Labs Designer & Facilitator – Southern Africa

Labs Designer & Facilitator – Southern Africa

32–40 hours per week | Remote from Southern Africa | One-year contract with possibility of extension 

Preferred starting date: 01.09.2025

Are you an experienced facilitator with a talent for guiding social learning processes and designing community-driven experiences? Do you want to contribute to system change and landscape restoration through creative, inclusive, and hands-on social labs design and facilitation? And do you thrive in an international context where collaboration, regenerative leadership, and working with diverse (grassroots) communities are central? Then this role might be for you. 

About the Role 

As a Labs Designer & Facilitator, you will be responsible for co-creating and facilitating Landscape Leadership Labs (LLL) in Africa, starting in the KAZA region. These Labs are learning journeys where local and regional stakeholders come together to learn, experiment, and co-design solutions to complex landscape and wider systemic challenges. You will work closely with local teams, partners, and colleagues from Commonland. You will lead the design, implementation, facilitation and further development of these learning journeys together with strategic partners, with the goal of strengthening leadership and accelerating the transition to Holistic Landscape Restoration.  

This role involves frequent travel: approximately once per month within the KAZA region and Southern Africa, and 1-2 times per year to the Netherlands (HQ). 

What You’ll Do 

• Co-create, design and facilitate Landscape Leadership Labs in collaboration with local teams and partners. 

• Design transformational learning processes and tools tailored to the regional context. 

• Closely work with cluster, regional and learning teams in implementing learning offerings. 

• Ensure the quality and consistency of cluster and regional learning offerings across different regions. 

• Build and maintain a professional network in Africa and beyond. 

• Provide internal coaching and capacity building on process design and facilitation. 

• Act as a mentor and thought partner to cluster leads, facilitators, and regional leads. 

What You Bring 

• Facilitation & Social Process Design 
  You confidently lead diverse groups through co-creative learning journeys, creating inclusive, safe, transformational and engaging spaces for learning, co-creation and innovation for impact. You bring at least 10 years of hands-on experience and know how to adapt your facilitation style to different cultural and community contexts, including grassroots settings. 

• Design & Systems Thinking 
  You think in systems and design with intention. You’re able to zoom out to see the bigger picture, connect the dots, and guide others in navigating complexity in system change. You balance creativity with structure, designing learning journeys that are both inspiring and grounded in long-term impact. 

• Communicates & Collaborates Effectively 
  You communicate clearly and adaptively, adjusting your tone and approach to suit different audiences. You actively listen, ask thoughtful questions, and foster mutual understanding. You build trust and alignment across diverse teams, groups and with local partners. 

• Builds Networks 
  You proactively cultivate and maintain relationships that support learning, innovation, and impact. You connect people and ideas across geographies and knowledge levels, and you understand the value of creating both formal and informal networks in driving systems change. 

• Affinity with or international experience in landscape restoration, regenerative agriculture and/or system change is a pre. 

• We prefer candidates with a university-level mindset and skill set (Bachelor’s or Master’s degree), but we’re equally open to those who’ve gained comparable experience in practice. We believe great talent doesn’t always fit into one box. 

What We Offer 

• A purpose-driven role where your work contributes directly to restoring landscapes and shaping a regenerative future - across continents. 

• Flexibility to work remotely, with the freedom to design your workday in a way that suits your life and energy. 

• Room to grow, with ample opportunities for personal and professional development through learning, reflection, and experimentation. 

• A supportive team culture that values creativity, collaboration, and continuous learning - where your ideas and contributions truly matter. In this role you will be part of the global Learning Team while working from Africa. 

• A market-conform salary. 

Commonland Foundation 

Commonland is an international non-profit that supports people and organisations to restore landscapes and shape a regenerative future for all. With our holistic approach – underpinned by the 4 Returns Framework – people and organisations all over the world are working with nature and their community to restore landscapes. Our core values are empowering each other, putting words into action, and being compassionate & honest.  

How to Apply 

Are you excited about this opportunity? Instead of a traditional motivation letter, we ask you to answer a few short questions. They are part of our inclusive selection process and ensure that all candidates are assessed fairly and consistently. We value your personal input and kindly ask you to avoid using AI tools like ChatGPT. Please also submit your CV using the application button. The vacancy will close on July 2nd, 2025 end of day CEST.

If you have any questions about this position, please contact our Learning Lead Willemijn de Iongh via willemijn.deiongh@commonland.com.