Senior Teacher - Primary

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What's it like to work at the British Council as a Teacher?

Teacher's Success Story

Role Purpose

• To maintain and enhance professional development and academic quality in the teaching centre, through the management of in-house teacher development programmes and support.


• To promote and ensure quality teaching and effective learning of English.


• To provide learners with a rewarding and stimulating English language learning experience.


• To support the wider aims of British Council and its cultural relations mission

Role Accountabilities

This is a leadership opportunity for an experienced English language teaching professional who is passionate about developing teachers, driving academic excellence, and delivering outstanding learning experiences. In this role, you will provide effective line management and support to teaching staff, ensuring high standards of teaching practice through coaching, observations, mentoring, and performance development. You will play a key role in staff wellbeing, support the recruitment and onboarding of new teachers, and act as a trusted point of contact for teachers, students, and parents when required.

You will champion teaching excellence by contributing to the design and delivery of continuing professional development programmes, identifying opportunities for staff learning, and sharing expertise through training sessions, classroom demonstrations, and thought leadership activities. As a role model for best practice, you will stay informed of developments in English Language Teaching (ELT) and promote innovation and quality across the teaching centre. You may also represent the British Council at professional conferences and support the sharing of best practice both internally and externally.

Working closely with Teaching Operations, Customer Services, and other colleagues, you will help ensure that teaching and learning frameworks, standards, and product guidelines are effectively implemented and understood across the centre. You will contribute to the development and evaluation of products and services, support the introduction of new courses and materials, and help resolve academic enquiries and complaints. In addition, you will play an important role in embedding safeguarding, equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and support for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), helping to create a safe, inclusive, and high-quality learning environment for all learners and staff.

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Undergraduate Degree.


• Cambridge CELTA/Trinity Certificate TESOL.


• Cambridge DELTA/Trinity Diploma TESOL or equivalent as recognised by the British Council.


• Relevant Young Learner qualification (for ST YL).


• 2 years post-diploma i.e. DELTA/Trinity Diploma TESOL experience.


• Extensive knowledge and experience of management and delivery of teacher training.


• Experience of line managing/ coordinating teaching teams.


• Experience in teaching relevant age groups: Primary aged 6 to 10 (800+ hours).

Desirable

• Relevant masters/post graduate qualification


• TYLEC trainer


• Early Years aged 2 to 5 (400+hours).


• Lower Secondary aged 11 to 17 (400+ hours).

Salary and Benefits

Salary: Basic monthly between 290,000 LKR - 362,255 LKR (depending on qualification and work experience).

Annual Leave: 35 days of paid annual leave.

Medical Benefits: Group medical insurance with inpatient coverage of up to LKR 850,000 per family unit.

Settling-in Allowance (If recruited from outside Sri Lanka): Equivalent to three weeks' salary for accompanied employees and two weeks' salary for unaccompanied employees. Separate rental loans are available for expatriate and overseas-recruited teachers, with repayments deducted from salary. Assistance with securing accommodation is provided through referrals to property brokers. The cost of permanent accommodation is the responsibility of the employee.

Baggage Allowance (If recruited from outside Sri Lanka): A one-time accountable baggage allowance of £1,200 for single employees and £2,000 for accompanied employees.

Other Allowances:

• LKR 29,000 per month for employees recruited within Sri Lanka.

• LKR 100,000 per month for employees recruited from outside Sri Lanka.


• LKR 170,000 per month as a temporary allowance for employees recruited from outside Sri Lanka, subject to regular review (the next review is scheduled for December 2026).

Important information:

Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka

Contract Duration: 24 months

Contract Hours: 37.5 hours/week 

Work schedule:  Teaching is currently face-to-face 7 days a week, but Young Learner courses are mostly delivered on Saturdays and Sundays.

Local restrictions on employment: Applicants must have the right to work in Sri Lanka. Candidates are expected to have researched whether they have the right to live and work in the country in which the role is based. Given that our offices have different legal statuses depending on the work we do in those countries, we recommend that you contact HR in the country for additional information on the likelihood of securing a visa. Only at its discretion will the British Council provide support so please check first whether visa support is offered

Closing date and time: Sunday, 30 August 2026 (23:59 Philippine Standard Time)

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 [email protected]