Head of Business Intelligence

Requirements: You must have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. We are unable to support with visa sponsorship and relocation.

Role Context - About The Team:

About the organisation: We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We uniquely combine the UK’s deep expertise in arts and culture, education and the English language, our global presence and relationships in over 100 countries, our unparalleled access to young people, creatives and educators, and our own creative sparkle.

About the role: The role sits within the Data Evidence and Performance (DEP) team, part of the Chief Operating Officer function. DEP provides central leadership for the British Council’s Data Strategy, working with stakeholders worldwide to leverage our data assets. The Head of BI Analysis sits within the DS&A directorate in the Data and Analytics portfolio and is a key member of the leadership team reporting to the Director of Data Science & Analytics. The role leads the BI specialism across the global organisation, working with colleagues in teaching, exams, and corporate functions. DS&A delivers the enterprise data platform, performance frameworks, and analytical services that underpin strategic decision‑making. The BI analysis team provides dashboards, insights, and reporting frameworks that connect organisational data to outcomes. The role holder sets and enforces standards for BI quality, accessibility, and governance across the organisation. The position is a leadership role responsible for multiple analysts embedded in regional and functional teams. The role contributes to organisational performance management through the Performance App programme. BI outputs directly support the Senior Leadership Team, Executive Committee, and senior leaders across business units. The role operates in a hybrid technical and strategic capacity, balancing delivery, coaching, and governance. Collaboration with digital, technology, data engineering, and product teams is essential to align BI development with data infrastructure. The postholder represents BI at internal and external forums, ensuring alignment with government and sector standards. This role drives the evolution of BI from reporting to proactive insight generation and strategic performance management.

Role Purpose - The Job: The Head of Business Intelligence (BI) Analysis provides strategic leadership for the British Council’s BI capability, setting organisation-wide standards for analytical reporting, data visualisation, and business intelligence governance. The role leads the data analysis function within the Data Science & Analytics (DS&A) directorate and is responsible for ensuring that performance and operational insights drive decision‑making across all business units.

• Lead the BI analysis function and act as head of profession for BI across the organisation.
• Define and maintain BI and data visualisation standards, including the Power BI Style Guide and data governance framework.
• Drive quality assurance processes for dashboards, metrics / KPIs, and analytical outputs across all business units.
• Oversee development and continuous improvement of the British Council Performance App, the organisation’s enterprise analytics platform.
• Line‑manage and coach BI and data analysts of various types within the Data Hub and across ‘spoke’ teams, supporting their professional development and alignment to best practice.
• Champion accessible, inclusive, and user‑centred data visualisation across the organisation.
• Collaborate with the Head of Data Science, Head of Analytics Engineering, and other specialists to ensure BI outputs integrate with wider data pipelines and analytical models.
• Partner with product, finance, and commercial teams to ensure BI supports strategic objectives and performance outcomes.
• Govern the use of Power BI and related technologies, balancing innovation with data security, privacy, and compliance.
• Represent the BI community internally and externally, sharing best practices and contributing to the British Council’s reputation for analytical excellence.

Main Accountabilities:

• Define and implement BI standards, governance, and assurance processes across the organisation.
• Lead the Power BI Style Guide Governance Group and ensure consistency of design, usability, and accessibility.
• Oversee the quality and reliability of all dashboards and KPI frameworks produced across the British Council.
• Act as lead contributor to the British Council Performance App, setting its analytical direction and delivery priorities.
• Provide expert guidance to analysts, ensuring outputs meet strategic and operational needs.
• Line‑manage and coach BI and data analysts across the hub‑and‑spoke model, supporting capability building and career development.