Policy Officer Implementing Land Reform; Scotland Act

This is an Expression of Interest (EOI) opportunity, available on a lateral move basis only. Applications are open to Core Scottish Government employees only.

Job Title: Policy Officer for Implementing the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025

Business Area / Directorate: Land Reform, Rural and Islands Policy Division within Directorate for Local Government and Communities

Location: Hybrid (Edinburgh / Glasgow)

The Land Reform Unit includes staff based in Atlantic Quay (Glasgow), Saughton House (Edinburgh) and Victoria Quay (Edinburgh) offices. There is flexibility to be based at any of these office locations. In line with our current ways of working, our team follows a hybrid working approach where colleagues use a mix of office based and remote working (working from home) but typically are expected to spend 40% of the working week in the office or engaging stakeholders.

Grade: B2

Advert Type: Level Transfer

Duration: Permanent

Eligibility: Expressions of interest are invited from substantive colleagues from SG Core only on level transfer.

The Land Reform Unit includes staff based in Atlantic Quay (Glasgow), Saughton House (Edinburgh) and Victoria Quay (Edinburgh) offices. There is flexibility to be based at any of these office locations. In line with our current ways of working, our team follows a hybrid working approach where colleagues use a mix of office based and remote working (working from home) but typically are expected to spend 40% of the working week in the office or engaging stakeholders.

Land Reform is a highly political area of policy that has been a priority of successive Governments since devolution. Land Reform at its heart is about how control, influence and ownership over our limited landmass is distributed across society. Policy areas under the broad umbrella of Land Reform, some of which lie outwith the unit, include the various Community Rights to Buy, the Scottish Land Fund, legislation around agricultural tenancies, sponsorship of the Scottish Land Commission, policies relating to transparency of control/ownership of land, projects on how landowners should engage with communities, and production of the government’s Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement.

The Government recently passed the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025. This landmark legislation will:

• Require owners of large landholdings to engage with local communities, including through the development of publicly available Land Management Plans which will be hosted by a public sector agency.

• Enable communities to be pre-notified of land sales to they have more opportunity to buy land in a way that benefits the local area – including through utilising their Community Right to Buy

• Give Ministers new powers to require that large estates are sold into separate lots – thereby reducing concentration of land ownership in Scotland

• Create a new Land and Communities Commissioner (LCC) to be part of the Scottish Land Commission. The LCC will enforce some of the obligations on landowners in the Act and also have a role in advising on the lotting of landholdings.

Though the Act has now passed, significant amounts of secondary legislation and guidance are needed before the policies can come into effect. The holder of this policy officer post will play a key role in the implementation of the Act in the coming years.

This is an opportunity to work on the delivery of landmark legislation that - once fully implemented - will impact over 50% of Scotland’s land. You will have the chance to work with stakeholders across rural Scotland, and work on policy development and secondary legislation and guidance, all whilst being part of a friendly, supportive and welcoming unit. We are seeking an individual who embraces working with a team to deliver for ministers, who has a strong interest in developing policy and legislation and who has a positive and supportive working style.