People Planning Lead

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. People Planning Lead Location: India Contract Type: Indefinite Contract Pay Grade: 8 Closing date: 15th Sept 2026 at 21:59 IST Time Requirements: Candidates are expected to have researched whether they have the right to live and work in the country in which the role is based. Role Context - About The Team: The Transformation and Delivery team is responsible for leading the end-to-end execution of the People Function’s transformation agenda, translating strategic priorities into a coordinated portfolio of change initiatives. It oversees multi-year programmes, defines the People Function technology roadmap, and ensures robust governance, prioritisation, and resource allocation across all initiatives. The team also leads investment and budget planning, overseeing the management of the People Function’s financial resources, including budget forecasting, tracking, and ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and organisational objectives. It ensures strong financial discipline, value for money, and compliance with financial policies. The function manages performance tracking across programmes, ensuring delivery is on time, within scope and budget, supported by clear reporting, risk management, and benefits realisation. Beyond delivery, it plays a critical role in embedding new operating models, processes, and digital solutions, driving adoption and continuous improvement to enhance efficiency, employee experience, and overall organisational performance across a global, matrixed environment Role purpose – The job: The People Planning Lead is a key member of the Transformation and Delivery team responsible for managing developing, and monitoring the People function's budget, People strategic priorities and compliance (risk). This role involves forecasting, planning, and tracking financial resources to ensure the efficient and effective functioning of People function programs and initiatives. The People Planning Lead works closely with People function leadership and finance teams to align budgets with organizational objectives and provide data-driven insights for decision-making. By maintaining a strong focus on budget planning, financial analysis, and compliance, this position contributes to thesuccess of People function initiatives and the overall organizational financial health. In addition, the role is responsible for strengthening portfolio governance and PMO capability, ensuring consistent planning, prioritisation, and oversight of programmes. It drives performance tracking, risk management, and benefits realisation, providing clear reporting and visibility to the People Leadership Team to ensure that initiatives are delivered on time, within scope and budget. Key Responsibilities Commercial and/or Financial Management * Develop, monitor, and manage the People function department's global budget, ensuring optimal allocation ofresources while maintaining cost control and adherence to financial guidelines. * Identify cost-saving opportunities and efficiencies in people processes without compromising on quality and impact. * Conduct regular financial analysis to track People function budget performance, identifying trends, variations, andpotential risks. Prepare reports for management review and decision-making. * Provide insights and recommendations based on financial data to improve People function resource allocation Strategy and/or Planning * Collaborate with senior People function leadership to understand business goals and objectives, translating theminto people strategies that support organizational growth and development. * Work closely with People function leaders to forecast future resource needs, both in terms of staff and budget, based on projected organizational growth and changes. * Collaborating with People function teams, department heads, and other stakeholders to gather input, alignstrategies, and ensure that people initiatives meet the needs of various departments while staying within budget constraints * Ensure People function budgeting practices comply with company policies and regulatory requirements, and stayupdated on changes in financial regulations affecting HR budgets. PMO * Lead the People Function PMO capability, ensuring robust governance, planning, and delivery oversight across all strategic programmes and initiatives. * Establish and maintain programme governance frameworks, including decision-making structures, reporting standards, and assurance processes aligned to corporate requirements. * Own and coordinate integrated People portfolio planning, ensuring prioritisation, interdependency management, and alignment with strategic objectives and available resources. * Develop and maintain portfolio-level reporting (dashboards, milestones, financials, risks, and benefits realisation) to provide clear visibility to People Leadership Team and SLT. * Ensure consistent use of programme management standards, tools, and methodologies across People initiatives, driving discipline and improving delivery outcomes. * Oversee programme and project tracking, including milestones, deliverables, and KPIs, proactively identifying risks, delays, and mitigation actions. * Coordinate cross-functional programme delivery, working with HR teams, Finance, Digital & Technology, and external partners (e.g., TCS) to ensure aligned execution. * Provide challenge and assurance to programme leads, ensuring quality of planning, delivery, and alignment to strategic priorities. Risk Management * Oversight, coordination and monitoring of all People function risks into key risks for escalation to the global Peopleleadership team and SLT (Senior Leadership Team) * Coordination of the principal risk report to SLT in collaboration with the Risk team * Risk champion for the People function. * Identify potential risks associated with people strategies and propose mitigation strategies. Requirements of the role: Minimum/essential * Proficiency in system integration and data management. * Knowledge of data privacy regulations and security best practices. * 5+ years’ experience of working with SAP SuccessFactors * 5+ years’ experience in process improvement, process management, or similar role Desirable * Bachelor’s degree in business, or related field * Knowledge of HR practices * Significant experience in managing HR systems within a large, global and complex organization with matrix structures * Proven track record of leading process improvement initiatives and projects * Experience in working on standardizing & implementing global processes within the system * Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills 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 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 askhr@britishcouncil.org