Become an ORCA Wildlife Officer

A key part of ORCA’s education and outreach work are the Wildlife Officer programmes we deliver in the North Sea, the Hebrides, English Channel and the Bay of Biscay each year.

Working in close partnership with our friends at Brittany Ferries, DFDS and Caledonian MacBrayne, ORCA Wildlife Officers spend a couple of weeks up to six months working at sea, meeting tens of thousands of passengers.

Our Wildlife Officers educate passengers on the marine wildlife around them during their voyage and even showing them the wonders of the ocean.

Our Wildlife Officers often show someone their first ever whale or dolphin!

Each year we recruit and train dedicated, passionate and energetic individuals to join our team, giving them a once in a lifetime experience and the perfect start to a career in conservation.

ORCA Wildlife Officer Blog

Wildlife Officer vacancies

Applications typically open in November or December, with positions starting in the spring of the following year. It is an incredibly competitive process, with hundreds of candidates vying for just a handful of roles.

Vacancies will be posted online when they are available, so keep an eye out and good luck!

ORCA Vacancies

Wildlife Officer Placements

The perfect way to get a glimpse of life as an ORCA Wildlife Officer is to take part in one of our Wildlife Officer placements.

These four week residential programmes give a handful of people the chance to get a behind the scenes experience living and working at sea with our teams, learning how to become a Wildlife Officer.

Participants will live on board one of the ferries and are fully immersed in the day to day ORCA Wildlife Officer programme, delivering presentations, running deck watches and engaging with passengers under the supervision of our experienced team.

The programme is £695 per person and includes:

A ship based ORCA Wildlife Officer experience, including marine mammal identification and surveying experience, environmental education training and a hands on passenger engagement programme.
Accommodation (same sex shared cabins in the Bay of Biscay, individual cabin in the North Sea) and food whilst on board.
An ORCA merchandise pack, including a hat and a t-shirt
A free place on ORCA’s Marine Mammal Surveyor course (after the Placement)

These placements offer a rare chance to gain practical conservation experience that is essential for a career in marine conservation and environmental education, and as such they are incredibly competitive.

ORCA Wildlife Officer Routes