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SalaryHead of Learning English Online
Date: 18 Jan 2024
Location: London, UKM, GB
Company: British Council
We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.
We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.
Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021–22 we reached 650 million people.
We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.
Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021–22 we reached 650 million people.
British Council Pay band: Senior Management Pay (SMPs)
Department: Corporate Jobs
Contract type: 2 years Fixed Term Contract (FTC)
Contract type: 2 years Fixed Term Contract (FTC)
Closing Date: Sunday 4th of February, (23:59)
Location:
UK: Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester and London
Europe: Poland, Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Romania, Greece and Bulgaria
You must have the legal right to work in the stated locations above in UK and Europe.There is no relocation or sponsorship support.
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.
Benefits Include, but are not limited to:
- 32 days annual leave, in addition to public holidays
- 3 days volunteering leave
- Career average defined benefit pension scheme
- An unrivalled opportunity for you to get to use all the experience you’ve built up working in and/or leading global organisations to support us in building trust across the world.
Role Purpose:
Working within the British Council’s English Online team, the Head of Learning will play a crucial role in shaping the learning experience, learning materials, and overall educational strategy for our online students. The role will work closely with fellow members of the English Online Leadership Team including the Head of Product, Head of Marketing and Head of Partnerships in English Online to influence the software product design and deliver growth and retention of B2C and B2B clients. The role will ensure that our programme design and delivery is shaped by a detailed understanding of usage data and lesson observations and feedback from our Teaching Excellence Team as well as our clients and stakeholders.
The role will also work closely with colleagues in the Global Product Team to ensure that British Council curriculum and course content are developed or adapted to deliver good educational outcomes and an excellent online learning experience.
Role Context:
English and Exams (E&E) is a commercially-run business with an income of over £700 million per annum generating financial surpluses that are critical to the overall financial sustainability of the British Council.
Our work in English teaching generates annual revenues of nearly £200m annually, with activities spanning a global network of 80 English teaching centres in 50 countries, teaching 400,000 students each year, as well as an emerging portfolio of on-line products and services already reaching over 120 million English learners and teachers annually.
English Online is the British Council’s flagship 100% online offer, currently the British Council’s largest teaching operation. It runs a portfolio of teaching and learning products that serve tens of thousands of learners every month across the globe.
English Online subscription is a premium teaching product aimed at adults learning English at any level. English for Work is a teaching product with a greater emphasis on asynchronous learning. IELTS Coach is a fully customisable course that prepares students for IELTS through group and private classes. English Online Self-Study is a 100% asynchronous course.
Main Accountabilities
Learner Experience
- Ensures that our product development and instructional design delivers an engaging, user-friendly and pedagogically valid online learning experience
- Collaborates with the technology team to integrate innovative tools and features that enhance the learning experience including defining flexible learning pathways, recommendations, assessments, and progress tracking mechanisms.
- Leverages data and analytics to analyse learner behaviour and preferences to suggest product improvements
- Assesses the pedagogical value of new tools and initiatives including AI
Customer and market focus
- Ensures the portfolio is customer-focused, and meets market and business requirements, by leading on, or contributing to, market research, product testing and piloting.
- Responds to issues and requests raised by stakeholders in a timely and appropriate manner.
- Contributes to product training to ensure successful implementation.
- Develops and maintains a sound working knowledge of major developments and issues within the edtech and online ELT market to ensure learning materials are effective and compelling, as well as to build professional credibility, confidence and market insight.
Curriculum and Content Development
- Acts as the pedagogical lead for English Online product
- Works in collaboration with Learning Designers and other colleagues in the Global Product Team to define course syllabi, approach and online learning materials.
- Ensures effective online pedagogy is at the heart of all content briefed, commissioned or adapted for English Online, to support internal staff and external suppliers, and oversees this across all projects
- Puts in place systems and guidance to assure product quality by ensuring that they adhere to British Council brand standards, EDI and accessibilty guidelines, project guidelines and stakeholder requirements.
- Contributes to preparation of project guidelines and briefs internal and external suppliers
Sector and subject expertise
- Provides support and knowledge-sharing activities to build skills and capability in the team in the areas of online pedagogy
Leadership and management
Manages the Content Operations Lead
Role Specific Knowledge and Experience:
- Demonstrable Experience of education digital product development in a commercial context
- Experience of English Language teaching or assessment design
- Experience of working in an agile product development team
- Instructional Design experience
A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.
Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Statement
The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.
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; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.
If you have any problems with your application please email askhr@britishcouncil.org
Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our ‘ASK HR’ email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.
