Operations Assistant, South Georgia Museum

Registered Scottish Charity SC 036819
South Georgia Heritage Trust,
Verdant Works, West Henderson’s Wynd, Dundee DD1 5BT

Operations Assistant, South Georgia Museum

South Georgia Heritage Trust operates the South Georgia Museum on behalf of the Government of
South Georgia. The museum is located in the abandoned whaling station of Grytviken, on the remote
sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. The museum is visited each austral summer by over 15,000
visitors that arrive on cruise ships, research vessels and yachts.

SGHT is seeking three practical and enthusiastic Operations Assistants to join the small team which will
spend 7 months (September – April) on South Georgia. The Operations Assistants will be involved in
opening the museum, operating the SGHT shop and undertaking fundraising and other projects. The
Operations Assistants will report to the On-Island Operations Manager.

Payment is £12.71 per hour with the working week averaging between 35 to 45 hours on island.
Holidays cannot be taken whilst on South Georgia, so holiday pay will be paid monthly and calculated
based on the number of hours worked per month. All food and accommodation are provided. Travel to
and from South Georgia is arranged by, and covered by, South Georgia Heritage Trust. Working hours
are dictated by the cruise ship schedule. This can mean working long, unsociable hours but, where
possible, the team will take two days off per week. Successful candidates will live in shared
accommodation in a small cottage next door to the museum and take part in a cooking and cleaning
rota with other museum staff.

Candidates must be over the age of 18, have the right to work in the UK and be UK based. They must
also pass a British Antarctic Survey Medical Unit medical if offered the role. Due to the remote location,
and limited facilities available, employment is conditional on passing this medical assessment.

Duties of this role include:

Front of House:

•  Opening and closing the museum for visiting ships.
•  Welcoming visitors to the museum and responding to questions about the museum, South

Georgia and SGHT.

•  Delivering guided tours of Grytviken Whaling Station.
•  Completing day-to-day housekeeping tasks such as cleaning the museum and toilets between

ship visits to ensure the museum is presentable and welcoming

Retail:

•  Serving customers in the shop during ship visits.
•  Stock management, including barcoding new stock, re-stocking during and after ship visits, and

assisting with stock inventories.

•  Assisting with merchandising of shop stock, including refreshing displays throughout the season.

Maintenance:

•  Undertaking waste management, including sorting and packing of waste.
•  Completing basic maintenance tasks, such as sanding and painting, around the museum.
•  Taking part in the annual deep clean of the museum and church.

Fundraising:

•  Delivering fundraising presentations on board visiting cruise ships.
•  Processing donations and associated paperwork.
•  Engaging with guests about the work of SGHT and encouraging them to support the charity.

Other:

• Supporting the Operations Management team with office administration as required.
• Taking part in a cooking and cleaning rota within shared museum accommodation.
• Occasionally assisting with curatorial projects, including object cleaning and exhibition installation,

under the supervision of the On-Island Operations Manager or Curatorial staff.

Experience:

Essential

• Living and working in a small team.
• Operating in a busy retail, or similar, environment including using EPOS systems and completing

inventories.

• Speaking to visitors of all ages and backgrounds, from all around the world.
• Public speaking and delivering presentations or giving guided tours.

Desirable

• Working in a museum or heritage environment.
• Cooking for groups of people, taking into consideration dietary requirements.
• Living and working in remote and isolated communities, and an awareness of the challenges of

this.

• Proficient in using Microsoft Office.
• Cleaning and waste management tasks in a non-domestic setting.
• Basic maintenance tasks such as sanding and painting.
• Walking and hiking in mountain terrain.

Updated February 2026

Person Specification:

• An excellent team player, always looking for ways to support their immediate team and wider

community.

• Self-sufficient, with the ability to identify tasks and complete them independently.
• Strong sense of personal responsibility, and awareness of their role and impact within a small

community.

• Careful and considerate, understanding that historic objects are irreplaceable and that getting

replacements for tools and equipment is difficult in remote locations.

• Enthusiastic and resilient, able to remain positive and proactive even at the end of a long day.
• Adaptable and able to adjust quickly to short-notice changes of plan.
• Detail orientated and committed to ensuring that tasks are always completed to the highest

standard.

• Practical and willing to tackle hands-on tasks such as painting, cleaning and maintenance.
• Ability to understand the “bigger picture” when carrying out repetitive tasks.
• Physically fit and able to undertake heavy lifting and other physical work.
• Environmentally aware and willing to be an advocate for conservation and wildlife.
• Strong numeracy skills and comfortable using them within a retail environment.
• Confident speaker of languages additional to English, particularly French, German or Mandarin.

(Desirable not essential)

Applications should consist of a 1-page cover letter plus CV, clearly outlining relevant skills and
experience. Please submit applications to Lauren Elliott, at lauren.elliott@sght.org

The deadline for applications is midnight on 13th April 2026. Interviews will take place across May and
June 2026.

Updated February 2026