Scottish Officer

The Sea Watch Foundation is a long-established national UK marine environmental
research charity concerned with monitoring the numbers and distribution of whales, dolphins and
porpoises in the seas around the British Isles, as well as investigating the conservation threats
that they face. In the 1970s, its Director developed cetacean “Citizen Science” in the UK, with a special
partnership between scientists and trained volunteer observers drawn from all walks of life,
which has led to one of the largest and longest-running cetacean sightings databases in Europe.
For more information, see the Sea Watch website: www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

The post of Scottish Officer has been established to work alongside Sea Watch’s
Sightings Officer (Simone Evans), closely liaising also with Sea Watch’s Director (Peter Evans) and
the Communications & Outreach Officer, taking on the following key responsibilities: 1) support
and develop Sea Watch’s network of observers in Scotland; 2) increase the amount of useful
sightings data (particularly from effort-related observations) in Scotland, and 3) represent the
charity in Scotland, and facilitate public awareness and education of its work through the regular
dissemination of relevant information.

Minimum Requirement: A university degree in biological science or a related
subject.

Preferred Experience: Applicants having knowledge & direct experience with
cetaceans in Scottish waters and their identification, good connections with current &
potential SWF observers, and recruiting the public to volunteer in wildlife field data
collection.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Highly organised and conscientious
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Experience overseeing and training volunteers
• Ability to enthuse others through written word and face to face
• Knowledge and passion for cetaceans and their conservation
• Proven social media experience
• Experience of events management
• Public speaking experience
• Basic knowledge of data processing & checking, production of graphs/histograms from
  sightings data