After leaving the Reserve, King began working as an officer of the British Council and was posted to Amsterdam as an Administrative Officer (1948–50). Subsequent postings for the British Council included Belfast, as a Staff Welfare Officer (1950–51); Aleppo, Syria, as a Lecturer (1951–54); Damascus, as a Visiting Professor at the University (1954–55); Beirut, as Lecturer and Director of Studies (1960–66); and Madras, as an Education Officer (1971–73). He also served as a Warden for East Sussex County Council from 1955 to 1960. He attended the School of Oriental and African Studies in London from 1966 to 1967, then served as an Education Adviser for the East Pakistan Education Centre in Dhaka from 1967 to 1971.