Noble ambitions brought down by poor management and awful change policies
Pros
The goal of the British Council is an admirable one: to build connections between countries for our collective benefit. This doesn't always manifest itself properly in every project, but the overarching purpose of the organisation usually results in positive change. The work life balance is generally very good, with flexi time and plenty of annual leave. I have never had issues getting desired time off for holidays, medical appointments, etc. The civil service Alpha pension scheme is excellent. Plenty of high profile projects with other departments.
Cons
The endless 'transformation' changes that senior management push every few years are an utter waste of time and resource that add nothing of value to the organisation. Each time it happens the result isn't a more efficient structure, but severe disruption, frustration and stress that pushes the most talented and desirable employees to leave the company for better opportunities elsewhere (HR make very little effort to retain them). This brain drain combines with the fact that it is almost impossible to fire permanent employees no matter how awful they are, meaning that building long term success is all but impossible. There's great individuals that work here, but very few great teams. The organisation is disjointed across countries, with different regions operating within silos. Even within single countries, teams often work in isolation from one another which results in a lot of redundant work and poor communication. The organisation tackles diversity in misguided ways. Representation often feels like classic civil service tokenism rather than anything meaningful, with EDI discourse mostly being done by middle-class white women with degrees. Upper management is slowly recognising the issue, but little actual change so far.