Head of Talent and Development at British Council

You will be accountable for:

Leadership, influencing and strategy

• Work closely with global T&D colleagues, proactively contributing thoughts, ideas and insight as part of the global T&D leadership team
• Work closely with other CoE leaders in region to contribute to HR strategy and to implement and deliver services in line with HR strategic priorities, ensuring global consistency and regional policy alignment.
• Drive continuous improvement in the British Council’s delivery of talent management, learning & development (processes, policies, guidance and advice) including in-house and outsourced providers.
• Take a lead on maintaining key relationships at both country and regional level whilst working in partnership with recognised external networks in terms of the talent, learning & development agenda and strategy.

Talent Management

• Work with the regional leadership and HR teams to implement the global Talent management framework in region, providing coaching and guidance where necessary to ensure alignment, and effective embedding of all talent management initiatives.
• Work with line managers, regional leadership and the global Head of Talent Management to support the development and deployment of identified talent across the organisation
• Manage the talent management and succession planning process in region, providing support and guidance to HRBPs to enable them to have effective talent conversations with their key stakeholders. Consolidate data and analytics and feed regional observations and challenges into the global process.
• Manage the regional budget for talent management and learning and development activities, monitor, report and provide insights on all activities, including spend and ROI to the global HRD T&D, regional management team and Centres of Expertise.
• Lead on building and embedding talent management capability in the region by up skilling Business Leaders and HR colleagues in key talent areas including succession planning, performance management, learning and development and leadership development
• Ensure policies and practices meet British Council Equality, Diversity and Inclusion standards.

Learning & Development

• Work in partnership with HRBPs and Business Leads to understand changing business needs and define how learning and development initiatives can support those needs.
• Support delivery of the regional people development plan and coordinate resources from the central L&D Transformation team, outsource partners and regional HR teams to deliver on plan commitments.
• To embed the British Council learning philosophy of Experience/Exposure/Education (70/20/10)
• To work with the global L&D Transformation team to build a culture of self-directed learning through a broad, accessible curriculum of on and off the job learning and development opportunities for all employees.
• Ensure that all learning and development activities are underpinned by the British Council values and promote equal opportunities and diversity within the organisation

Leadership Development

• Work in partnership with Global Management & Leadership Development colleagues on supporting leadership development needs in the region through initiatives that embed consistent values-led leadership behaviours, build capability and align leaders to deliver the regional strategy
• To facilitate on-going development and provide coaching support for senior leaders
• To work in partnership with Global Talent Management colleagues and external parties to design and coordinate a schedule of events for senior leaders and high potential staff to develop leadership capability and enable effective matrix working.

Performance Management:

• Work with the global T&D Centre of Expertise to develop and implement a performance culture that encourages & recognises good performance and creates measures that effectively address poor performance
• Promote a focus on quality of performance management conversations including continuous feedback
• To provide support and coaching to leadership teams in region
• Participate in other aspects of HR as agreed from time to time on a project basis.
• Be a visible role model for the British Council’s values and behaviours.

About You (essential requirements for the role):

We are looking for someone with the experience of working in a multinational and multi-cultural organisation across multiple lines of business/divisions, along with the below mentioned requirements:

• Experience of working in a multinational and multi-cultural organisation.
• Experience of working across multiple lines of business/divisions in a matrix environment,
• Proven skills in influencing stakeholders at all levels, getting their buy-in
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills
• Commercial acumen and business understanding, strong business partnering and consulting skills
• Knowledge and understanding of talent management trends and processes
• Experience of balancing requirements from global policies versus regional or local need
• Experience of implementing talent management, performance and development initiatives in a complex matrix environment across multiple geographical locations

Desirable requirements

• Experience of Talent, learning & development in a variety of sectors, ideally private, public and not for profit.
• Skills and knowledge of other areas of HR management e. g. recruitment, staff engagement
• CIPD qualified or equivalent
• A relevant professional qualification such as a diploma or degree level in HR or Talent Management, Learning & Development