An uninhabited island in the northwest highlands is looking for a new ranger.
Working for the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) for six months comes with its own challenges, including weekly boat trips to the mainland to do laundry and buy supplies.
This job requires a good understanding of wildlife, as well as excellent interpersonal skills.
“Handa is a remote place and the people you work with are also the people you socialize with in the evenings, so it needs to be someone who can adapt to public life,” said Rab Potter, SWT reserve area manager.
[BBC]
The 760-acre (307-hectare) island is a 10-minute ferry ride from the mainland from Tarbet. Thabeet is a small community a few miles from Scourie, which itself is home to only about 200 people.
Handa’s last human residents left in the 19th century, leaving the island to tens of thousands of seabirds such as puffins, guillemots and razorbills.
Whales and basking sharks are often seen on the coast.
The ranger role, which pays an annual salary of £26,112, includes monitoring wildlife, leading teams of volunteers and helping to manage the island’s 8,000 summer visitors.
The last human inhabitants of Handa remained in the 19th century [Getty Images]
“The perfect candidate is someone who can not only lead a team of volunteers but also live with them,” Mr Porter said.
“They need to be resourceful and able to find solutions to any unexpected problems and be able to plan for changeable weather as this can sometimes mean no ferries for days on end.
“There is also a need for good knowledge of wildlife monitoring, particularly seabirds.”
He added: “This is a challenging role but the successful candidate will spend some warm, sunny days in one of Scotland’s most beautiful and exciting locations.”
Accommodation is free in purpose-built ranger huts.
However, frequent trips to Scurry are required for cleaning, shopping and the supply of bottled gas, which can be used as fuel for cooking and heating.
The work runs from March to September next year.
SWT says the role can be challenging, but also rewarding [Getty Images]