Science Officer (seasonal)

The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust is looking for a seasonal Science Officer to support the delivery of its long-term marine mammal monitoring project on board Silurian. Starting January 2025.

Science Officer (seasonal): 10-month seasonal contract worked January to October 2025. Part-time 1,248 hour (34 hour per week) role, £24,050 pro rata, per annum starting salary.

This seasonal role will support the delivery of HWDT’s long-term marine mammal monitoring programme on board our charity owned and operated research vessel, Silurian.

We are looking for somebody experienced in marine mammal fieldwork and volunteer training to lead a series of visual, photographic, and acoustic surveys.

The ability to deliver high quality training to volunteers with a genuine enthusiasm for teaching skills to others is essential to this role.

We are seeking someone who loves being at sea and enjoys living and working in a close team. Experience working on boats or sailing would be an advantage. A valid medical fitness certificate (i.e. ML5 or ENG1) is required to work on board Silurian.

Our ideal candidate will have strong fieldwork and data collection skills and be confident troubleshooting and problem solving in the field.

Read the full role description here: Role description and person specification. Further information about Silurian and the work of the Trust can be found at here.

To apply send a CV, a covering letter explaining how your skills and experience meet the role responsibilities and person specification, and details of two references to Alison Lomax at alison.lomax@hwdt.org with ‘Science Officer’ in the subject line.

You do need to have the right to work in the UK to apply for this role, https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-work. As a small charity HWDT are unable to sponsor visa applications for international workers at this time.

The closing date for applications is Monday 28th October. Interviews will take place in person in Tobermory, Isle of Mull on 11th or 12th November.

For an informal chat about the role, contact Alison Lomax.

This post has been generously funded by NatureScot.