Jon Wilks studied Middle East Politics at Durham and International Relations at Oxford. Fluent in Arabic, he has been connected to the Middle East since the beginning of his career at the Foreign Office, which he joined in 1989.

He has represented the UK as Ambassador to Yemen (2010–2011), Oman (2014–2017), and Iraq (2017–2019). He was also the UK Syria Envoy (2012–2014). His most recent appointment was as British Ambassador to Qatar (2020-2023) before joining the Centre as the Registrar in 2024.