Content Commissioning Manager

British Council; Greater London; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Job summary

British Council is seeking a Content Commissioning Manager to lead learning content development for proprietary products. You will manage outsourced content, coordinate with the product team, and ensure delivery within budget and schedule.

Role requires extensive ELT publishing experience, strong project management, and collaboration with UK/Overseas stakeholders. Hybrid work is available, with a focus on delivering high-quality, market-ready materials.

Qualifications

• A minimum of three years’ experience teaching English as a foreign or second language to learners.
• A minimum of seven years’ professional ELT publishing experience with a proven track record of producing multi‑component, multi‑level materials, and includes strategic content planning and product management at commissioning editor level for
• Experience researching, conceptualising, scoping and setting up new projects.
• Project managing development of print and digital products through the full publishing process, from initial concept through to final product
• Experience of procuring goods and services and negotiating contracts from a large range of suppliers to ensure value for money in relation to quality, cost, and ability to meet schedule commitments
• Experience of coordinating, communicating and collaborating with large, dispersed teams and remote working.

Responsibilities

• Scope/define and prioritise projects for the product life stage with stakeholders.
• Lead development of learning materials, managing schedules, resources and costs.
• Review products to ensure adherence to Brand standards, EDI guidelines, project guidelines and stakeholder requirements.
• Plan, monitor and report on schedules, costs, resources and risks in content development.
• Identify suppliers and procure goods and services across a full range of providers.
• Ensure content development is delivered on time and within budget.
• Provide training and development for staff and new suppliers, building capability in content commissioning.

Skills

Project management

Publishing

Stakeholder management

Outsourcing management

English teaching experience

Education

First degree or equivalent qualification/experience

DELTA / Dip TESOL / MA or equivalent

Postgraduate publishing qualification desirable

Job description

Location

UK or Poland (residents only – relocation and sponsorship not provided)

Role purpose

Content Commissioning Manager works with the global product team and supports our position as a leading provider of high-quality ELT courses and contributes to our overall teaching and learning strategy through ensuring suppliers work delivers on the learning design(s) for the segment.

Working with the Head of Learning Design, Product Portfolio Managers, the Learning Designer and other key stakeholders, the Content Commissioning Manager manages the pipeline for the learning content elements of the British Council’s proprietary learning products through all stages of product development. S/he is a highly experienced publishing professional, managing outsourcing of content. S/he ensures that content elements of product development projects are delivered within budget, on time and in accordance with defined standards, learning design, and market expectations.

Role context

Product is a commercially run business with an income of over £700 million per annum generating financial surpluses that are critical to the overall financial sustainability of the British Council.

The work in English teaching generates annual revenues of nearly £200m annually, with activities spanning a global network of 80 English teaching centres in 50 countries, teaching 400,000 students each year, as well as an emerging portfolio of online products and services already reaching over 120 million English learners and teachers annually.

The work in examinations generates annual revenues of nearly £500m and spans English proficiency testing, including the world’s leading English test IELTS (run in partnership with Cambridge Assessment English and IDP) which is now taken by 3 million candidates worldwide each year, as well as the British Council’s own Aptis test, and a wide range of UK school, professional and other qualifications.

Main accountabilities – Content Development

Collaborates with the Learning Design Manager, the Product Owner and other key stakeholders to scope/define and prioritise projects for the product life stage.

Acts as project lead on the development of learning materials, with responsibility for managing schedules, resources and costs.

Reviews products to ensure that they adhere to British Council Brand standards, EDI guidelines, project guidelines and stakeholder requirements.

Main accountabilities – Commercial and resource management

Ensures adequate resources are in place to support content development.

Plans, monitors and reports on schedules, costs, resources and risks associated to content development.

Applies agreed systems and processes to plan and monitor project progress to ensure that content development is running to schedule and within budget.

Identifies suppliers, tenders and procures goods and services from a full range of suppliers including packagers, publishers and media rights organisations; consultants, editorial and writing service providers; designers and illustrators; video, audio and software producers.

Actively seeks to maximise value for money when acquiring resources, goods or services for the team, unit or project.

Prepares project guidelines and briefs internal and external suppliers.

Main accountabilities – Customer and market focus

Ensure products are customer-focused, and meet market and business requirements, by leading on, or contributing to, market research, product testing and piloting.

Responds to issues and requests raised by stakeholders in a timely and appropriate manner.

Develops and maintains a sound working knowledge of major developments and issues within the ELT market and e‑learning to ensure learning materials are effective and compelling, as well as to build professional credibility, confidence and market insight.

Main accountabilities – Risk and compliance

Supports internal monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to maintain effective publishing procedures.

Monitors copyright records for British Council and third‑party assets.

Ensures copyright permissions are cleared before publication.

Main accountabilities – Sector and subject expertise

Manages the pipeline for the learning content elements of the British Council’s proprietary learning products through all stages of product development.

Manages the outsourcing of content from a range of suppliers, using publishing experience to ensure compliance to contract terms.

Project manages learning content development ensuring projects are delivered within budget, on time and in accordance with defined standards, learning design, and market expectations.

Contributes to the development and delivery of training, support and knowledge‑sharing activities to build skills and capability in content commissioning team.

Main accountabilities – Relationship and stakeholder management

Ensures regular and effective communication and smooth working relationships between team members and external suppliers.

Ensures a unified approach across the British Council in relation to product development by collaborating closely with internal stakeholders and teams in the UK and overseas.

Provides advice and support to colleagues to ensure products are high quality, cost effective and based on a genuine understanding of the key priorities and best practice within product development.

Main accountabilities – Leadership and management

Plans and prioritises own work activities to ensure effective delivery of diverse responsibilities and programme deliverables.

Builds teams of external suppliers and manages in‑house content developers and project managers; mentoring in‑house staff as required.

Makes recommendations to the management team on routes to publishing, either through full or partial outsourcing.

Provides training and development for staff and new suppliers as required, building capacity to meet requirements.

Manages suppliers.

Main accountabilities – Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

To consistently create 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 particularly through periods of significant change.

Have a deep understanding of and take accountability for putting the British Council’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion and anti‑racism into practice. To make time for and visibly engage with learning and development related to EDI and anti‑racism.

Language Requirements

Written and verbal fluency in English.

Certification and Professional Qualifications

• Higher EFL qualification (DELTA, Dip. TESOL, MA or equivalent)
• Postgraduate publishing qualification desirable

Education

• First degree or equivalent qualification/ experience

Role specific knowledge and experience – Minimum / essential requirements

• A minimum of three years’ experience teaching English as a foreign or second language to learners
• A minimum of seven years’ professional ELT publishing experience with a proven track record of producing multi‑component, multi‑level materials, and includes strategic content planning and product management at commissioning editor level for
• Experience researching, conceptualising, scoping and setting up new projects.
• Project managing development of print and digital products through the full publishing process, from initial concept through to final product
• Experience of procuring goods and services and negotiating contracts from a large range of suppliers (e.g. packagers; publishers; software developers; freelance print, digital suppliers; media suppliers and copyright holders) to ensure value for money in relation to quality, cost, and ability to meet schedule commitments
• Experience of coordinating, communicating and collaborating with large, dispersed teams and remote working.
• Full time residency in the UK or Poland with unlimited right to work.

Role specific knowledge and experience – Desirable

• Knowledge across the following areas: Printing and distribution, Accessibility and EDI, Intellectual Property/copyright, Translations of products
• Market research and testing (e.g. classroom observations, focus groups, learner/teacher interviews, surveys) and data analysis (e.g. competitor analysis, gap analysis, SWOT analysis, LMS data mining) to ensure research methods and research outputs are robust.

British Council values and behaviours

Open and Committed; Expert and Inclusive; Optimistic and Bold.

British council values and behaviours are applicable across our organisation, in all roles and at all levels. They are important because they say what we stand for at the British Council and help us to deliver our strategy. We use them to guide our decision making, as well as guiding how we treat one another and the people we work with. These will be assessed in the selection process.

Unit

English & Exams / Product / Content Strategy

Work style

Hybrid

Pay band

8

Annual salary range

PLN 192,000 - 252,000 (Poland)
£38,000 - £46,000 (UK)