Job Description

Details

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Reference number

424292
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Salary

60,000
In the UK, the starting salary is 60,000 per annum, with the final offer negotiable based on skills and experience. London-based candidates also receive an additional 3,300 annual London Market Allowance (LMA). Benefits include 32 days of annual leave plus public holidays, 3 days of volunteering leave, and a career average defined benefit pension scheme.
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
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Job grade

Other###

Contract type

Permanent###

Business area

People Function /HR/Human Resource###

Type of role

Human Resources###

Working pattern

Flexible working###

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

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Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information

Location

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Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London

About the job

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Job summary

Role Context

This role is a part of global Total Reward Centre of Expertise, partnering with commercial leaders and regional teams to design and implement performance-aligned reward frameworks that attract, retain, and motivate talent. With support from the wider team and the Director of Total Reward, the role will lead the development of commercial incentive schemes that drive revenue, margin, and customer outcomes, ensuring they are market-aligned and self-funding. It will also contribute to shaping global reward policies and practices, addressing emerging business needs and supporting strategic transformation initiatives.


In addition to its global focus, the role includes leadership responsibilities within the Total Reward team, helping build commercial reward capability and guiding team members to deliver the reward strategy effectively. It will work closely with other Total Reward Business Partners, the Global Benefits Policy Lead, and the Reward Analyst to ensure cohesive and responsive reward solutions. A deep understanding of British Council's strategic context and global reward trends is essential to succeed in this role.

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Job description

Main responsibilities

The role requires deep professional services expertise in total reward, leveraging best practices and strategic insight to shape global, regional, and business-specific reward strategies. The role-holder will lead the design and implementation of commercial reward frameworks--including incentive schemes, bonus plans, and performance-linked pay structures--ensuring they are self-funding and aligned with business performance metrics. This includes developing ROI models, benchmarking against market standards, and integrating commercial reward with broader total reward strategies. The role also supportscapability building within the Total Reward team through coaching, tools, and knowledge sharing, while staying current with external reward trends and practices.


In a consultative capacity, the role partners with commercial leaders to translate strategic goals into effective reward solutions, offering expert advice on governance, risk, and compliance. It involves working with analytics teams to develop data dashboards and insights that inform evidence-based decisions. The role also contributes to solving cross-functional reward challenges and supports the development of communication materials and training for leadership teams. Strong stakeholder management is key, including maintaining relationships with regional and business unit leaders, consulting with UK Trade Union representatives, and ensuring alignment of reward initiatives with organisational goals.

Role-Specific Knowledge & Experience

Minimum/essential

Experience of designing and implementing commercial reward schemes in a global or multi-region context Strong understanding of incentive design, performance metrics, and ROI modelling Experience working in or with commercial business units Experience of utilising People function and reward data and analytics to inform reward strategy and design work and provide insights to business leaders Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to work across functions and geographies Experience in coaching or developing reward capability in others Knowledge of global reward trends and commercial benchmarking practices

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Education & Professional Qualification

Evidence of completing Total Reward-specific formal training through CIPD or equivalent bodies (e.g., WorldatWork), covering areas such as pay structure design, reward strategy development, and effective communication of reward practices.

Language Requirements

The British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency in English is required. ###

Person specification

Role-Specific Skills

Data Literacy

Data-driven: Grasps and uses data to inform decisions and practice (Exemplary)

Business Acumen

Commercial Fluency: Understands organizational financial requirements and performance (Developing/Exemplary) Context Interpretation: Applies insight into external trends and organizational factors (Developing)

Digital Agility

Technology Empowered: Integrates technology to build efficient, scalable HR solutions (Developing)

People Advocacy

Risk Mitigation & Ethics: Ensures ethical conduct, compliance, and mitigates people-related risks (Developing)

Execution Excellence

Problem Solving: Finds practical solutions to overcome obstacles (Developing) Interpersonal Skills: Uses effective interpersonal skills to achieve shared goals (Developing/Exemplary)

Benefits

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Alongside your salary of 60,000, British Council contributes 17,382 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
In the UK, the starting salary is 60,000 per annum, with the final offer negotiable based on skills and experience. London-based candidates also receive an additional 3,300 annual London Market Allowance (LMA). Benefits include 32 days of annual leave plus public holidays, 3 days of volunteering leave, and a career average defined benefit

pension scheme.

This role is open to applicants who already have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. Relocation and visa sponsorship are not available. The British Council supports flexible working, including

hybrid arrangements

, subject to line manager approval and operational requirements.

Things you need to know

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Selection process details

Please apply on our career site



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.###

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .



See our vetting charter .
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.###

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.###

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:


UK nationals nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements
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Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.###

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

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This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.###

Contact point for applicants

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Job contact :

Name : AskHR@britishcouncil.org Email : AskHR@britishcouncil.org
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Recruitment team

* Email : AskHR@britishcouncil.org