{"id":1895666,"url":"https://alion.io/job/british-council-he-programme-manager","title":"HE Programme Manager","company":{"id":92807,"name":"British Council","domain":"britishcouncil.org","url":"https://alion.io/company/britishcouncil-org","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Eightfold","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":90,"open_postings":25,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.32,"repost_share":0.12,"time_to_fill_p50_days":51,"computed_at":"2026-10-05T05:45:15Z"}},"role":"Management","role_family":"Management","seniority":null,"employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":["South Africa"],"countries":["ZA"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":true,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-22T10:15:05Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-05","last_verified_at":"2026-10-06T00:00:09Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":13,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":13},"description":"As a valued employee of the British Council, you already help us deliver our mission to support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. For over 90 years we have shaped brighter futures through education, arts, culture, language, and creativity.\nYou are part of our organisation in over 200 countries and territories and where we are on the ground in more than 100 countries.\nWe connect. We inspire.\n\nRole Purpose\nThe British Council is seeking an experienced and strategic HE Programme Manager to contribute to the development, planning and delivery of the Higher Education portfolio in South Africa.\nThe role will support the successful delivery of programmes across student mobility and internationalisation, tertiary education partnerships, science collaborations and non-formal education initiatives. The postholder will play a key role in programme delivery, stakeholder engagement, business development and income generation while ensuring projects achieve their intended impact and align with British Council strategic objectives.\nIn South Africa, the role requires a strong understanding of the higher education landscape and the ability to build and maintain effective relationships with government stakeholders, higher education institutions, donors, researchers, alumni and other sector partners. The successful candidate will help position the British Council as a trusted partner and thought leader in the education sector while championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) throughout programme delivery.\nRole Accountabilities\nStrategy and Planning\nContribute to the development and implementation of the country Higher Education strategy and annual business plan.\nEnsure alignment between country priorities, global Education strategy and wider Cultural Engagement objectives.\nContribute to impact measurement, evidence generation and reporting across the portfolio.\nLeadership and Programme Management\nLead and coordinate the delivery of Higher Education programmes and projects in South Africa.\nEnsure compliance with British Council programme management standards, policies and procedures.\nMonitor project performance, risks, budgets and impact indicators.\nEmbed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion principles into programme design and delivery.\nBusiness Development\nSupport income generation and business development activities.\nIdentify funding opportunities and maintain relationships with donors, partners and clients.\nContribute to proposal development, contract negotiations and bid writing.\nStakeholder Management and Market Positioning\nBuild and maintain strong relationships with government departments, universities, educational institutions, multilateral agencies, researchers, alumni and sector partners.\nRepresent the British Council at events, forums and stakeholder meetings.\nPromote UK-South Africa education partnerships and sector collaboration.\nFinancial and Commercial Management\nManage programme budgets and ensure effective financial oversight.\nMonitor expenditure, income and performance against agreed targets.\nSupport planning, forecasting and reporting processes.\nMarket Insight and Research\nDevelop and share insights on the South African higher education landscape.\nSupport research and thought leadership activities that strengthen the British Council's position in the sector. \nEssential Requirements\nEducation\nDegree or equivalent professional experience.\nProject management qualification or equivalent experience. \nExperience\nExperience delivering externally funded projects or programmes.\nExperience pursuing and managing client-funded contracts.\nExperience overseeing monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) activities.\nStrong stakeholder management experience across government, higher education institutions, donors and partner organisations.\nExperience embedding Equality, Diversity and Inclusion principles into programmes.\nStrong programme and project management capabilities.\nExcellent written communication, reporting and presentation skills.\nAbility to engage effectively with senior stakeholders. \nDesirable\nKnowledge of international student mobility trends.\nUnderstanding of transnational education and international partnerships.\nAbility to analyse equality issues and identify opportunities to promote inclusion across programmes. \nImportant Information\nLocation: South Africa\nPay Band: PB7\nDepartment: Cultural Engagement\n Contract Type: Indefinite (IDC)\nLanguage Requirement: Written and verbal proficiency in English is essential. \nEquality, Diversity and Inclusion\nThe British Council is committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone is treated equitably and with respect. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and actively encourage diversity in our workforce. We are committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.\nBackground Checks\nEmployment with the British Council is subject to satisfactory background checks both before appointment and periodically during employment, as required. The nature of checks will depend on the role and applicable local legislation.\nRight to Work\nApplicants must have the legal right to work in South Africa at the time of application and for the duration of employment. The British Council does not provide visa sponsorship, relocation support or immigration assistance for this role.\nClosing Date:\n11:59 PM IST, Monday, 19th October 2026\n8:29 PM South Africa Time (SAST), Monday, 19th October 2026.\n A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.\nEquality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement\nWe 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.\nSafeguarding Statement\nThe 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) 1989. 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.\nIf you experience any difficulties with submitting your application, please email ","description_format":"text","description_chars":7054,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[{"language":"English","level":"Advanced (C1)","optional":false}]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"South Africa","iso":"ZA","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Higher Education"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-05T08:07:39Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"GB","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"Licensed UK visa sponsor (Senior or Specialist Worker, Skilled Worker)","filings_12m":null,"filings_prev_12m":null,"green_card_filings_12m":null,"median_offered_wage_usd":null,"route":"Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker; Skilled Worker","cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-03T21:09:13+00:00","sources":["UK Home Office: register of licensed sponsors (workers)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":85,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.846,"p_room":1,"age_days":13,"expected_fill_days":51,"reasons":["conf:1","win:early"],"computed_at":"2026-10-06T01:55:02Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/british-council-he-programme-manager","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/british-council-he-programme-manager.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-06T01:55:02Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":2830,"day_limit":5000,"remaining_today":2170,"minute_limit":60,"resets_at":"2026-10-07T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":92807},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=92807"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fbritish-council-he-programme-manager"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fbritish-council-he-programme-manager"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fbritish-council-he-programme-manager"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/british-council-he-programme-manager\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fbritish-council-he-programme-manager"}]}