skills Strategy & Framework
- Lead the development and execution of a future-focused, enterprise-wide skills strategy aligned with business transformation, growth, and digital ambitions.
- Partner with business and People Function to translate signals into capability priorities; establish the skills framework/taxonomy and embed it into workforce planning, job architecture and talent mobility.
- Own the Skills & Capability policy and the enterprise learning budget, ensuring strategic alignment and ROI-driven investment decisions.
Leadership Development
- Create pathways for emerging, frontline, middle, senior and enterprise leadership with an emphasis on commercial leadership. Integrated with succession and mobility processes.
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Learning Products & Digital Ecosystem
- Own the lifecycle of British Council-specific learning products; accelerate strategic capabilities (e.g., digital fluency, AI-readiness) and deploy learning to key populations.
- Integrate and optimise LMS/LXP and AI-enabled tools in partnership with Digital & Technology to enable a learner-centred experience.
Partners, Innovation & Impact
- Select, contract and manage external partners for learning and leadership development; assure quality, risk and commercial governance.
- Maintain strong internal/external networks to scan trends, benchmark best practice and adopt cross-industry innovations in learning, skills and capability.
- Define impact metrics; use data, diagnostics and AI (assessments, skills intelligence, engagement/performance insights) for personalisation and decision-making; report insights to governance boards.
Internal Capability & Team Leadership
- Equip People partners and leaders with toolkits, coaching and knowledge sharing; cultivate communities of practice; lead high-performing teams (including multi-disciplinary agile teams) and foster a culture of continuous learning.
Knowledge & Experience
Essential:
- Experience in learning and development, capability building, or talent strategy in complex global organisations.
- Proven success building or leading enterprise learning ecosystems and leadership development portfolios.
- Understanding of skills-based workforce planning, learning technology, and future-of-work trends.
- Demonstrable business acumen and experience collaborating with senior leaders across multiple functions.
- Extensive leadership coaching experience and leadership development facilitation.
Desirable:
- Qualification or certification in coaching.
Important Information
- Location: Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London
- Working Arrangement: This position is open to flexible working arrangements including home working
- Contract Type: Indefinite
- Pay band: Grade 9/D
- 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 Sunday 26 July 2026, British Summer Time (BST)
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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.
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