Content Commissioning Manager in London

Location: UK or Poland (residents only – relocation and sponsorship not provided)

Role purpose: The Content Commissioning Manager works with the global product team and supports our position as a leading provider of high-quality ELT courses. This role contributes to our overall teaching and learning strategy by ensuring suppliers deliver on the learning design(s) for the segment. Working with the Head of Learning Design, Product Portfolio Managers, the Learning Designer, and other key stakeholders, the Content Commissioning Manager manages the pipeline for the learning content elements of the British Council’s proprietary learning products through all stages of product development. This individual is a highly experienced publishing professional, managing outsourcing of content and ensuring that content elements of product development projects are delivered within budget, on time, and in accordance with defined standards, learning design, and market expectations.

Role context: The product is a commercially run business with an income of over £700 million per annum, generating financial surpluses critical to the overall financial sustainability of the British Council. The work in English teaching generates annual revenues of nearly £200m, with activities spanning a global network of 80 English teaching centres in 50 countries, teaching 400,000 students each year, as well as an emerging portfolio of online products and services reaching over 120 million English learners and teachers annually. The work in examinations generates annual revenues of nearly £500m and spans English proficiency testing, including the world’s leading English test IELTS, which is now taken by 3 million candidates worldwide each year.

Main accountabilities:

• Content Development: Collaborates with the Learning Design Manager, the Product Owner, and other key stakeholders to scope/define and prioritise projects for the product life stage. Acts as project lead on the development of learning materials, managing schedules, resources, and costs. Reviews products to ensure adherence to British Council Brand standards, EDI guidelines, project guidelines, and stakeholder requirements.
• Commercial and resource management: Ensures adequate resources are in place to support content development. Plans, monitors, and reports on schedules, costs, resources, and risks associated with content development. Identifies suppliers, tenders, and procures goods and services from a full range of suppliers.
• Customer and market focus: Ensures products are customer-focused and meet market and business requirements by leading on market research, product testing, and piloting. Responds to issues and requests raised by stakeholders in a timely manner.
• Risk and compliance: Supports internal monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to maintain effective publishing procedures. Monitors copyright records for British Council and third-party assets.
• Sector and subject expertise: Manages the pipeline for the learning content elements of the British Council’s proprietary learning products through all stages of product development. Project manages learning content development ensuring projects are delivered within budget, on time, and in accordance with defined standards.
• Relationship and stakeholder management: Ensures regular and effective communication and smooth working relationships between team members and external suppliers. Provides advice and support to colleagues to ensure products are high quality and cost-effective.
• Leadership and management: Plans and prioritises own work activities to ensure effective delivery of diverse responsibilities. Builds teams of external suppliers and manages in-house content developers and project managers.
• Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI): To consistently create an inclusive and anti-racist organisational culture, being aware of biases and taking action to mitigate against these.

Language Requirements: Written and verbal fluency in English.

Certification and Professional Qualifications: Higher EFL qualification (DELTA, Dip. TESOL, MA or equivalent). Postgraduate publishing qualification desirable.

Education: First degree or equivalent qualification/experience.

Role specific knowledge and experience – Minimum / essential requirements:

• A minimum of three years’ experience teaching English as a foreign or second language.
• A minimum of seven years’ professional ELT publishing experience with a proven track record of producing multi-component, multi-level materials.
• Experience researching, conceptualising, scoping, and setting up new projects.
• Experience of procuring goods and services and negotiating contracts from a large range of suppliers.
• Experience of coordinating, communicating, and collaborating with large, dispersed teams.

Role specific knowledge and experience – Desirable:

• Knowledge across areas such as Printing and distribution, Accessibility and EDI, Intellectual Property/copyright, Translations of products.
• Market research and testing to ensure research methods and outputs are robust.

British Council values and behaviours: Open and Committed; Expert and Inclusive; Optimistic and Bold. These values guide our decision-making and how we treat one another and the people we work with.

Unit: English & Exams / Product / Content Strategy

Work style: Hybrid

Pay band: 8

Annual salary range: PLN 192,000 - 252,000 (Poland), £38,000 - £46,000 (UK)