In 1935 Cartland was sent to his first posting on the Gold Coast, now called Ghana. Serving as a cadet administrative officer he worked in the central secretariat until 1944. From there he was seconded back to London and home service at the Colonial Office.
African Studies Branch
At the Colonial Office Cartland served in the African Studies Branch. In 1948 he was secretary of the London African Conference. Governors and other political leaders from Africa convened to discuss colonial policy and future independence as members of the Commonwealth.
Uganda
In 1949 he was sent to Uganda to be an administrative secretary and stayed for the rest of his career. He became Secretary for Social Services and Local Government as well as a member of the Executive Council in 1952. In 1955 he was appointed Minister for Social Services, in 1958 he became Minister of Education and Labour and Chief Secretary to the Government in 1960. In this capacity he made contributions towards the creation of the University of East Africa. Further to this he took interest in the growth of the University College of Makerere.
Self Government Period
With the introduction of internal self-government in 1961 he became Uganda's first and last Deputy-Governor. In this capacity he was credited with helping to lay the groundwork for Ugandan Independence.
Retirement
Higher Education
In retirement Cartland became Registrar of Birmingham University. His work in this area also took on the executive committee of the Inter-University Council for Higher Education Overseas between 1963 and 1967. Furthermore, he was a member of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission between 1964 and 1967.
In 1968 he moved to Tasmania to take up an appointment as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Tasmania. He worked in this position for the next decade and was awarded an honoraryDoctor of Laws in recognition of his service. He also acted as deputy chair of the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee between 1975 and 1977.
The Tasmanian Government appointed him chair of the South-West National Park Advisory Committee, reviewed archives and library legislation and Tasmanian governmental administration. In 1983 he served on the committee which examined the size of the Tasmanian Parliament. His last role was as chair of the Tasmanian Council of Trade Unions Training Authority.
