Communities & Green Finance Project Lead

The Scottish Land Commission is seeking to appoint a Communities & Green Finance Project Lead. This is an exciting time to join the Commission to generate innovative and collaborative community benefits from nature restoration schemes.

The Scottish Land Commission is recruiting a Communities and Green Finance Project Lead in partnership with the Cairngorm National Park Authority as part of the Cairngorms 2030 programme.

The Role

This post will be employed by the Scottish Land Commission and work very closely with the Nature & Climate Change Directorate in the Cairngorms National Park Authority. The post will report to the Commission’s Head of Land Rights and Responsibility.

This post is funded with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and national lottery players.

The purpose of this role is to Develop an early exemplar in facilitating relationships and productive collaboration between local communities, land owners and nature finance to deliver socially just land use change for nature restoration in the Cairngorms.

Further develop collaborative relationships between the host organisation (Scottish Land Commission), the lead body for Cairngorms 2030 Cairngorm National Park Authority, communities and the land management sector in the Cairngorms.

Develop, test and share learning from case studies that seek to maximise community benefits and community wealth building outcomes from land use change and nature finance, guided by Scottish Government’s Interim Principles for Responsible Investment in Natural Capital and the Scottish Land Commission’s associated good practice protocol and Guidance on Delivering Community Benefits from Land.

Key Duties

• Lead work to facilitate collaboration between local communities, landowners and nature finance individuals and institutions to deliver community benefits and community wealth building in the Cairngorms;
• Support communities to utilise nature finance opportunities to deliver nature restoration and community wealth building;
• Work closely with the Cairngorms 2030 Project Leads across all four delivery themes to ensure coordinated delivery of community benefits and engagement;
• Provide a programme of advice and support to landowners seeking to deliver community benefits and community wealth building through land use change;
• Negotiate agreements between landowners, investors, and communities to deliver appropriate and effective community benefits through community wealth building;
• Provide Cairngorms specific advice and information to raise awareness among communities and land owners of nature finance opportunities;
• Promote the use of shared governance and asset ownership agreements where appropriate to increase community agency in decision making over land use change;
• Monitor and evaluate progress and learning, including disseminating findings across Scotland to support the development of good practice;
• Develop case studies of good practice to share experience and inform practice in the Cairngorms and elsewhere in Scotland;
• Foster close and collaborative working between agencies, partners and stakeholders;
• Work collaboratively with Cairngorm NPA and Scottish Land Commission colleagues, to achieve wider Cairngorm 2030 and organisational objectives for both bodies;
• Contribute to the development of national policy on community benefits from nature finance.

The Person

The successful person must have substantial professional experience in a relevant area and considerable experience of providing practical advice, guidance and support to others to facilitate meaningful change. They will have a proven track record of delivering high-quality community engagement and have a good understanding of the land ownership and management sector and of land management issues. They will have an awareness of nature finance mechanisms, motivations and outcomes and of nature restoration activities.

They must have strong project management skills and the proven ability to lead successful projects as well as experience in developing and writing business cases and in financial project planning. They will have experience in evaluating and monitoring programmes of activities.

Application Information

Applications are invited by application form which can be found on our website along with a detailed job description, full person specification, privacy statement and equality statement. Completed applications should be submitted to HR@landcommission.gov.scot prior to the closing date. Please note that CVs will not be accepted as a form of application. All applicants must have the right to work in the UK and be based in Scotland.

Closing date for applications is 5 pm on Wednesday 17 April 2024.

Interviews will be held in-person in the Scottish Land Commission office in Inverness on Friday 3 May 2024.