Role Profile
Job Description
Job Title
Director Wales
Directorate or Region
UK Region
Department/Country
Wales
Location of post
Cardiff
Pay Band
9
Reports to
Regional Director
UK
Duration of job
Full time - Indefinite Contract
Purpose of job:
To provide strategic direction and leadership for the country operation, ensuring a positive engagement
with educational and cultural organisations important for our work in Wales, and the development of
partnerships, programmes and international activities that are sensitive to their requirements.
Provides effective management of resources to deliver agreed business changes and impact targets. As
a member of the UK Regional Leadership Team, contributes to the development of regional strategy and
policy and the implementation of new models of operation for effective regional working in the UK
This is an important leadership role in a complex and politically sensitive UK stakeholder environment.
The British Council enjoys a strong reputation with important and prominent partners in Wales and the
post holder will be responsible for maintaining and developing this profile and prominence. There is also
a significant Regional leadership element to this post, ensuring Wales’ best assets in Arts, Education and
Society are fully engaged in our programmes.
Context and environment: (e.g. dept description, region description, organogram)
The Wales Directorate is part of the UK Region Team. The UK Region’s Mission is:
To deliver maximum impact in the UK from our International Cultural Relations work.
Working across the organization it seeks to achieve:
Impact in the UK – with a focused selection of British Council programmes and projects generating
activity, reaching targeted audiences, involving the right people and helping the UK become more open
and internationally connected; and
Impact for the UK – by involving the best the UK has to offer in Arts, English Language and Education
and Society in our programmes and projects. The UK Region works to ensure the full diversity of the 4
UK countries is represented in our work, aligned with and useful to the needs of our partners in the UK
Governments, Private and Voluntary Sectors and beyond.
The team of 30 in Cardiff works to bbuild trust, helping people in the UK and other countries to work
together to address global challenges, and providing opportunity for people in the UK and other
countries to meet their aspirations for better, more prosperous lives. It offers a clear Welsh contribution
to our international Cultural Relations work and seeks to raise the international profile and influence of
Wales in target countries, regions and sectors through British Council activity and through working with a
broad range of partners.
As it states in our Corporate Plan by 2014 the British Council will be a partnering organisation. The
Wales Directorate must play a prominent role in developing and delivering partnership opportunities for
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the organisation for the future.
In Wales: We have c. 30 colleagues from the UK Regional Team, our Programmes and Project
(Delivery) team, the Education and Society and Arts teams as well as other Corporate Departments
working together to achieve:
 Strong connections and positive perceptions of our work within the Welsh Government
 Partnerships with every part of the education sector, contributing to Wales’ global outlook and
reputation through the exchange of people and ideas
 High profile for Welsh universities and colleges round the world, attracting international talent and
enhancing students’ experience
 Increased people to people engagement across hundreds of schools in Wales and the rest of the
UK, through managing Welsh Government programmes and UK-Wide initiatives such as the
Higher Education mobility programme Erasmus.
 Access to the best of Wales’ arts, culture and creativity internationally.
 International recognition for Wales’ model of 21st century participative democracy in a devolved
country context
So that we can:
 Help build an outward-looking, internationally-oriented Wales
 Achieve recognition for Wales as a global hub for knowledge and creativity
 Maximize the contribution from Wales to the British Council's international representation of the
nations and communities of the UK
Accountabilities, responsibilities and main duties:
(including people management and finance)
 As member of UK Regional Leadership Team you will contribute to regional strategy, policy
making, and the implementation of new models of operation for effective and efficient regional
working in the UK
 To maintain an up to date knowledge of the current Welsh constituency and its activities ensuring
that the British Council continues to respond effectively to the dynamics created by greater
devolution of powers to Governments within the UK
 To develop strong and effective external relationships with targeted contacts in Wales to support
the regional strategy; develop partnerships and programmes that are sensitive to top stakeholders’
cultural relations requirements and help us create larger-scale activities with partners
 Contribute to the identification, design and development of projects, products and strategies that
reflect the diversity of the UK, with particular reference to Wales, and which support the
achievement of the British Council’s commitments to devolution
 To ensure that the Wales team’s contribution to British Council’s products and programmes is
recognised both within the organisation, nationally and overseas
 To ensure that key cultural and educational developments in Wales are identified early and
communicated to colleagues and overseas partners so that opportunities for collaboration and
partnership are grasped
 To implement country business plans and be accountable for management of risk and delivery of
agreed performance targets
 To ensure achievement of the business plan through effective leadership of the country operation
 To identify, maintain and develop strategic partnerships to extend the scale of the impact the Wales
Directorate has
 To ensure effective talent management in country
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Key relationships: (include internal and external)
The post holder will be expected to have a proven track record of actively and successfully nurturing
relationships with top-level stakeholders and contacts in a politically sensitive environment. A record of
success in partnership development and fundraising activity for international activity will be an advantage.
External: The post holder will be expected to have, or be able to develop quickly, a strong set of high
level contacts and relationships with organizations in Wales that will be critical to the successful delivery
of international cultural relations activity. These include, inter alia, the appropriate people and divisions
within the Welsh Government, National Assembly for Wales, Higher and Further Education, the Arts, and
Creative Industries particularly Arts Council Wales and Wales Arts International, etc
Internal: Executive Board, and through them the Board of Trustees. The Management Board, including
targeted Regions of greater interest to Wales’ plans and internationalisation strategies.
Other important features or requirements of the job
(e.g. travel, unsocial/evening hours, restrictions on employment etc)
Please specify any
Must be eligible to work in the UK
passport/visa and/or nationality
requirement.
Please indicate if any security
CRB
or legal checks are required
for this role.
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Person Specification
Essential
Behaviours
Desirable
- Creating shared purpose – most
demanding
Assessment
stage
Interview
- Connecting with others – most
demanding
- Working together – most
demanding
- Being accountable - most
demanding
- Shaping the future – most
demanding
Skills and
Knowledge
Financial planning and
management
Short listing
& Interview
Business management and
development (level 3)
 Business strategy
 Managing risk
 Managing relationships with
customers, clients and
stakeholders
Communications (highest level)
Strong written and speaking skills particularly to support
representational work and media
handling in a demanding media
environment
Wales knowledge
Up to date knowledge and
understanding of contemporary
Wales, including its politics,
institutions of governance,
education system and business
environment. The post holder
should have a demonstrable ability
to use his/her networks for
business development and
advantage.
The post holder should already
have credibility amongst key
stakeholders. Allied to this he/she
must have a proven ability to
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Resourcing team November 2010
project this expertise authoritatively
in a Welsh and pan-UK context.
Experience
Stakeholder and relationship
management
Proven track record of identifying
and successfully developing
relationships with stakeholders of
the most senior (e.g. ministerial)
level in a politically sensitive
environment
Experience of the
management and
delivery of complex
cultural relations
programmes
Short listing
& Interview
Proven experience in managing
internal as well as external
stakeholders, and in successfully
managing stakeholders with
differing/conflicting agendas
Partnership building and income
generation
Proven ability to identify, develop
and manage relationships with
potential major partners across a
range of sectors and industries,
including proposal and negotiation.
Proven, recent record in attracting
significant resources for
international programme activities.
Qualifications
Degree level or above
Short listing
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Resourcing team November 2010
Submitted by
Colm McGivern
Date
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5th March 2012
Resourcing team November 2010
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Resourcing team November 2010