E+ Head of Finance in London

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.

The Department for Education has announced that the British Council is set to take on the role of National Agency for Erasmus+. In December the UK and EU arrived at a political agreement that the UK would rejoin the Erasmus+ scheme in 2027. That agreement has now been legally formalised under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The British Council has a longstanding commitment to supporting international exchange. It was a lead partner in the Erasmus+ UK National Agency from 2014-20, where Erasmus+ made a significant contribution to the UK's cultural relations activities, funding 8,091 projects, engaging 583,757 UK participants, and awarding around €1.1 billion to UK organisations.

Pay Band: SMP
Salary: £55,699 gross per annum
Contract Duration: 2 Year Fixed Term Contract with possibility of extension
Location: London, UK
Right to Work Requirements: Current right to work in the UK. The British Council is not able to support or sponsor work visa applications.
Closing Date: Applications will close on 13 May at 22:59 UK Time. We are operating on the basis that any offer is made pending client confirmation of funds.

Role Purpose

The Head of Finance leads the financial strategy, governance, and assurance for Erasmus+. The role ensures robust financial planning, accurate reporting, effective risk management, and full compliance with client, organisational, and regulatory requirements. The role designs and maintains a robust financial control framework that mitigates risks across the full grant lifecycle—from application and assessment, through distribution and monitoring, to audit and closure.

Acting as the senior finance business partner reporting directly into the Deputy National Agency Director, the post oversees end to end financial integrity across grants, funding flows and operational expenditure. They ensure that funding is accurately allocated, monitored, and accounted for; that financial risks are identified early and mitigated effectively; and that the programme consistently meets audit, assurance, and contractual obligations. They provide clear financial insight to support decision making, maintain strong audit and assurance standards, manage and develop the National Agency’s finance team, and manage senior relationships with clients and stakeholders. By safeguarding financial integrity, value for money, and long term sustainability, the Head of Finance enables the programme to deliver high quality, accountable outcomes.

Main Accountabilities, But Not Limited To The Following

• Leadership & Team Management
  • Lead the programme’s financial strategy, ensuring alignment with client requirements, organisational policies, and long‑term sustainability.
  • Lead and safeguard the financial integrity of Erasmus+ which is highly complex with a value budget, ensuring accurate allocation, monitoring, and reconciliation of significant funding flows across partners, and delivery streams.
  • Provide authoritative financial advice to the Programme Director and senior leadership.
• Budgeting, Forecasting & Financial Planning
  • Develop and manage multi‑year financial strategies and funding models that support delivery at scale, balancing operational needs, client expectations, and long‑term financial commitments.
  • Ensure the smooth transition between the Multi-annual Financial Framework cycles (from 2021-2027 to 2028-2034).
  • Lead forecasting and scenario planning to support operational and strategic decision‑making.
  • Input to British Council annual planning and quarterly forecasting processes, including E+ income, disbursement, direct cost and cash flow projections.
• Financial Governance, Controls & Compliance
  • Provide strategic financial leadership for Erasmus+ operating at a substantial multi‑year scale, ensuring long‑range financial sustainability and robust planning across its entire lifecycle.
  • Identify, evaluate, and mitigate financial risks.
  • Design, implement, and maintain robust financial controls across grant and mobility funding flows.
  • Ensure management fee income recognition aligns to British Council policies.
  • Ensure full compliance with client contracts, audit standards, regulatory frameworks, and internal policies.
• Financial Reporting & Insight
  • Produce high‑quality financial reports, dashboards, and analysis for clients, internal governance boards, and senior stakeholders.
  • Provide timely insight on financial performance, risks, variances, and corrective actions.
• Risk Management & Assurance
  • Lead financial risk identification, mitigation, and monitoring across Erasmus+.
  • Lead finance team engagement with all internal and external audits, ensuring strong assurance and continuous improvement.
• Grant & Funding Oversight
  • Lead and develop a finance function capable of managing large‑scale financial operations, ensuring consistent quality, efficiency, and compliance across all funding flows in line with British Council systems, processes, policies and procedures.
  • Oversee financial management of the whole budget including grant distributions and vendor payments.
  • Ensure transparent allocation, monitoring, reconciliation and reporting of funds.
• Stakeholder & Client Relationship Management
  • Act as the senior financial contact for clients, auditors, delivery partners, and internal colleagues.
  • Represent the programme’s financial strategy and performance to senior client and audit bodies, providing credible oversight and evidence aligned with the scale and scrutiny levels associated with Erasmus+.
  • Present financial evidence, clarify requirements, and maintain trust through accurate, timely reporting.
• Team Leadership & Capability Building
  • Lead and develop the finance team to ensure high performance, strong technical capability, and effective support to operations.
  • Build financial literacy and accountability across Erasmus+ teams as required.
• Value for Money & Efficiency
  • Identify opportunities to improve cost efficiency, optimise processes, and maximise value for the client and organisation.
  • Support commercial decision‑making and contract negotiations where required.
  • Work with delivery team leads in managing and executing financial viability of contract amendments and identifying any risks/opportunities.

Requirements Of The Role

Role Specific Skills:

• Be an exemplar of integrity, honesty, discretion and professionalism for the National Agency.
• Ability to lead end‑to‑end financial strategy for a multi‑year, multi‑stream programme aligned to the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
• Strong experience in long‑term financial planning, profiling expenditure across delivery phases, and ensuring alignment with programme objectives and funding agreements.
• Capacity to translate programme priorities into sustainable financial models that support delivery, risk management, and value for money.
• Financial Acumen: solid understanding of budgeting, forecasting and financial performance drivers.
• Business Partnering: strong interpersonal and influencing skills, ability to communicate complex financial issues in accessible language.
• Ability to multi‑task effectively, managing simultaneous financial cycles, reporting requirements and deadlines across a complex delivery portfolio.
• Ability to identify financial risks and propose mitigations.
• Independently minded and willing to challenge existing business practice.
• Building relationships at all levels in the organisation.

Minimum/essential Role Specific Knowledge and Experience:

• Proven ability to ensure compliance with funder financial requirements, ideally EU and HMG.
• Oversight of audit readiness, including preparation for internal, external, and EU‑level audits, and effective resolution of audit findings.
• Strong command of budgeting, forecasting, and financial modelling and reporting across complex delivery portfolios.
• Design and implementation of robust financial controls, assurance frameworks, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Ability to monitor burn rate, identify variances, and take corrective action to maintain programme solvency and compliance.
• Proven leadership of finance teams in complex programme environments, including capability building and change management.

Desirable

• High‑quality written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present financial information clearly to non‑financial audiences.
• Ability to interpret and apply complex funding rules and translate them into practical operational guidance.
• Experience of working with grant‑funded or externally funded programmes, ideally within an EU or international context.
• Understanding of programme lifecycle management, from design and mobilisation through to transition and close‑out.
• Experience with SAP or similar ERP platforms.
• Professional accounting qualification (CIMA, ACCA, ACA or equivalent).

Language Requirements

The British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal fluency in English is required.

Education

Degree or equivalent work experience.

Professional Qualification and Certification

Recognised International Accounting or Finance qualification or equivalent, such as a relevant Accountancy or Finance degree.

Additional Requirements

Please note that candidates must have the pre-existing, legal right to work in the listed locations at the time of application. Mobility / relocation / visa sponsoring support will not be provided. 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.

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.