The Scottish Seabird Centre (SSC) works to ensure that Scotland’s seas and coasts are alive with wildlife, celebrated and protected by all. We act to save seabirds and restore Scotland’s marine environment through conservation, learning, and unforgettable wildlife experiences:
- Conservation – We lead conservation initiatives to protect Scotland’s seabirds and restore the health of our coastal and marine environment. This includes working to protect internationally important seabird islands, and delivering community-led restoration, citizen science and practical conservation projects along Scotland’s coastline.
- Learning – We seek to build an understanding of and a passion for the marine environment. Over 60,000 children and young people have engaged with our education programme.
- Experience – We operate one of the leading nature visitor centres in the UK, welcoming over 170,000 visitors a year, and were awarded the Gold Green Tourism Award in April 2025.
Restoration Forth
Restoration Forth is a WWF-UK-led partnership bringing together communities, organisations, researchers and volunteers to restore coastal habitats across the Firth of Forth and build stronger connections between people and the sea.
The Scottish Seabird Centre has been involved in Restoration Forth since its first phase, delivering community-centred conservation and citizen science activities including seagrass monitoring and restoration. The next phase of the programme will explore opportunities to restore a wider range of coastal habitats, including sand dunes, seagrass, native oysters, blue mussels and saltmarsh.
Role Description
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Scottish Seabird Centre’s Conservation team and play a leading role in developing new coastal restoration and conservation opportunities across the Firth of Forth.
The postholder will spend much of their time delivering activities as part of the Restoration Forth partnership, with a particular focus on scoping opportunities for sand dune restoration along the East Lothian coast. You will bring together existing evidence, site observations, local knowledge and stakeholder perspectives to identify potential sites for future restoration and produce a practical restoration opportunity scoping report to inform the next phase of the project.
You will work closely with landowners, local communities, volunteers, researchers and conservation organisations. Building trusted relationships will be central to the role, as will finding ways for local people to contribute to understanding, protecting and restoring their coastline.
Alongside Restoration Forth, you will work as part of the wider SSC Conservation Team to develop and deliver conservation projects along Scotland’s coastline. This will include projects that help us better understand and reduce seabird and shorebird disturbance, tackle coastal pollution and litter, and engage communities with citizen science and practical conservation action.
We are looking for someone with a background in coastal conservation or restoration, strong project management skills and excellent people skills. You will be confident working independently, taking projects forward using your own initiative, while also being a supportive and collaborative member of a friendly team.
This role is about supporting people to protect, restore and connect with the marine and coastal environment. We want to provide knowledge, tools and opportunities for communities and volunteers to take positive practical action for the wildlife and habitats around us.
Essential skills and experience
- Experience of working in conservation, habitat restoration or a closely related field.
- Experience developing and managing conservation projects, including planning activities, managing deadlines, monitoring progress and reporting on outcomes.
- Excellent people, partnership working, and communication skills
- Experience organising and leading practical, outdoor activities with volunteers or community groups.
- Confident working independently, using their own initiative to identify opportunities, solve problems and move projects forward.
- Highly organised, with good time management and the ability to manage multiple priorities.
- A passion for nature and commitment to the charities vision and mission
- Willing to undertake appropriate training, including outdoor first aid.
Desirable skills and experience
- Experience of sand dune ecology, coastal restoration and/or coastal habitat management.
- Experience of habitat surveying, mapping or using GIS.
- Experience developing or delivering citizen science projects.
- Experience of developing successful community engagement or volunteer programmes.
- An understanding of the pressures facing Scotland’s seabirds and shorebirds and the wider coastal environment.
- A full, current driving licence.
Application deadline: September 25, 2026
Salary range: £27,000 – £30,000 per annum, depending on experience
Location: Scottish Seabird Centre, The Harbour, North Berwick, with regular travel across East Lothian and the wider Firth of Forth
