Director England Cities British Council Manchester

Job Description: • 2-minute read •
The UK is currently going through an unprecedented number of significant changes. These include leaving the EU, further devolution of powers to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as new powers to city regions in England and the election of mayors. These changes have an impact on our work both in the UK and overseas.

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We believe that to respond effectively to these changes, we need to develop a coherent strategy for the British Council’s work across each of the four nations of the UK, and drive further development on our work with cities. For these reasons, we are now recruiting to the newly created role of Director, England & Cities.


The opportunity:
As Director of England and Cities, you’ll develop and lead implementation of our strategy for England as part of the wider UK Strategy (initially within the ‘Northern Powerhouse’) and the global strategy for Cities.

As such, you’ll take responsibility for stakeholder engagement in the North of England and with city leaders in England. Whilst based in Manchester, you’ll build and maintain relationships across the Northern Powerhouse to improve our visibility, reputation and impact. This will largely be through an Engagement Programme with new partners e.g. the Department for Local Government and Communities, City Councils, faith groups, Diasporas, and others, to integrate our whole offer for key UK audiences.

You will also develop and lead the British Council’s Cities strategy for the whole of the UK and for our global network. This will mean close collaboration with a wide range of senior and operational colleagues to bring coherence to our engagement with cities and city regions, and develop a strategy on how we can support cities with their international ambitions.

Your drive to engage with cities will help us raise the British Council’s profiles, develop new partnerships and opportunities, and help support connecting cities in the UK with cities around the world.

In addition, you will also head up our Manchester office and have overall responsibility for running of the building and staff well-being.

What we require of the successful candidate:
You’ll be a strong strategic leader who is an excellent team worker and collaborates well with others. Additionally, your strong influencing and programme management skills will align with your ability to demonstrate senior level initiative and impact. Your ability to influence and build external relations, at government and executive level, will be key to your success in this role.

You’ll also demonstrate:

• Knowledge and/or experience of the changing political landscape of the UK as they affect England
• Knowledge of the Cities agenda – in the UK and/or globally will be an advantage
• Experience of working with a wide range of stakeholders in the North of England

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