GRA 0223 - Trustee (Commercial)
Founded in 1934, the British Council are a charity incorporated by Royal Charter aiming to support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We deliver our mission through uniquely combining the UK’s rich expertise in arts & culture, education and the English language, our global presence and relationships in over 100 countries, and our unparalleled access to young people with a global reach of 650 million people through face-to-face, digital, and publication and broadcast channels.
We operate a substantial English teaching and assessment revenue-generating arm that helps to support our purpose. We are also a public corporation and non-departmental public body that receives approximately 16% of our £1bn annual turnover in grant aid from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), so we have a unique governance structure and operate under public service scrutiny.
Following a challenging time financially during the pandemic, the British Council has actively been transforming both its business model and strategic delivery in order to fulfil its mission.
Our ambition is to become a truly global, commercially sustainable organisation, and we are looking for a Trustee with significant senior executive experience — ideally at CEO/COO or board level leader — within a complex international business, to join the Commercial Committee which has a remit to advise and provide governance over our commercial strategy, growth and performance. You will bring a demonstrable track record of leading large-scale organisations with substantial P&L responsibility, alongside deep expertise in deploying capital effectively, overseeing business transformation (with an emphasis on digital transformation) and balancing investment across competing priorities. You will be able to add value at the intersection of commercial enterprise, public purpose and regulated environments, and will bring the strategic judgement and confidence to constructively challenge and support management on key business, investment and growth decisions. Importantly, you will bring experience of influencing senior stakeholders and demonstrable ability to collaborate and operate at the highest level.
Ideal candidates will be fully rounded individuals who combine interest and passion in the overall mission of the British Council with collegiate skills, an enquiring mind and a positive attitude and demonstrably high standards of personal integrity and the ability to maintain and build on the values of the organisation – with an enthusiasm for, and understanding of, contemporary UK life and society. Successful candidates will ideally bring past governance and board-level experience.
We particularly welcome candidates from the devolved nations, the regions of England, those with lived experiences in the other countries in which the British Council operates, and candidates from the Global Majority.
It is essential that trustees can devote the necessary time to the role. Currently we are holding a standard six Board meetings plus an Away Day each year and the Board’s committees meet regularly in addition – over the next twelve months we currently anticipate Commercial Committee meetings will be monthly with the exception of holiday periods. We call extra meetings as and when needed. The successful candidate must be prepared to serve on one of our committees.
For further details about the Commercial Trustee, including the job description, person specification, and information on how to apply, please visit https://plusportal.perrettlaver.com/ quoting GRA-0223.
Candidates wishing to apply should submit a CV (including comprehensive details of key achievements and responsibilities) along with a covering letter which fully addresses the competencies outlined in the role description and person specification.
The closing date for applications is 11:59pm on 16 August 2026.
The British Council will be supported in this appointment by the executive search firm Perrett Laver. Any initial enquiries should be directed to Fiona Dattan at fiona.dattan@perrettlaver.com.
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Inclusion
Perrett Laver believes that excellence will be achieved through recognising the value of every individual. A broad range of perspectives, backgrounds and opinions amongst our global community of colleagues is crucial in maintaining our culture of openness, intellectual curiosity, and creativity. We take an active role in supporting under-represented communities and groups in becoming better and more fairly represented in the leadership of all organisations. We also know that diverse and inclusive teams have a positive impact on our ability to identify, engage and secure candidates from these groups.
Our commitment to inclusion across race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, identity, and experience drives us every day – for clients, for candidate identification and in the recruitment, development and retention of colleagues.
To ensure inclusion on the basis of age, disability, ethnic or national origin, family circumstance, gender, gender identity, marital status, nationality, political or religious beliefs, race, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, we would like to specifically invite applications from under-represented groups.
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