Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - Cultural Engagement

Join the British Council as our Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - Cultural Engagement

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Cultural Engagement department of the British Council; a team responsible for delivering a global portfolio of programmes in Arts, Education and English, working with partners across the world, and connecting millions of people with the UK.

You will be shaping and driving Cultural Engagement's EDI business priorities, contributing to the wider corporate EDI strategy and helping ensure our work has a positive impact for people from all backgrounds.

Salary: £50,635 - £62,000 (dependent on experience)

In this role, you will:

• Be supporting a fair and inclusive organisational culture within the Cultural Engagement department of the British Council, through embedding Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in plans, processes, and behaviours.
• Ensure that everyone who engages with us – colleagues, partners, and programme participants - feels treated with respect and dignity.
• Work with the Cultural Engagement Executive Team to develop their leadership and accountability in EDI, to build an inclusive culture, and to drive forward progress against corporate EDI KPIs, with a particular focus on addressing under-representation and barriers to progression.
• Provide and deploy professional EDI leadership to embed EDI in our portfolio of programmes, so that our work has a positive impact for people from different equality backgrounds, and that we build trusting, mutually beneficial relationships for the UK.
• Help build a compelling narrative around the difference we are making to people’s lives in the world, and how we are supporting the UK’s contribution to the SDGs.
• Have responsibility for line management of EDI roles in Cultural Engagement and for ensuring collaboration with staff support networks including the Global Disability Working Group and Minority Ethnic Working Group.
• Work with a wide and diverse range of internal and external stakeholders, with the Diversity Unit and Regional EDI leads, to ensure a consistent approach across the organisation.  

What you will be doing

Strategy & Planning

· Shape and drive Cultural Engagement’s EDI business priorities, action plan and accountability framework, contributing to the corporate EDI strategy and one British Council.

· Contribute to policy papers, reports, and communications on our approach to EDI for internal and external stakeholders.

· Track and analyse trends, drawing on external research and evidence to inform, shape and benchmark our work in EDI.

Leadership and Management

· Work with the Cultural Engagement leadership team and others to foster a fair and inclusive organisational culture, so that all colleagues feel valued and are treated equitably.

· Ensure that corporate EDI priorities identified by the Diversity Unit and the global EDI team are addressed systematically, adopting a one British Council approach. 

Relationship and Stakeholder Management

· Work closely with the Diversity Unit and Regional EDI leads/ EDI groups to ensure Cultural Engagement EDI work is mutually reinforcing and grounded in professional practice and experience.  

Sector/subject expertise 

· Apply understanding of British Council’s Equality policy, EDI strategy and tools in strategic and operational decision-making. 

Building EDI capability

· Lead on commissioning and analysing research and equality data to identify issues and opportunities in EDI, set objectives. and track progress, in consultation with the Diversity Unit and the Research, Policy and Insight team. 

Please see the detailed job description on our Careers website for more information on accountabilities and what this role entails.

Requirements

What you will need to bring:

• Experience of providing strong leadership in EDI, formalised in a role, in a large, international, culturally diverse organisation.
• Knowledge and application of EDI-themed theory, frameworks, and methodologies sufficient to support professional credibility in one or more EDI areas. (e.g. Critical race theory, models of disability)
• Strong understanding of and ability to apply EDI approaches through the programme development and implementation cycle, in the cultural and education sectors.
• Proven ability to deliver change and improvement that can be applied to support better EDI outcomes.
• Ability to relate to, engage with and respond to the needs and issues of diverse and marginalised groups of people, drawing on intercultural awareness, understanding and experience.
• Motivation and commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and anti-racism, demonstrated through an understanding of the British Council’s approach and of equality considerations relevant to the role.

Our Benefits

• Salary of £50,635 - £62,000 (dependent on experience)
• Excellent occupational pension scheme with the Civil Service
• Generous annual leave allowance (32 days plus public holidays)
• Family-friendly benefits to support you to balance work and family responsibilities
• Flexible working options to fit your current lifestyle
• Learning and career development opportunities
• Voluntary benefits inc. Gym discounts, Cycle to Work, Eye Care, MyDiscounts

About the British Council

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.

Working in the Cultural Engagement department

The Cultural Engagement department of the British Council is responsible for delivering a global portfolio of programmes in Arts, Education and English, working through partners across the world, connecting millions of people with the UK.

We support the British Council’s vision for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion through seeking to build a fair and inclusive culture based on consistently high standards and our values – open and committed, expert and inclusive, optimistic and bold.

We achieve this through a mainstreaming approach, by embedding EDI into our plans, processes and behaviours, and through strong senior leadership, ownership and accountability for EDI across our global team. 

Progress has been made over recent years, with committed leadership and investment in EDI resourcing. EDI is integrated into the Cultural Engagement business plan, with clear KPIs. EDI is now a specific accountability area and core skill in all role profiles. EDI is integrated into our programmes in Arts, Education and English to ensure that our work has a positive impact for people from different equality backgrounds.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Our work is based on building meaningful, enduring and respectful relationships across different cultures. We cannot do this without a strong commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. Find out more about our strategy and how we ensure EDI is central to everything we do.

https://www.britishcouncil.org/about-us/our-values/equality-diversity-inclusion