The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities.

Role context

You will join the Work/Online Proposition team at a time when the British Council is scaling digital English learning and assessment solutions for employers, governments and partners around the world. Our products help private and public sector organisations address recruitment screening, L&D, career progression, talent management, leadership development, employability and CSR goals. The team brings together customer insight, proposition and product development and commercial delivery, making sure our solutions are market-ready, clearly positioned and supported by the sales tools needed to win and grow business.

The Proposition team is part of English and Exams, which enables people across the world to access the life-changing education and work opportunities that are created by learning English or gaining valuable UK qualifications. Promoting the English language also provides a medium for communication, helping break down barriers of misunderstanding or mistrust between cultures. The British Council’s vision for English is to be the world authority in high-quality English language teaching, learning and assessment.

In this role, you will help turn proposition strategy into practical commercial delivery. This includes supporting go-to-market planning, creating sales enablement materials, contributing to bids and partner opportunities, and using feedback from customers, partners and sales teams to convert into insight that improves market fit and commercial performance.

Role Accountabilities

Relationship Management and Planning: Build and maintain strong relationships with Sales colleagues, key stakeholders and nominated accounts, using Key Account Management plans to achieve agreed commercial and impact targets. Work with Proposition senior managers and Sales and Network colleagues to research and develop go-to-market plans for priority markets.

Business Development: Monitor and report market, customer and stakeholder trends to identify business development opportunities and threats, proposing appropriate responses. Provide subject matter expertise to Sales teams to develop high-quality, competitive and customer-focused proposals that deliver commercial returns and cultural relations impact. Support partner negotiations and agreement signing, working closely with Sales and Marketing teams to ensure initiatives have high-quality content, accurate costing, sound commercial and contractual terms, appropriate risk mitigation, and alignment with corporate priorities and plans.

Brand and Market Positioning: Monitor local market information, customer insights and feedback to maintain the British Council’s commercial competitiveness and professional reputation, highlighting the need for remedial action to senior managers and recommending solutions based on experience and standard business practices. Build effective relationships with Proposition, Sales, Marketing and Product teams, using a range of information-gathering techniques to maintain an up-to-date understanding of market developments and priorities. Contribute to the planning and implementation of promotional campaigns, marketing materials, playbooks, frameworks, PR and outreach activities for channel partners. Participate proactively in designated internal working groups and peer networks to maintain a detailed understanding of current and prospective propositions and apply these insights to business development.

Marketing, Risk and Compliance: Identify opportunities to improve channel development through new promotional, marketing, PR and outreach initiatives. Make evidence-based recommendations to Proposition, Sales and Marketing teams, including potential return-on-investment analysis, to secure the necessary commitment and resources. Contribute to monitoring and evaluating channel partner feedback, identifying service improvement opportunities and proposing plans that respond to business needs and potential threats in line with relevant policies. Support risk mitigation in accordance with British Council corporate policies and frameworks.

Qualifications & Experience

Essentials

• Degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, or a related discipline.
• The British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency in English is required.
• Experience in managing stakeholder relationships.
• Demonstrable experience of working from customer insight to identifying opportunities to improve products and/or services.
• Experience of working in a global organisation.
• Experience of contributing to winning tender responses and pricing

Desirables

• Arabic language skills would be an advantage.
• Experience working with clients and partners, especially in the corporate sector.
• Knowledge of the British Council E&E product portfolio.
• Demonstrable experience of creating a successful engagement strategy for a client group globally.
• Experience of working in online learning/assessment or SaaS, in an Agile environment

• Build and maintain strong relationships with Sales colleagues, key stakeholders and nominated accounts, using Key Account Management plans to achieve agreed commercial and impact targets.
• Work with Proposition senior managers and Sales and Network colleagues to research and develop go-to-market plans for priority markets.
• Monitor and report market, customer and stakeholder trends to identify business development opportunities and threats, proposing appropriate responses.
• Provide subject matter expertise to Sales teams to develop high-quality, competitive and customer-focused proposals that deliver commercial returns and cultural relations impact.
• Support partner negotiations and agreement signing, working closely with Sales and Marketing teams to ensure initiatives have high-quality content, accurate costing, sound commercial and contractual terms, appropriate risk mitigation, and alignment with corporate priorities and plans.
• Monitor local market information, customer insights and feedback to maintain the British Council’s commercial competitiveness and professional reputation, highlighting the need for remedial action to senior managers and recommending solutions based on experience and standard business practices.
• Build effective relationships with Proposition, Sales, Marketing and Product teams, using a range of information-gathering techniques to maintain an up-to-date understanding of market developments and priorities.
• Contribute to the planning and implementation of promotional campaigns, marketing materials, playbooks, frameworks, PR and outreach activities for channel partners.
• Participate proactively in designated internal working groups and peer networks to maintain a detailed understanding of current and prospective propositions and apply these insights to business development.
• Identify opportunities to improve channel development through new promotional, marketing, PR and outreach initiatives.
• Make evidence-based recommendations to Proposition, Sales and Marketing teams, including potential return-on-investment analysis, to secure the necessary commitment and resources.
• Contribute to monitoring and evaluating channel partner feedback, identifying service improvement opportunities and proposing plans that respond to business needs and potential threats in line with relevant policies.
• Support risk mitigation in accordance with British Council corporate policies and frameworks.

• Stakeholder relationship management
• Customer insight analysis
• Product/service improvement identification
• Global organization experience
• Tender response contribution
• Pricing strategy
• Arabic language skills (desirable)
• Client and partner engagement (corporate sector desirable)
• British Council E&E product portfolio knowledge (desirable)
• Client engagement strategy creation (global desirable)
• Online learning/assessment or SaaS experience (Agile environment desirable)

• Degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, or a related discipline
• Written and verbal proficiency in English
• Experience in managing stakeholder relationships
• Demonstrable experience of working from customer insight to identifying opportunities to improve products and/or services
• Experience of working in a global organisation
• Experience of contributing to winning tender responses and pricing