Labs Designer & Facilitator – UK and Ireland

Labs Designer & Facilitator – UK and Ireland

24-32 hours per week | Remote from the UK or Ireland | Maternity cover until September 2027, with possibility of extension

Preferred starting date: 1 December 2026

Are you passionate about designing and facilitating participatory processes that drive systemic change for holistic landscape restoration? Do you thrive in complex, multi-stakeholder environments and enjoy working with grassroots movements to co-create regenerative futures? Then this might be the role for you!

Commonland supports a growing network of landscape restoration initiatives across the UK and Ireland. Through long-term, collaborative learning journeys (Labs) we aim to strengthen leadership, build a learning and action community, and address systemic barriers to holistic restoration. These labs go beyond one-off workshops - they are multi-year, collaborative processes that move from shared understanding to experimentation and action, helping communities tackle root causes of degradation and build regenerative landscapes. The UK/Ireland Lab is currently being co-designed with landscape partners. You will step into co-responsibility for its continued design and delivery. The role is positioned within Commonland's international Learning Team and is part of the wider Landscape Development and Support Team. For the Lab specifically, you will work closely with the UK/Ireland Team.

What You'll Do

• Lead the co-design and delivery of the UK/Ireland Lab, building from a structured handover and adapting the programme to the UK and Irish context while maintaining alignment with Commonland's strategy.

• Develop participatory, multi-stakeholder learning processes using systems thinking, design methodologies, and transformative facilitation.

• Support landscape partners in identifying and addressing root causes of environmental and social challenges, including structural barriers and power dynamics.

• Strengthen connections among participating landscape initiatives as a learning community and action-oriented partnership.

• Collaborate with and support a small pool of facilitators and hosts to deliver impactful learning experiences.

Globally focused:

• Contribute to Commonland's global learning infrastructure and share insights across regions, including a global Lab Designers community of practice and an organisation-wide Commonland global team retreat.

• Support the development of tools and guides that serve landscape partners and Labs globally, including learning infrastructure, the Landscape Governance Canvas, and the Landscape System Mapping Toolkit currently in development.

What You Bring

You are someone who:

• Strategic mindset – You see ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.

• Communicates effectively – You develop and deliver multimode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences. 

• Manages ambiguity – You operate effectively and can experiment, adapt and learn even when things are not certain, or the way forward is not clear.

• Collaborates – You build partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives and deliver stakeholder-centric solutions.

• Builds networks – You effectively build formal and informal learning networks inside and outside the organisation.

• Project management – You initiate, plan, execute, and monitor initiatives efficiently, balancing scope, resources, timelines, and risks to deliver measurable outcomes. 

You also bring:

• Experience in participatory process design, facilitation, and working with diverse stakeholder groups

• The ability to lead and guide a programme design and hosting team

• A good understanding of the UK and/or Irish landscape restoration, environmental, or grassroots context; direct professional experience in this field and geography is highly valuable

• Based in the UK or Ireland, legally eligible to work there, and able to travel regularly across the region

• Fluency in English

What We Offer

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

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

• A supportive team culture with room to grow, with opportunities for personal and professional development through learning, reflection, and experimentation

• A consultancy agreement including a market-conform salary

How to Apply

We are excited to learn more about you and how your competencies fit this role. Please submit your CV via the application link before 5 October 2026 and answer a few questions related to the key criteria for this position. Your responses will help us assess all candidates fairly and consistently.

We are committed to an inclusive and fair recruitment process and encourage thoughtful, authentic responses. We kindly ask applicants not to use AI tools such as ChatGPT when completing their application. All applications are reviewed by our team, not by AI systems. As we carefully review each submission and have limited capacity, we may close the application window once enough applications are received. We therefore encourage interested candidates to apply as early as possible. If you have any questions about this position, feel free to contact Willemijn Helwig, Learning Lead, at Willemijn.helwig@commonland.com.