Vacancies for two field assistants on sub-Antarctic Marion Island, April 2026 – May 2027

 A quizzical Sooty Albatross on Marion Island

BirdLife South Africa is offering an opportunity for two suitably qualified field staff to spend a year on South Africa’s sub-Antarctic Marion Island.  The focus of these positions is to continue monitoring studies designed to support the ongoing planning for a House Mouse eradication operation by Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds: The Mouse-Free Marion Project.

Position duties will include collecting field data on mice and bait, preparations for an aerial baiting trial scheduled for April-May 2027, continued monitoring of weather parameters and, in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, contributing to the collection of baseline data on invertebrates and plants.  The successful applicants will report to the MFM Project Manager.

The deadline for applications is 21 November 2025.

Download the full position description and application details from here.  Note that preference will be given to South Africans.

A Wandering Albatross close to Marion Island, January 2025, photograph by Laurie Smaglick Johnson

The Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds: The Mouse-Free Marion Project is a registered non-profit company (No. 2020/922433/08) in South Africa, established to eradicate the invasive albatross-killing mice on Marion Island in the Southern Ocean.  The project was initiated by BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.  Upon successful completion, the project will restore the critical breeding habitat of over two million seabirds, many globally threatened, and improve the island’s resilience to a warming climate.  For more information or to support the project visit mousefreemarion.org.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 30 October 2025