Spatial Agency Project Lead
Employed by: Makespace Oxfordshire CBS
Salary: £34,925 per annum, pro rata (0.4 FTE)
Starting date: Oct/Nov 2026
Contract: 3-year fixed term (Ends Aug 2029)
Hours: part time, 0.4 FTE (around 2 days per week), worked flexibly; some evening and weekend work around cohort sessions.
Holiday: 25 days + bank holidays (pro rata)
Pension: Statutory (3%) employer contribution to the NEST pension scheme
Role scope
The Spatial Agency Project Lead develops and leads Makespace’s new Spatial Agency programme: a cohort-based learning journey that supports community leaders to find, secure and manage space of their own.
Over three years it will work with up to 20 leaders, in two cohorts of ten, prioritising those with lived experience of poverty, disadvantage or discrimination to gain the skills, confidence and support to shape and curate space, build power and play an active role in design, control and ownership of their neighbourhoods.
Spatial Agency is one half of a National Lottery funded programme: Reclaiming Place. Rebuilding Power. It sits alongside the complimentary Common Room project; a pilot model for a free, open-access citizen-led space, or "public living room".
This role will design, curate and lead the Spatial Agency training programme, working in close collaboration with the Makespace team and community of consultants and collaborators, utilising the knowledge, skills and learning from Makespace’s work unlocking space across Oxfordshire over the last decade.
Spatial Agency is rooted in Makespace’s north star vision for spatial justice and built around our emerging DREAMS framework, a step-by-step approach to unlocking and stewarding space: Define, Research, Explore, Approach, Make, Steward.
Is it the right job for you?
This role is for someone who values how people learn as much as what they learn. Spatial Agency is a new peer learning journey, supporting community leaders in identifying, unlocking, retrofitting, and stewarding of land and buildings in their neighbourhoods. You will enable the forming of deep relationships through peer learning, building skills and knowledge through expert input, tools, approaches and the experience of leading Community Asset Developers.
You'll be someone who can think strategically about a whole programme while also caring about the quality of each session and connection. You're a confident trainer and project manager, comfortable translating approaches and ideas into accessible and engaging learning resources.
You’ll bring patience for the pace peer learning demands, curiosity about ecological retrofit and spatial justice, and the confidence to set direction without needing to be the expert. Experience in place shaping or community assets is a plus, but not essential. The role offers a flexible working pattern, busier during teaching periods and lighter during assessment and reflection. If this sounds like you, it could be a great fit.
The full person specification is in the application pack on our website.
How to apply
We don't accept CVs. Please go to makespaceoxford.org/careers/ to see our full Application pack and fill in the online Application form there.
The deadline for submission is 8am on 15 September 2026.
If invited to interview we will give you the questions in advance. We want to have a conversation, rather than giving you a memory test.
We recognise that systemic inequalities exist and have developed an inclusive approach to recruitment that takes positive action. We actively encourage applications from global majority candidates.
If you need any adjustments to apply or to interview, please contact us at [email protected]. You do not need to explain why, and asking will not affect how your application is considered.
Pay: £34,925.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Sick pay
- Work from home
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Oxford
