Head of Governance

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.

The Role

To provide strategic oversight of the British Council’s governance, embedding good practice and adherence to required corporate secretarial practice, and ensuring that the group structure is aligned to business needs and key stakeholder requirements.

Accountabilities

• Sector / Subject Expertise

• Provide impartial, authoritative advice on status, classification, governance and company secretarial practice across the British Council charity and group.
• Advise the Head of Corporate Affairs, Senior Leadership Team, Board committees, Trustees, and directors of UK subsidiary companies.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and recommended governance best practice (charity and central government codes).
• Maintain up-to-date professional knowledge and anticipate new or changing regulatory requirements impacting the British Council group.
• Lead government relations processes relating to governance, including identification and communication of new UK government guidance.
• Manage and update framework documents between the British Council and the FCDO.
• Provide evidence on status and classification for government and external reviews.
• Act as Company Secretary for UK subsidiary companies or oversee and support others in those roles.
• Ensure provision of a high-quality secretariat service to governance and management boards and committees.
• Ensure timely and accurate statutory reporting to Companies House and the Charity Commission.
• Depose for the Head of Corporate Affairs as required.

• Support development, implementation, communication and assurance of compliance with governance policies, including the Code of Conduct.
• Establish and embed governance policies and guidelines aligned to current and future business needs.
• Provide strategic oversight of the British Council group governance framework, including group structure changes and subsidiary governance.
• Ensure governance arrangements align with the organisation’s best interests.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date group structure information on the website and intranet.
• Oversee operational governance activities, including ancillary charity relationships, director appointments and inductions, and regulatory returns to UK charity regulators.
• Build governance capability across the organisation through proactive advice, guidance and knowledge-sharing.

• Lead and develop the governance team, ensuring high-quality, timely outputs against performance targets.
• Identify and implement improvements to governance processes, systems and documentation management.
• Contribute to delivery of corporate priorities, including transformation and equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Manage governance team budgets and financial resources effectively.

• Set the vision, direction and annual business plan for a team of five, aligned to British Council strategy.
• Support staff development, engagement and performance management.
• Contribute to and, where appropriate, lead Corporate Affairs initiatives (e.g. EDI indicators, staff survey follow-up, team engagement).
• Represent the governance team at corporate, cross-departmental and organisational forums.

• Able to communicate clearly and effectively: applying excellent drafting skills to the preparation of documents for external audiences or senior internal audiences without the need for redrafting/input from others, setting out logical arguments clearly, adapting the form of communication and language to meet the needs of different audiences.
• Confident to stand up to management challenge and promote doing the right thing.
• Exercising discretion and judgement in relation with sensitive and confidential material.
• Understanding of the importance and application of effective corporate governance arrangements.
• Strong relationship management skills.
• Excellent judgement and ability to understand and navigate complex and nuanced issues.

Requirements

Please note that candidates must have the pre-existing, legal right to work in London. This is a hybrid role – primarily working from the London office with home working flexibility. Applications will close at 21:59 UK Time on 9th Feb 2026.

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

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.