Academic Manager

What’s it like to work at the British Council as a Teacher?

Role Description & Purpose

We are seeking a dynamic and forward-thinking professional to drive the continuous improvement of product and service delivery across the market. This role focuses on ensuring that all offerings consistently meet customer needs while maintaining high standards of quality and impact. You will play a key role in supporting market performance by strengthening proposition effectiveness and helping to achieve product and performance targets.

A central element of the position is contributing to Teaching Excellence, with particular emphasis on the delivery of face‑to‑face courses and their integration with assessment to enhance teaching performance and outcomes.

The role sits within the English and Examinations Strategic Business Unit, one of two global business units in the British Council. This unit supports the organisation’s mission to build trust in the UK worldwide by sharing the strengths of its education systems, governance and culture. Through English language learning and internationally recognised UK qualifications, it enables individuals across the globe to access life‑changing education and career opportunities while fostering communication and understanding between cultures.

The English and Examinations business operates at significant scale, generating substantial income that contributes to the British Council’s overall sustainability and impact. Its vision is to be the global authority in high‑quality English language teaching, learning and assessment, as well as a leading distributor of professional and school qualifications.

You will work closely with global teams across Proposition, Network and Functions to deliver this vision. These teams collaborate to design integrated learning and assessment products, translate global strategy into local market success, and ensure efficient and effective delivery. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to a globally recognised organisation, combining commercial performance with meaningful educational impact, and to play a part in improving outcomes for learners worldwide.

In this role, you will play a central part in implementing Teaching Excellence initiatives, including teaching standards, observation systems and academic quality frameworks. You will use performance data, feedback systems and structured review processes to assess teaching effectiveness and drive continuous improvement. You will also design and deliver targeted learning and development programmes, support the identification and development of teaching talent, and foster a culture of best practice sharing.

A strong commitment to safeguarding, inclusion and SEND will be essential, alongside contributing to thought leadership that enhances the organisation’s reputation in learning and assessment.

You will oversee the effective implementation of products and services, ensuring consistency and efficiency across the market. This includes contributing to product development processes and, where required, managing projects through to delivery. From a commercial perspective, you will monitor performance against targets, oversee reporting on key metrics, and support action planning to address risks and drive results. You will also manage the testing and rollout of new products and pilots, embedding feedback mechanisms to support continuous improvement.

Alongside this, you will provide valuable market and customer insights, helping to shape strategies and identify opportunities that strengthen both cultural impact and commercial performance. As part of the leadership team, you will represent teaching and learner perspectives while supporting workforce planning, capability development and coaching.

Strong stakeholder management will be key, as you collaborate with internal teams to enhance customer experience and business outcomes. You will also ensure compliance with corporate policies by addressing risks and taking appropriate action where needed. This is an excellent opportunity to make a meaningful impact in a global, education‑focused organisation committed to excellence.