Advertised from 7 July 2026

Role

Introduction

Community Land Scotland is recruiting a Policy Officer for the Inclusive Ownership project.

Inclusive Ownership is a new five-year UK-wide partnership funded by The National Lottery Community Fund. The project brings together Community Land Scotland, CLES (Centre for Local Economies), The Ubele Initiative, Shared Assets, Coalfields Regeneration Trust and Cwmpas to support more communities to take ownership of land and buildings.

The project focuses on urban and post-industrial communities and aims to make community ownership more accessible, particularly for communities facing higher levels of deprivation and Black and Minoritised communities. Through direct community support, policy development, learning and partnership working, the project will help communities develop sustainable, income-generating assets and contribute to community wealth building and local economic resilience.

About the role

The Policy Officer will lead policy development, research and evidence gathering for the Inclusive Ownership project in Scotland.

Working closely with the Inclusive Ownership Manager, Community Land Scotland’s Policy and Advocacy Team and partners across the UK, the postholder will ensure that learning from community-led delivery informs policy development and wider system change.

The role will focus on identifying barriers to community ownership, gathering evidence from communities and delivery partners, developing policy proposals and engaging with policymakers and stakeholders. The Policy Officer will play an important role in ensuring that the experiences of communities are reflected in policy and practice relating to community ownership, community wealth building and local economic development.

The postholder will contribute to policy development in Scotland while supporting cross-nation learning and collaboration across the wider partnership. They will work to translate grassroots experience into meaningful policy change and help shape the future of community ownership across Scotland and the wider UK.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is passionate about community-led development, policy change and ensuring that the voices and experiences of communities help shape future approaches to ownership, regeneration and community wealth building.

The main objectives of this post, and outcomes to be delivered are to:

• Policy development to increase community ownership of land and buildings and strengthen community wealth building across Scotland.
• Gather evidence and learning from communities and project delivery to inform policy and system change.
• Identify barriers to community ownership and develop practical policy solutions that support more inclusive ownership models.
• Work with communities, policymakers, public bodies and project partners to influence policy and practice.
• Contribute Scottish insight and evidence to a UK-wide partnership working across Scotland, Wales and England.
• Produce policy briefings, consultation responses, reports and research outputs on community ownership and local economic development.
• Support the development of new ownership and economic models that strengthen local economies and increase community control of assets.
• Work with Community Land Scotland's Policy and Advocacy Team to engage MSPs, MPs, civil servants and key stakeholders.
• Help ensure the experiences of communities facing higher levels of deprivation and Black and Minoritised communities are reflected in policy development.
• Represent Community Land Scotland and the Inclusive Ownership project at meetings, events and policy forums.

Application notes

For further information and to apply, please visit our website.