Head of Political Engagement

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.

We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.

Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 202122 we reached 650 million people.

British Council Pay band: Senior Management Pay (SMPS)

Benefits Include, but are not limited to:

• 32 days annual leave, in addition to public holidays
• 3 days volunteering leave
• Career average defined benefit pension scheme
• An unrivalled opportunity for you to get to use all the experience youve built up working in and/or leading global organisations to support us in building trust across the world.

Location: London only
Department: Policy and External Relations
Contract type: Indefinite

Closing Date: Tuesday 26th December (23:59)

You must have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application.

There is no relocation or sponsorship support.

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.

Role Purpose:

The Head of Political Engagement will manage the British Councils relationship with the UK Parliament, Parliamentarians and Select Committees, and strategy for Parliamentary engagement. They will also lead the organisations interactions in the wider political space and play a leading advice and consultancy role on the UK political landscape for the rest of the organisation.

Function Overview

The Policy and External Relations team leads the organisations engagement with senior stakeholders including Ministers, Parliamentarians, civil servants, sector leaders and other influencers and opinion formers. The team coordinates the organisations major policy positions and manages the relationship with our sponsor department, the FCDO. In carrying out these functions, the team works closely with the Chair, Chief Executive and senior staff.

In addition to leading the organisations government and political relationships, the team acts as the British Councils Centre of Excellence for stakeholder engagement, supporting teams in the Devolved Nations and around the world with their approach.

Finally, as the group of people closest to the development of government policy, the team provides and disseminates the latest findings, analysis and opinions from the British Councils research and contemporary trends and events in UK foreign policy and wider world affairs with policymakers.

This role serves a deputy leadership function for the Policy and External Relations team, reporting to the Head of External Relations. It also manages relationships that are vital to our accountability which will require significant political awareness and ability to manage complex reputational risks.

Main Opportunities/Challenges for this role:

Main responsibilities include; developing and implementing the British Councils Parliamentary engagement strategy; managing relationships with and leading on drafting submissions to Select Committees including the Foreign Affairs Committee; All Party Parliamentary Groups including the British Council APPG; key frontbench and backbench members of Parliament to engage them in cultural relations programmes; supporting UK-wide engagement in the Devolved Nations; providing an effective advice and consultancy service for colleagues around the world who require an in-depth understanding of changes in policy and the political landscape.

Main Accountabilities (but not limited to the following):

Lead a team of two to manage the British Councils relationship with the UK Parliament and Parliamentarians, including

• Developing the British Councils Parliamentary Strategy
• Providing specialist advice on engagement with UK Parliamentarians and the UK Parliament, as well as wider political stakeholders, including quality assuring advice and support provided by team members.
• Lead the British Councils relationship with a number of senior Parliamentarians and political stakeholders, engaging them in the UKs cultural relations as appropriate, including directly supporting the Chair and CEO by providing high quality advice and briefing on engagement these individuals
• Personally, establish and build relationships with senior Parliamentarians and political stakeholderws to engage them in the work of the British Council.

Manage the British Councils relationship with Select Committees and All Party Parliamentary Groups, including the Foreign Affairs Committee and International Relations Committee, and the British Council APPG, to ensure that:

• The British Council builds a strong and effective relationship with Parliamentarians,
• The organisation is proactively sharing its insight and research with relevant committees via high quality submissions and the provision of oral evidence
• All British Council staff (including the Chair and Chief Executive) appearing before committees are appropriately briefed and supported
• All accountability requirements of committees are met
• Inquiries led by the British Council APPG are effectively managed.

Effectively manage responses to all Parliamentary Questions to ensure that these are handled in an effective and accurate manner in line with accountability requirements.

Liaise with Country and Regional Directors to develop engagement strategies, develop policy positions and manage overseas visits programmes for key Parliamentarians, including accompanying Parliamentarians on visits as required.

Manage the Parliamentary relations budget effectively.

Act as a deputy to the Head of External Relations as required.

Role Specific Knowledge and Experience:

• Excellent understanding of UK politics.
• Excellent knowledge or direct experience of the UK Parliament and its work.
• Understanding of UK foreign policy priorities and major issues in contemporary international relations.
• Experience of answering Parliamentary questions or similar.
• Events management.
• Excellent written communication skills and the ability to produce high quality policy briefings and submissions

• Experience of working collaboratively and successfully with multiple teams across multiple locations

• Experience of building, managing and maintaining effective working relationships with key stakeholders

A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.

Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion(EDI) Statement

The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.

The British Council iscommitted 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; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Councils Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.

If you have any problems with your application please email [email protected]

Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our ASK HR email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.