Director Education, China

Expires

27th December 2020

The British Council builds connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language. We work in two ways – directly with individuals to transform their lives, and with governments and partners to make a bigger difference for the longer term, creating benefit for millions of people all over the world. We help young people to gain the skills, confidence and connections they are looking for to realise their potential and to participate in strong and inclusive communities. We support them to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications. Our work in arts and culture stimulates creative expression and exchange and nurtures creative enterprise. We connect the best of the UK with the world and the best of the world with the UK. These connections lead to an understanding of each other’s strengths and of the challenges and values that we share. This builds trust between people in the UK and other nations which endures even when official relations may be strained. We work on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2019-20 we connected with 80 million people directly and with 791 million overall, including online and through our broadcasts and publications.

Payband: Senior Management Broadband – SMPS
CNY 789,750 / annum – Gross pay
CNY 635,445 / annum – Net of tax pay
(Local terms and conditions apply)

Contract type: Locally-appointed – Fixed term contract

Duration: 3 years

Role Purpose
The post holder is responsible for leading, developing and delivering a strategic education portfolio of high profile and complex partnerships, programmes and contracts across mixed funding streams and business models across China and supporting regional strategy and agreed projects across the cluster of the advanced economies of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.

The postholder will have extensive knowledge of UK and international higher education and science policy and approaches to internationalisation, including student, staff and leadership mobility, TNE, research, partnerships, international HE policy and practice, HE reform, and related policies such as quality assurance, assessment and recognition of qualifications.

Post holder must ensure an overall balance of impact and financial sustainability; deliver corporate and regional outcomes within the country and cluster context and ensure that benefit is achieved for both China and the UK.

He/she will lead all external facing business and partnership development working closely with CD China, Cluster Lead Advanced Economies and Country and Territory Directors, supported by the Global and EA CE Business Services Teams.

The post holder will also need to demonstrate and communicate impact and value for money; ensure that research, insights and learning generated by country teams and the global Research and Insights Unit are strategic, add value to the UK and cluster countries and are disseminated and inform subsequent programme design; they will possess demonstrable expertise in undertaking detailed analysis of specific sector-related data and applying understanding to form recommendations and shape decisions and demonstrate people management and strong leadership.

The post holder will also lead the stakeholder management strategy (including use of CRM and other supporting systems and tools), operationalising this through the team as appropriate and ensuring alignment and complementarity with the wider regional stakeholder management approach.

The post will report directly to the Director China and has dotted line to Regional Director Education and Society, East Asia. The post will be a key member of both the China Strategy team and the East Asia Cultural Engagement Leadership Team. The postholder will also work closely with Director Education & English, ensuring alignment and coherence of strategic, operational and financial processes across the wider region and with corporate systems and processes. The British Council’s English for Education Systems activities in China report into this role, supported by regional and global specialists.

The postholder should ideally have built a reputation within HE in particular and is respected by peers in the field.

 

Challenges & Accountabilities

Opportunities

  • Ensure British Council’s value proposition and support to the UK education and ELT sector is clear, agreed and communicated.
  • Consider the role of digital products, services and channels in optimising the impact and sustainability of the portfolio, working with regional marketing and digital colleagues.
  • Ensure an appropriate level of market analysis, thought leadership / research is generated and commissioned and meets strategic objectives, working with the Research and Insights Unit

Challenges

  • A focus on supporting internal capacity building, ensuring that teams can access appropriate and cost-effective L&D opportunities and grow their knowledge and skills in education and ELT.
  • To achieve systemic impact in our English for Education System (EES) working with the UK ELT Sector

Requirements

  • In depth understanding of international education market (UK-China HE relations)
  • At least 10 years in International Education Industry- with minimum 5 years focusing on HE / Education
  • Proven experience and credibility gained both in the UK and China
  • Active and up-to-date network of senior level contacts and relations in education in China and UK
  • Previous experience of building effective networks across organization boundaries
  • Experience of collaborating effectively with others to develop solutions to issues where there is not an established framework
  • Experience in leadership a globally dispersed international context
  • Excellent communication skills with the ability to persuade, influence and negotiate with others

Benefits

  • 22 days of Annual Leaves (pro-rated); public holidays – 14 days/year
  • Statutory benefits: national social insurance benefits and housing fund (if applicable)
  • Commercial insurance package including accidental insurance, life insurance, and supplementary medical insurance (if applicable)
  • 13th month salary (subject to terms and conditions)
  • Performance-related pay (subject to terms and conditions)
  • Professional development opportunities

 

Additional Information
While various measures have been put in place by the government to help curb pollution in China, there are still potential health issues associated with the poorer air quality. The British Council does its utmost to provide a working environment that minimises employees’ exposure to pollutants, however, anyone wishing to work in the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou or Chongqing should be aware of the situation.

Note: The postholder will need to be a UK or Chinese passport holder for labour law reasons.

 

NEXT STEPS
To apply, please go to British Council job portal through this link

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

Equality Statement

The British Council is committed to a policy of equality and to valuing diversity and is keen to reflect the diversity of the societies in which we work at every level within the organisation. We welcome applications from all sections of the community. We aim to abide by and promote equality legislation by following both the letter and the spirit of it to avoid unjustified discrimination, recognising discrimination as a barrier to equality of opportunity, inclusion and human rights. All staff worldwide are required to ensure their behaviour is consistent with our policies.
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