British charity on hunt for team to help count penguins in Antarctica - here’s how to apply

Those who are successful will be based on Goudier Island in the Antractica Peninsula, alongside a colony of Gentoo penguins

Gentoo penguins in Antarctica could be your new colleagues (AFP via Getty Images)

The world’s most remote post office in Antarctica is recruiting new staff to count the penguins.

The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust is on the hunt for a team to maintain the base at Port Lockroy, and typically receives hundreds of applicants.

The site is now reopening for the first time to the public since the pandemic, but usually welcomes around 18,000 people between November and March.

Typically the Cambridge-based charity advertises yearly for seasonal postmasters, who are responsible for maintaining Antarctica’s historic buildings and artefacts.

Those who are successful will be based on Goudier Island in the Antractica Peninsula, alongside a colony of Gentoo penguins.

Candidates must be physically fit, with environmental awareness and an understanding of how to live minimally, especially as there is no running water on the site.

The day-to-day tasks include running the post office and gift shop, undertaking a penguin count and looking after artefacts inside Bransfield House.

The selected candidates will be the first to live at the site since those in 2019.

From 1944 to 1962, Port Lockroy was the first permanent British base to be established on the Antarctic Peninsula, but since 2006 it’s been converted to a museum and post office.

UKAHT Antarctic operations manager Lauren Luscombe told the BBC : “Given the nature of the day-to-day tasks involved to keep Port Lockroy running smoothly, we look for applicants that can bring a range of skills to the team such as retail experience, heritage, conservation and building maintenance, and leadership or management.

“But beyond that, it is important for applicants to show us who they are - we need to get to know them, through their application and throughout the selection process. The successful candidates will be living in close quarters for five months so it is also essential that we curate the right balance of skill sets and personalities.”

People should apply via the UKAHT website, and the final deadline is 23.59pm on Monday 25 April.

Those who are hired will undertake a week’s training in Cambridge in October this year, and then head to Antractice, where they will live and work until March 2023.