Image: Community Land Trust Industry Partner Network Launch event, July 2026

The Community Land Trust Network is seeking a freelance contractor to facilitate and manage our pilot Vanguard Network of industry partners whilst our current manager is on maternity leave.

This role leads the development of Community Land Trust Network’s new cross-sector membership programme, bringing developers, housing associations and local authorities together and developing a relationship with our wider Community Land Trust movement. The network is intended as a community of practice, focused on building a collective voice to advocate for policy change, and building better practice to implement partnership models with CLTs.

Download the full Tender Invitation and Description here

Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are a growing force for social good. They are set up and run by ordinary people to develop and manage community assets including affordable homes, shops, workspace land for nature. We are the membership body for CLTs across England and Wales. Our mission is to build collective power to make community ownership and development of land commonplace. We would like to see a CLT in every community across the country that wants one, ensuring community-owned assets which will remain in community hands forever

Role overview

Overseeing the co-design and delivery of a community of practice with our founding cohort partners of the Vanguard Network of housing associations, local authorities and developers. Workshops are planned to be monthly and held online. Session outlines for the first two workshops will be provided but then the contractor will co-design subsequent sessions with the cohort.

Working with the CEO and the Campaigns and Membership Development Manager to create a year 2/phase 2 offer, working up the value proposition, pricing and structure.

Developing relationships with the cohort and onboarding them to a paid-for membership service to extend the life of the community of practice (currently participation is free).Working with the CEO and the Campaigns and Membership Development Manager to existing team of trustees you will ensure that the Community Land Trust Network has the right strategy and resources to achieve transformational change, that we are well run and thrive as an organisation. 

Timescale

● Phase 1 is planned from November 2026 to March 2027
● There is a possibility of contract extension from April to October 2027.

Key aptitude, skills and experience needed

• Comfort with ambiguity. The programme is being designed as it runs. Facilitation and co-design. The cohort has signed up on the basis that they shape the network rather than comment on it, and that promise is the main thing holding them
• Curiosity about the housing sector. You’ll be working closely with people who spend their careers in housing, and an active interest in what they’re grappling with is what will make the programme a success.
• Comfort designing beyond your own expertise. You won’t know every topic as well as the members do, and you shouldn’t need to – the skill is drawing out and shaping the expertise available to you.
• External relationship management. Members are officers, directors and CEOs across housing associations, local authorities and developers
• Commercial judgement, particularly around pricing and willingness-to-pay conversations
• Value proposition development with supporting marketing.
• Copywriting and editing for stewardship of the cohort

To apply

Download the full Tender Invitation and Description here.

Please submit a proposal by e-mail to Tom Chance – [email protected] outlining how you would deliver this work. The deadline is 9am on Monday 28th September.

Your proposal should include the following:

• Understanding of this brief and approach to doing this work
• Profiles of the person or people who will be doing the work.
• Track record with examples of projects completed relevant to the brief
• Availability/capacity (ability to deliver work within the timescales set out)
• Price breakdown – with daily or hourly rates
• A CV.

We will assess proposals against the following criteria:

a) specialist knowledge, skills and experience
b) track record and capability
c) capacity
d) price

If you would like to discuss the brief to better understand our aims and requirements, you can contact Tom Chance – [email protected]