A desert island, 30 times larger than the National Arena, is looking for an employee. Salary of 30,000 euros for half a year

The Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT), a conservation organization, is hiring a new ranger for Handa Island, a small, uninhabited patch of land off the north-west coast of Scotland in the Highlands region on the North Atlantic coast, according to the BBC.

The post is for six months, between March and September 2026, and comes with unusual challenges, including weekly boat trips to the mainland for laundry and supplies.

Handa Island has approximately 307 hectares, being approximately 30 times larger than the National Arena. and is accessible by a 10-minute small ferry crossing from the village of Tarbet, a very small community located a few kilometers from Scourie, a town of around 200 souls.

The last people who lived on Handa Island left it in the 19th century, and since then it has become a true nature sanctuary, populated by tens of thousands of seabirds, such as puffins (parrots), guillemots and Atlantic eels. Whales and basking sharks can often be spotted from shore.

According to the announcement, the ranger will have a schedule of 35 hours a week and will have a salary of 26,112 pounds, about 30,000 euros, for the six months of the contract.

He will have responsibilities such as monitoring wildlife, especially seabirds, coordinating a team of volunteers and managing the flow of around 8,000 tourists during the summer.

“Handa is an isolated location and the people you work with will also be the people you spend your free time with in the evenings, so it needs to be someone who is comfortable with community life,” explained Rab Potter, the NGO's protected area manager.

According to him, the ideal candidate must be a good leader, able to work and live with volunteers, resourceful and adaptable, ready to find solutions to unforeseen problems.

The new ranger must also have the skills to plan their activity around changing weather, which can sometimes lead to the ferry being suspended for several days, and have a solid knowledge of wildlife monitoring, especially seabirds.

“It's a challenging role, but the successful candidate will spend some warm and sunny days in one of the most beautiful and exciting places in Scotland,” Potter added.

Accommodation is provided free of charge, in a traditional shelter, built especially for rangers. However, regular trips to the mainland will be essential for washing, shopping and stocking up on gas cylinders, used for cooking and heating.

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