Senior Project Manager, CRM

We 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. We work with people in over 150 countries and reach over 700 million people. We connect. We inspire. Role Description/Purpose The British Council is seeking an experienced and strategic Senior Project Manager, CRM to lead the successful planning and delivery of high-impact CRM projects and initiatives. This role is responsible for ensuring the effective implementation, optimisation, and continuous evolution of CRM capabilities that support organisational objectives, strengthen customer engagement, and deliver measurable business value. As the Senior Project Manager, CRM, you will provide leadership across a portfolio of complex CRM projects and change initiatives, coordinating cross-functional teams and managing timelines, risks, dependencies, and resources to ensure successful delivery. You will be accountable for driving user adoption, ensuring customer-focused outcomes, and embedding best practice project governance across the CRM function. Working within the Marketing and Communications division, you will contribute to a strategic function that drives audience engagement, reputation, and growth through customer insight, data, digital channels, and impactful communications. The CRM team plays a critical role in enabling these activities by delivering technology solutions that support effective customer engagement and organisational performance. You will work closely with stakeholders across multiple functions, ensuring CRM solutions align with business needs and strategic priorities. The role requires the ability to balance operational delivery with long-term transformation objectives, helping to shape and enhance the British Council’s CRM landscape while supporting continuous improvement and innovation. The successful candidate will have significant project management experience, strong stakeholder management skills, and the ability to lead complex programmes of work in a fast-paced environment. You will be confident managing competing priorities, influencing senior stakeholders, and driving the successful delivery and adoption of CRM solutions that create lasting value for both customers and the organisation. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in the future development of the British Council’s CRM capabilities, leading strategic initiatives that enhance customer experience, strengthen engagement, and support organisational success on a global scale. Role Accountabilities As a Senior Project Manager, CRM, you will be responsible for the end-to-end management of a portfolio of CRM projects, ensuring effective planning, governance, and delivery throughout the project lifecycle. You will oversee project scope, resources, risks, dependencies, budgets, timelines, and quality standards, ensuring that projects achieve agreed business outcomes while supporting improvements in customer experience and organisational performance. Working closely with a wide range of stakeholders, you will establish strong relationships with project sponsors, business leaders, end users, suppliers, and external partners to ensure successful project delivery and alignment with strategic priorities. You will lead cross-functional teams and specialist resources, creating a collaborative and high-performing environment that enables the successful delivery of complex CRM solutions. As a senior project leader, you will be responsible for implementing and maintaining robust project governance and management controls, including business cases, project plans, risk and issue management processes, quality assurance measures, dependency tracking, and benefits realisation frameworks. You will monitor project performance against agreed objectives and provide regular reporting, analysis, and recommendations to stakeholders and governance boards, ensuring proactive management of risks and delivery challenges. The role will oversee the full lifecycle of CRM initiatives, from requirements validation and solution development through to system integration, testing, user acceptance testing, data migration, implementation, and transition into business-as-usual operations. You will ensure that CRM projects are delivered in line with organisational strategy, technology roadmaps, operational processes, and governance standards while managing dependencies across multiple functions and teams. A key aspect of the role will be driving stakeholder engagement and organisational change. You will work closely with business users to ensure projects deliver meaningful and sustainable improvements, with particular focus on change management, user adoption, communications, training, and the successful embedding of new ways of working. You will help ensure that technology solutions are fully adopted and deliver their intended benefits across the organisation. The successful candidate will have extensive project management experience, strong leadership and stakeholder management skills, and a proven ability to deliver complex business and technology change programmes. You will be comfortable working in fast-paced environments, managing competing priorities, influencing senior stakeholders, and leading multidisciplinary teams to achieve successful outcomes. You will also act as a champion for project management best practice, ensuring all work is delivered in accordance with British Council quality standards, governance requirements, established methodologies, and compliance obligations. Qualifications & Experience Essentials * Degree or professional qualification in digital marketing, technology or business. or demonstrable level of equivalent experience. * Professional project management qualification(s), such as APMP, PRINCE2, Agile, Waterfall etc. * Language Requirements: The British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency in English is required. * Significant experience with system development and rollouts in an international context. * Demonstrable experience of leading the delivery of large projects or programme strands across a major part of an organisation and across a significant geographical area. * Demonstrates the ability to plan, structure and manage the ‘hard scope’ of a programme that delivers tangible outputs (eg documents, systems, assets). Desirable: * Experience of delivering projects within both public and private sectors (corporate). * Experience of developing and quality assuring the business requirement / project specification, and testing against it (technical testing and user acceptance). * Experience with development and rollout of CRM/Customer data systems. * Experience within a global organisation. Important Information * Contract type: Indefinite Contract * Salary: The starting salary for this role is PLN 16,300.00 per month. The final compensation package will be determined based on the successful candidate’s skills, qualifications, and relevant experience. * Working Model: Hybrid. 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. * Location: This role can be based in Warsaw or Kraków, Poland. * Annual Leave entitlement: Employees are entitled to 20 working days of annual leave per calendar year, increasing to 26 working days per calendar year upon reaching 10 years of qualifying service. * Proof of Identity requirements & right to work in the country: Applicants must have the legal right to work in Poland. Visa sponsorship and relocation assistance are not provided. * Start Date: March 2027. * Benefits: * Annual bonus equivalent to a 13th month's salary (subject to eligibility and performance requirements). * Private medical care through Enel-Med. * MultiSport card co-funded through the Social Fund. * Discounts on British Council English courses and examinations for employees and their immediate family members. * Access to Social Fund benefits, including financial grants and holiday subsidies, where applicable. * Employee Assistance Programme. * Ongoing professional development and the opportunity to explore diverse career paths across the organisation. Closing Date: Thursday 19 November 2026 A 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 we 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 and 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 askhr@britishcouncil.org