Commercial Director

The Commercial Director is responsible for leading and delivering the overall commercial and revenue strategy of International House London. This role ensures that the organisation achieves sustainable revenue growth while remaining aligned with its charitable objectives. Working closely with the CEO and Board, the postholder will oversee sales, marketing, partnerships, and commercial planning across the organisation. This role will ensure that the organisation’s product portfolio, pricing strategy, market positioning, and recruitment channels are optimised to deliver profitable growth. The Commercial Director will act as the bridge between market demand and academic/product delivery, helping to shape the organisation’s long‑term commercial strategy and ensuring that International House London remains competitive in a global education market.

The Commercial Director will be a key member of the senior leadership team at International House London and will play a central role in shaping the organisation’s future. Working closely with the CEO, Senior Leadership Team, and Board of Trustees, the postholder will help guide strategic decisions about the organisation’s markets, partnerships, programme portfolio and long‑term commercial sustainability. The role requires a leader who can combine strategic thinking with operational delivery, ensuring that International House London remains competitive in a rapidly evolving global education sector while continuing to fulfil its charitable mission. The successful candidate will be expected to bring external perspective, market insight and commercial leadership, helping the organisation navigate opportunities and risks in international education while strengthening its position as one of the UK’s leading language education providers.

About International House London: International House Trust, trading as International House London (IH London), is a charitable education trust dedicated to empowering individuals and fostering global communication through high‑quality language education. As well as being an educational charity, IH London is a company limited by guarantee with an annual turnover of approximately £17 million. The organisation is funded solely by commercial activity. IH London operates from a large 53‑classroom school in Covent Garden and provides high‑quality language education, teacher training and language assessment to more than 27,000 students, trainees and test candidates each year. The organisation delivers a diverse portfolio of programmes including:

• General and specialist professional English language courses for international students
• Modern language courses for students based in London and online
• Junior summer schools delivered at partner schools across the UK and overseas
• Internationally recognised teacher training programmes and various capacity‑building projects overseas
• An extensive language testing network in the UK and overseas

IH London also holds a 50% stake in the International House World Organisation (IHWO), a global network of over 140 affiliated language schools operating in more than 50 countries. IH London is accredited by the British Council (Accreditation UK), the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), EAQUALS and the International House World Organisation.

Main Responsibilities:

• Commercial Strategy and Revenue Growth: Lead the organisation’s overall commercial strategy to deliver sustainable and profitable revenue growth. Develop and implement long‑term revenue and business model strategies. Ensure alignment between sales, marketing, product development and organisational goals. Identify opportunities for revenue diversification and market expansion. Design the organisation’s commercial ecosystem, determining what products and services should be offered, to which markets, through which channels, and at what price. Monitor commercial performance and profitability across all business areas.
• Global Student Recruitment Strategy: Develop and lead the organisation’s global recruitment strategy. Define market prioritisation and geographic distribution strategies. Develop pricing strategies and commission structures for partners and agents. Build and maintain high‑quality international agent networks. Strengthen engagement within the International House World Organisation (IHWO) network. Negotiate and manage exclusivity agreements and distribution partnerships.
• Partnerships and Business Development: Develop strategic partnerships that support student recruitment, programme development, and commercial growth. Build relationships with international education partners, institutions and government bodies. Develop corporate training partnerships. Establish partnerships for the provision of junior summer programmes and educational tourism initiatives. Identify and secure new commercial opportunities globally.
• Portfolio Development and Product Strategy: Shape and develop the organisation’s programme portfolio to ensure competitiveness and market relevance. Influence course design, delivery models and programme innovation. Align product development with market demand and organisational capabilities. Help design market‑specific summer programmes and tailored educational products. Support development of premium and specialist programmes. Incubate and nurture new products and ensure that they are effectively presented to market, properly resourced and scalable in delivery.
• Commercial Analysis and Decision‑Making: Ensure that commercial decision‑making across the organisation is informed by robust data and market intelligence. This includes analysis and reporting on student acquisition costs, customer lifetime value, market profitability, channel performance, and programme and portfolio performance. The role will also oversee market analysis, competitor intelligence, and customer feedback to guide strategic investment decisions.
• Leadership and Team Management: Provide leadership and direction to the commercial team. Line management of the Head of Sales and Head of Marketing. Develop team capability and commercial skills across the organisation. Implement effective performance management systems. Establish KPIs, targets and incentive structures. Ensure competitive and transparent compensation structures linked to performance.
• Commercial Systems and Infrastructure: Ensure that the organisation has effective digital and operational systems to support commercial success. This includes oversight of CRM and student management systems (including Salesforce and School Works), digital marketing platforms, social media, and website performance, data analytics and reporting systems, and the strategic adoption of new technologies, including AI, to enhance recruitment and marketing effectiveness.

Key Performance Indicators: Performance in this role will be assessed against a set of strategic and operational indicators including sustainable revenue growth across the organisation, profit margins and commercial yield across programme areas, growth and quality of international recruitment channels and partnerships, expansion into priority markets, customer lifetime value and retention, portfolio performance and programme innovation, and contribution to the long‑term financial sustainability of the organisation.

Person Specification:

• Essential Experience: Significant senior leadership experience (5 years +) in commercial operation, revenue generation, business development or marketing role within the international education sector or a comparable global service industry. Demonstrable experience of delivering sustained profitable revenue growth and commercial transformation. Experience leading international student recruitment strategies and managing global distribution channels including agents and partners. Experience managing senior commercial teams, including sales and marketing functions. Demonstrable experience developing partnerships with educational institutions, corporate clients, or government organisations. Experience working with data, analytics, and market intelligence to inform commercial strategy and decision‑making.
• Essential Skills and Knowledge: Strong commercial acumen with the ability to translate market insight into strategic action. Ability to design and implement long‑term revenue strategies and sustainable business models. Deep understanding of international education markets and student recruitment ecosystems. Experience managing pricing strategies, commission structures, and partnership frameworks. Ability to analyse complex commercial data including acquisition costs, profitability, and channel performance. Excellent negotiation, partnership development, and relationship management skills. Highly developed leadership skills with the ability to inspire and align teams behind clear commercial objectives. Graduate level or above educational grounding in business management, marketing, and/or other relevant fields would be considered a plus with evidence of ongoing professional development.
• Leadership Attributes: Strategic Vision: Ability to anticipate market trends, identify opportunities and position the organisation for long‑term growth. Commercial Judgement: Ability to make sound, evidence‑based decisions about investment, product development and market priorities. Collaborative Leadership: Ability to work effectively across academic, operational and commercial functions, building alignment across the organisation. External Orientation: A strong focus on market needs, customer experience, and international partnership development. Integrity and Accountability: Commitment to ethical leadership within the context of an educational charity.