Tony Calderbank MBE
February 9, 2017Country Director, British Council Bahrain
Danielle has worked with British Council Bahrain since August 2013 as a full time Teacher of English. During this time she has taught both children and adults and has consistently planned and delivered lessons of a high standard as well as ensuring timely completion of all the associated admin work, reports and parent consultation. She consistently receives positive feedback from her young learner’s parents and her adult students.
Danielle is also a talented IT user and she has put her skills to good use designing, testing and implementing a number of effective reporting tools using Excel which have contributed significantly to reducing the work load of her fellow teachers when preparing their termly reports.
In addition to Danielle’s work as a teacher she has also been an active and enthusiastic participant in the British Council’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) process. For the last two years as country lead she has been instrumental in raising the Bahrain office’s performance from a weak to a substantial and her good natured yet robust approach has encouraged colleagues from across the office to get involved.
The EDI process requires all offices to complete a biennial review at country level of how the organisation’s EDI practices across all areas of the business are being implemented. This includes HR, space & access, equality monitoring, engagement of under-represented groups, and encouraging best practice among the partners and vendors we work with. As country lead Danielle has worked closely with administrators and senior management both in county and across the Middle East and North Africa region as well as external stakeholders. She has managed the submission of large quantities of evidence and the mobilising of the people who provide it in an efficient and stress-free way.
Danielle is an effective communicator who is able to connect and work well with others. She understands the competing demands that arise from dealing with multiple stakeholders and can respond in timely fashion. At the same time she can delegate responsibility where necessary as well as keep herself and others to realistic timeframes.
Danielle has also proved to be an effective leader and has successfully put together a number of projects, presentations and events promoting EDI including the organisation of Mental Health Awareness Day in association with mind.org which involved a series of activities that challenged stigmas around mental health and encouraged awareness raising and informal pledges. And she has been very effective in encouraging inclusion of young learners with special educational needs through organising art workshops and environmental programmes at the British Council Teaching Centre.
Danielle is a popular member of the British Council team and often organises social events for staff. She is enthusiastic, hardworking and motivated. She has made good use of her time here, learning Arabic and developing a good understanding of the local culture.