Senior Advisor TNE

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. For 90 years we have shaped brighter futures through education, arts, culture, language, and creativity.

Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries.

We connect. We inspire.

Role Purpose

Provide senior leadership to deliver the British Council’s UK Transnational Education (TNE) work within the Going Global Partnerships programme. Ensure activity is strategically aligned with HMG and DA priorities, meets stakeholder needs, and contributes to corporate KPIs through clear tracking, insight and impact reporting. Act as a technical expert and external representative on TNE, leading stakeholder engagement, research and thought leadership, while strengthening the UK’s reputation for high-quality transnational education. Working closely with the Head of TNE, drive delivery of the TNE strategy, including improved data and insight, policy influence, reputation building, and showcasing TNE’s contribution to the SDGs, while embedding equality, diversity and inclusion across all activity.

Main Accountabilities

Strategic Country Leadership

Provide senior leadership for a prioritised portfolio of country engagement across the GGP programme, supporting higher education systems in Europe, MENA and the Americas to engage effectively with TNE and wider programme priorities. Maintain a programme-wide view of TNE ambition, demand and readiness, enabling informed prioritisation, sequencing and resourcing of country-facing activity, while ensuring engagement is contextually appropriate and aligned to strategic objectives.

Programme Coordination and Delivery

Work in close partnership with the Head of TNE, the TNE sub-team and the wider GGP global team to ensure alignment between global strategy, UK sector engagement and country-level delivery. Support Country Directors and teams to clearly articulate the British Council’s TNE offer and operationalise it effectively with governments, regulators and institutions, ensuring consistent and coherent delivery across countries.

Stakeholder Engagement and Technical Leadership

Lead and coordinate relationships with HMG, sector partners and key stakeholders to support alignment, communication and opportunity identification. Provide technical leadership on demand-side TNE and higher education issues, including system readiness, regulatory environments and institutional capability, enabling more strategic and systematic approaches to engagement across countries.

Insight, Coordination and Continuous Improvement

Establish and maintain structured mechanisms for coordination, learning and prioritisation across countries, ensuring insight and good practice inform programme decision-making. Act as a key point of coordination for complex or cross-cutting TNE issues, supporting resolution of barriers and strengthening consistency of approach. Contribute to the ongoing evolution of GGP, ensuring country-facing support remains responsive to shifting demand, policy context and organisational priorities.

Knowledge & Experience

Education

Essential:

• Degree or equivalent experience

Experience

Essential:

• Strategic country and system leadership skills, with the ability to assess country ambition, readiness and demand, prioritise focus countries, and enable effective engagement across Higher Education and TNE contexts.
• Strong relational and influencing capability, enabling effective collaboration with Country Directors, country teams, global GGP colleagues, and close partnership with the Head of TNE and the TNE sub team.
• Deep technical understanding of demand side Higher Education and TNE, and the ability to translate this into practical, country facing support.

Important Information

Location: Role is open to all UK employees (Offices: Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London), including those already on homeworking contracts

Working Arrangement: This position is open to flexible working arrangements including home working

Application Submissions: Please note, we do not accept cover letter submissions for this position

Contract Type: Indefinite

Pay band: Grade 9/D

Right to Work Requirements: You must have the legal right to work in the location in which the role is based.

Languages: Written and verbal proficiency in English is required

Closing date for applications:

23:59pm, Sunday 4 October 2026 (British Summer Time, BST)

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

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from all sections of the community as we believe that a diverse workforce gives added depth to our work. The British Council is a Disability Confident Employer. The Disability Confident scheme helps challenge attitudes, increase understanding of disability and ensure staff are drawn from the widest possible pool of talent. We guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the minimum role requirements. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.

Safeguarding Statement

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 in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.

If you experience any difficulties with submitting your application, please email askhr@britishcouncil.org