Director English and School Education

British Council
Pay Band SMP 9

Department:
People Function

Location:
Lahore/Islamabad/Karachi, Pakistan

Contract:
Indefinite Contract (permanent role)

Apply by:
Sunday, 30th Nov, 20:00 hrs Local time

Interview window:
11th to 15th Dec 2025

This role is open to applicants who already have the legal right to work in Pakistan at the time of application. Relocation and visa sponsorship are not available. The British Council supports flexible working, including hybrid arrangements, subject to line manager approval and operational requirements.

Role Context

The English and School Education portfolio in Pakistan is responsible for leading contracts and programmes that deliver sustainable, impact-driven, and income-generating results. The role ensures achievement of financial, quality, and impact targets aligned with global frameworks and country plans, while facilitating knowledge exchange with regional and global teams. The portfolio's purpose is to strengthen teaching and learning across formal and non-formal basic education systems through three global programme streams: English Connects (professional development and communities of practice), School Systems (support to governments on language policy, foundational learning, teacher development, equitable EdTech, and gender equity), and Empowerment (building English, digital, and core skills for girls, young women, displaced and marginalised groups, and persons with disabilities).

The team delivers this work across Pakistan through policy engagement, research, capacity building, and technical assistance in assessment and curriculum, supported by grant-funded, co-funded, and full-cost recovery programmes. Working closely with UK and international partners, federal and provincial Ministries of Education, and major donor agencies, the portfolio contributes to improving access to and quality of English teaching nationwide. With a strong focus on women and girls and an extensive set of high-profile programmes—including for the UK Government and UNICEF—the British Council's Pakistan operation is a super-priority market, with 300 staff across six locations reaching over 20 million people annually.

Main responsibilities

The role is responsible for translating global corporate strategies into a high-impact, profitable, and market-responsive programme for English and School Education in Pakistan. This includes leading complex commercial analyses, setting annual business plans, defining
local team targets, monitoring performance, and taking corrective action when needed. It also requires ensuring alignment with global programme ambitions, leveraging UK partnerships to demonstrate benefit to the UK, and building long-term commercial capability. The position provides strategic leadership across planning, programme design, and contribution to wider sector strategy within the global pillar and regional Cultural Engagement portfolio.

As the senior leader for the portfolio in country, the role provides inspirational leadership that models organisational values and ensures team performance, capability development, and adherence to equity, diversity, and inclusion principles. It involves managing geographically dispersed staff, overseeing programme implementation, and cultivating internal and external networks to enhance market positioning. Responsibilities cover defining and implementing marketing and communications strategies; monitoring market and competitor intelligence; and ensuring brand consistency and visibility across Pakistan, the region, and globally. The role also leads business development by assuring bid quality, taking pursuit and contracting decisions, securing expert inputs, negotiating strategically important partnerships, and ensuring alignment with global strategy.

The position stewards complex stakeholder, partner, and key account relationships to achieve commercial and impact targets. It monitors account performance, adapts strategies, shares insights to strengthen corporate capability, and coaches junior colleagues. It oversees sector data analysis, monitoring and evaluation systems, and applies deep technical expertise to influence policy and advance thought leadership in external forums. The role also provides high-level consultancy and problem solving, turning complex evidence into persuasive business cases. Finally, it ensures strong commercial and financial governance through regular performance reporting, KPI tracking, and variance mitigation in partnership with relevant business support teams.

Role-Specific Skills

• Able to lead on strategy development for a varied portfolio within the English and/or school education sector.
• Able to lead on the development and implementation of quality standards for English / education.

EDI core skills

• Recognises and acts to reduce bias, including unconscious bias
• Works inter-culturally, includes and values diverse perspectives and experiences
• Makes decisions and takes actions based on an evidenced understanding of the experiences and barriers for people from diverse equality backgrounds
• Actively listens and communicates with empathy and openness

Role specific knowledge and experience

Minimum/essential

• Experience in a leadership role which involves oversight and accountability for leading and/or developing and delivering capacity building education programmes
• Proven track record and strong experience in designing and managing education-focused programmes in Pakistan which deliver outcomes for all boys and girls
• Experience of leading proposals/bids for international development education programmes which deliver results in partnership with national/federal Ministries of Education
• Good evidence of designing and implementing stakeholder engagement strategies and stakeholder management of diverse groups of stakeholders (including multilateral agencies, donors, government officials, partners, academics)
• Established credibility in the field of education including evidence of thought leadership within the sector
• Experience of leading a medium to large team to deliver results against agreed targets.

Desirable

• Demonstrable understanding of language in education policies and issues as relevant to the country context
• Experience of designing and leading teacher education projects, including online
• Experience of designing and working on projects related to the English language subject area

Qualification

Minimum/essential

• Undergraduate or postgraduate degree in education-related subject area

Desirable

• Masters in ELT, Educational Technology, Education and International Development or similar subject area
• English teaching qualification
• Project management qualification

Language Requirements

• The British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency in English is required. (C1 Level)