Marine Futures Internship

Closing date: Sunday 12 April 2026

Salary: Real Living Wage £13.45 per hour, plus pension contribution of 9%

Contract type: Fixed term / Working hours: Full time

Location: Plumgarths, Crook Road, Kendal, Cumbria, LA8 8LX

The Marine Futures Internship Programme offers a unique opportunity to candidates who are passionate and enthusiastic about the marine environment.

The Marine Futures Interns will gain skills, knowledge, and experience across a variety of sectors in this exciting field to help direct and shape their future career ambitions.

Marine Futures North West Intern x 2

Location: Kendal, Cumbria

The internship will be based in Kendal, Cumbria. The role is a mixture of working from the Cumbria Wildlife Trust office in Kendal, fieldwork across the North West coast, and some travel to London and across the country, in addition to some optional homeworking. Meetings and training with partner organisations will be a mix of online and in person.

Please note there are a number of sister programmes. The internship programmes are all unique, but there is some join-up and coordination across the four programmes.

Salary: £13.45 per hour (Real Living Wage) plus 9% pension contribution.

Duration: Full-time (35 hrs per week) fixed-term for 6 months from 15 June – 11 December 2026.

The opportunity:

The Marine Futures Internship Programme offers a unique opportunity to candidates who are passionate and enthusiastic about the marine environment. The Marine Futures Interns will gain skills, knowledge, and experience across a variety of sectors in this exciting field to help direct and shape their future career ambitions.

The Marine Futures North West internship programme is funded by The Crown Estate and project managed by the North West Wildlife Trusts. The programme is run in partnership with The Crown Estate, the North West Wildlife Trusts, Ørsted and Natural England. Each partner organisation provides opportunities for the intern to develop skills in specialist areas including, marine conservation advice, sustainable fisheries, renewable energy development, marine policy, and community engagement.

The successful interns will follow a varied schedule that will allow them to gain a range of skills and experiences including: working with a variety of teams across different sectors; writing for different audiences; working with local communities to raise awareness about environmental issues; undertaking surveys; the use of social media in the workplace; delivering media interviews and presentations; and participating in online meetings, training, and webinars.

The two interns will also get the chance to undertake a joint research project looking into a practical topic of relevance to all partner organisations. This will involve working with different teams across the partner organisations.

What we are looking for:

An intern who can build on their existing skills and knowledge to make the most of this unique experience. Applicants should have a good understanding of current marine issues and some experience of working or volunteering within the marine sector. Most importantly, we are looking for candidates who are passionate and enthusiastic about the marine environment and have a willingness to learn. We are looking for someone who is organised, self-motivated, and able to work well within a team both remotely and in person. A full driving licence and access to a car with business use insurance is desirable.

Closing date for applications: Midnight 12 April 2026. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

Interviews: 7th and 8th May 2026

Further details on the programme and an application pack can be found on the official website of Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust is devoted to the conservation of the wildlife and wild places of Cumbria.