Programme Manager, Education

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.

British Council Payband 6

Contract Type: Indefinite Contract

Location: Manila, Philippines

Closing Date: 1st February 2026

You must have the legal right to work in Philippine at the time of application.
There is no relocation or sponsorship support.

Role Purpose:

• The post holder will lead the successful delivery of a range of programmes or projects from start to finish, including managing the contract or project plan, managing client or internal stakeholders, successfully achieving reporting and meeting compliance standards.

Accountabilities/Responsibilities: 

Relationship & Stakeholder management

• Has relationships with delivery partners and stakeholders within the country and can procure services and contract delivery partners.
• Holds suppliers to account for delivering against contract.
• Build strong internal relationships and networks

Commercial and Financial Management

• Ensure sound financial planning, working closely with finance teams to ensure British Council and client financial year plans are up to date.
• Ensure accurate and timely monthly (re)forecasting is in place, by running regular reports in the SAP system on actuals, monitoring outstanding purchase orders, reviewing commitments, analysing and commenting on reasons for variances to plan, and recommending corrective actions.
• Monitoring monthly finances, including correct expenditure, ensuring the P2P process is being followed, and correcting any mis-postings or journals needed.
• Lead on British Council, partner or client reporting (including, with Finance Manager, financial reporting) and ensure reports are delivered on time, to budget and to a high standard.
• Compliance with BC financial policies and procedures.

Project Management

• Contributes to the development of, owns, and delivers on the Project Management Plan
• Identifies risks in a project or programme and puts together mitigation strategies with SRO
• Responsible for internal and client procurement, contracting, compliance, and reporting pm
• Checks on and reports on compliance
• Manages procurement on a project/programme
• Responsible for data management, including timely data entry, quality assurance of data, undertaking basic analysis of monitoring data, and developing progress reports to meet funding needs
• Undertaking programme-specific data collection as needed. This includes working with colleagues to identify indicators and tools for data collection, quality-assuring all data, and undertaking basic analysis.

Business Development

• Supports the identification and development of professional networks, relationships, and partnerships to increase the British Council's impact and reputation.
• Ensures high-quality and accurate pipeline data for the country/pillar.
• Conducts specific pipeline and partner/competitor analysis to contribute to business development planning and prioritisation.
• Provides support with the development of new business proposals, ensuring that internal and external professional standards are met.

EDI

• To actively contribute to an inclusive and anti-racist organisational culture, being aware of your own biases, and taking action to mitigate against these. Ensuring people feel valued and are treated equitably, with support for people's well-being and mental health.
• Understand the British Council's approach to equality, diversity, and inclusion and how it applies to your role, and make time for learning and development relating to EDI and anti-racism  

Role specific knowledge and experience: 

Minimum/Essential Requirements

• An undergraduate degree or equivalent relevant experience
• Experience in managing projects from start to finish and familiarity with project life cycles.
• Proven experience in managing project finances and managing documents.
• Experience working in project or programme management.
• Experience in using technology in project delivery.
• Experience working in project or programme management.
• Confident user of information technology (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Microsoft 365 functionality, and working knowledge of British Council SAP system (or similar software)

Desirable Requirements

• Foundation-level Project Management certificate
• Experience in managing stakeholders
• Good understanding and experience of supporting monitoring and evaluation

Language Requirements

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

Travel requirements

• The role may include occasional travel within the territory, region, or internationally.

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 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