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 Pay Band 9
Department: Digital and Technology
Location: UK offices in (London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, and anyone on pre-existing homeworking contracts in the UK)
Location: UK offices in (London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, and anyone on pre-existing homeworking contracts in the UK)
Contract: Fixed Term Contract (1 year )
Apply by: 03 rd Aug 2025 23:59 UK time
Interview window: 03 rd week of Aug
Apply by: 03 rd Aug 2025 23:59 UK time
Interview window: 03 rd week of Aug
The starting salary for this role is £55,699 per annum, negotiable based on skills and experience. An additional London Market Allowance (LMA) of £3,300 per year will be provided to candidates based in London.
Benefits:
- 32 days annual leave, in addition to public holidays
- 3 days volunteering leave Career average defined benefit pension scheme
This role is open for applications from employees who are currently located and have the right to work in the UK The successful candidate will remain in their current location/entity
You must have the legal right to work in UK at the time of application as there is no relocation or sponsorship support.
British Council supports working in new ways such as hybrid working, subject to full approval by line management and conditional upon our ability to provide the appropriate level of service. This may not be appropriate for all roles but can be explored at interview.
Role purpose
The British Council collects and manages digital first revenues of over £250m each year.
As the Principal Payment Platform, you oversee the team, strategy and delivery of digitally enabled Payments, including the payment methods we offer; how we manage and process them (and refunds); and the technology we use.
Collaborating closely with colleagues across the organisation – including within the Payments team, across Finance and the business, your role is there to:
- Define and deliver a 5-year strategy, updated on a regular basis as the business context changes.
- Lead the interrogation of user needs to build and maintain an improvements backlog.
- Own and prioritise the roadmap to ensure we’re developing the right things for our customers, closely liaising with the product teams in Digital & Technology, E&E and Cultural Engagement.
- Oversee the development and growth of the Payments team, working closely with colleagues across Digital and Technology and the wider organisation.
You will be practiced at working openly leading a multidisciplinary team that collaborates globally to continue to deliver our next generation digital payment systems.
Role Context
The Digital and Technology Directorate leads the British Council’s digital strategy and transformation. It creates and executes technology initiatives to fulfil the organisation’s mission and corporate priorities.
Key focus areas are:
- Creating digital products that attract and retain customers, delivering business value through digital design and delivery expertise.
- Developing and optimising digital platforms that provide seamless customer interactions and use scalable and secure capabilities.
- Enhancing digital capability across the organisation. Enabling growth, impact and efficiency through technology.
Digital and Technology is a global Directorate organised into four divisions: Product, Engineering, Operations and Performance which collectively create digital products and services, maintain, and improve products, services and platforms and optimise performance. Areas of responsibility include digital and technology strategy, architecture, infrastructure, software, development, data, innovation, and cybersecurity. It ensures that technology initiatives are customer and value focused, accessible, efficient, and secure.
You are a leader in the Product unit, which drives the creation and deployment of new technology products and cross functional teams to support the One British Council’s customer centric agenda. Our experts deploy change through a bottom-up approach, using customer needs and opportunities to drive technology choices that support the wider organisation’s commercial and non-commercial ambitions.
Main responsibilities
Leadership & management
- Own, manage and prioritise the backlog and roadmap for digital-first Payments.
- Own, advocate and continually develop the strategy for digital-first payments within the British Council, ensuring buy-in from key stakeholders within the commercial business.
- Own and develop a community of practice within the organisation for Payments including hosting regular sessions with interested stakeholder relating to its future.
- Lead and nurture payments specialists and the wider payments community, guiding and mentoring them to achieve their professional growth and team’s objectives.
- Provide effective management to ensure clear accountabilities, efficient workflow, and collaboration among team members.
- Experience developing and delivering product strategy;
- Lead to inspire innovation, drive change, and foster a culture of continuous improvement within the Financial Technology and payment platform domain.
- Foster a collaborative and inclusive team culture, promoting knowledge sharing, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Set clear goals and expectations for the team, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives and standards.
- Participate in recruiting and hiring activities, identifying top talent and contributing to the development of payments and Financial Technology expertise. Support the team by providing regular analysis and reporting on payment platform performance, provide valuable insights into trends, user behaviour, and potential areas for improvement.
Product/Programme/Service delivery
- Collaborate to determine whole system design, sharing your insight with the team and stakeholders.
- Identify, trial and champion the adoption of emerging FinTech technologies to further grow revenue opportunities and increase operational efficiency.
- Provide payments advice to stakeholders to agree on appropriate strategies to contributes to revenue growth. Support your team in the implementation of scalable and reliable payment systems to support product/service delivery.
Customers and stakeholder
- Building strong relationships with colleagues and other key stakeholders, fostering collaboration, alignment of objectives, and effective communication across departments. Influence decision-making processes, drive adoption of new technologies, and secure necessary resources for successful platform implementation.
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Risk & compliance
- Ensure compliance with payment regulations, data security standards, and industry best practices to protect customer data, maintain trust, avoid legal issues, penalties, and disruptions in payment services. Proactively apply risk management strategies to minimise potential vulnerabilities and fraud risks, safeguarding the organisation's reputation and financial integrity.
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Commercial and/or finance management
- An understanding of commercial and financial aspects is crucial for this role to assess the economic impact of payment solutions and make informed business decisions.
- Provide effective financial management to ensure budget control, cost optimization, and efficient resource allocation for payment platform initiatives.
- Monitoring financial metrics and conducting profitability analysis helps drive revenue growth, maximize return on investment, and demonstrate the value of payment platforms to stakeholders.
- Contribute to the development and management of budgets for payments and FinTech projects to ensure efficient allocation of resources. Collaborate with finance managers and commercial managers to forecast costs and assess financial impact of initiatives.
Role specific skills
Payment Systems Knowledge:
In-depth understanding of various payment systems, such as card networks (Visa, Mastercard), automated clearing houses (ACH), mobile wallets, digital currencies, and alternative payment methods. Familiarity with payment processing, settlement, and reconciliation processes.
In-depth understanding of various payment systems, such as card networks (Visa, Mastercard), automated clearing houses (ACH), mobile wallets, digital currencies, and alternative payment methods. Familiarity with payment processing, settlement, and reconciliation processes.
Regulatory Compliance:
Knowledge of relevant regulatory frameworks and compliance requirements in the payment industry, such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, and Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines.
Knowledge of relevant regulatory frameworks and compliance requirements in the payment industry, such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, and Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines.
Emerging technologies:
Awareness of, and ability to understand and investigate the potential value of emerging technologies in the FinTech sector and apply learnings within a business context to introduce new revenue opportunities or efficiency gains.
Awareness of, and ability to understand and investigate the potential value of emerging technologies in the FinTech sector and apply learnings within a business context to introduce new revenue opportunities or efficiency gains.
Data Security and Privacy:
Understanding of data security and privacy practices specific to payment platforms. Understanding of encryption techniques, secure transmission protocols, and data protection measures to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive payment information.
Understanding of data security and privacy practices specific to payment platforms. Understanding of encryption techniques, secure transmission protocols, and data protection measures to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive payment information.
Fraud Prevention and Risk Management:
Knowledge of fraud detection and prevention techniques in the payment ecosystem. Understanding of transaction monitoring tools, chargeback management, risk assessment methodologies, and fraud mitigation strategies.
Analytics and Reporting:
Ability to leverage data analytics tools and reporting platforms to derive actionable insights from payment data. Proficiency in data visualization techniques to present key performance indicators, transaction trends, and business metrics.
Role specific knowledge and experience
Minimum/essential
- Experience developing digital product, either having led a product team or supported the leadership of a product team.
- Experience developing, advocating and delivering customer-led, digital strategies.
- U nderstanding of global payment systems, including payment processing, settlement, and regulatory requirements.
- Awareness of developments in the FinTech industry and ability to recognise opportunities for their application.
- Proven experience in leading cross-functional teams and managing end-to-end payment platform delivery.
- Experience with Agile methodologies and project management frameworks for efficient platform delivery.
- Experience working in a global environment and collaborating with international stakeholders. Expertise in vendor management and partnerships with payment service providers and payment processors.
Desirable
- Knowledge of payment technologies, such as payment gateways, fraud prevention, and mobile wallets.
- Familiarity with industry standards and best practices related to payment security, data privacy, and compliance
- Knowledge of emerging payment trends and technologies, such as blockchain-based payments and digital currencies.
- Understanding of financial management principles, including budgeting, forecasting, and cost optimization in the payment domain. Strong analytical and reporting skills, with the ability to leverage data insights to drive payment platform enhancements and business growth
Education
Desirable
- Master's degree in a relevant field, such as Business Administration, Finance, or Information Systems.
- Advanced coursework or certification in agile delivery, payments, product, digital banking, or transaction banking. Continuous learning and staying updated with emerging trends, industry innovations, and evolving regulatory landscape through participation in industry conferences, workshops, or professional associations.
Language Requirements
The British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency in English is requiredA 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) 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.
If you experience any difficulties with submitting your application, please email [email protected]
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