Stewards, gophers, registration, info desk

Photo by Tracy Howl from Nine Worlds 2016
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Hello and welcome to the hub of all things volunteering at the Nine Worlds convention 2018. Here you will find some helpful information regarding volunteering to assist the convention, and contact details of the folk you need to speak to if you’re interested in either finding out more or throwing your hat in the ring to join us working behind the scenes. Please note, we expect all convention volunteers to have read and understood both our code of conduct, and our general volunteering conditions.

Part-Time Volunteering opportunities

We are dependent on the kind assistance of ticket-holding con-goers who are willing to donate a few hours of their time to us to help keep things running smoothly. These lovely folk (who are very much appreciated by Team Fran, Jane, Jess and Zaquiel) have the opportunity to help out in three main ways:

Stewarding

Stewards are the backbone of our volunteer team, providing support to all of our tracks that request in-room support with regard to manning doors, assisting with roaming mics and any other support the Session Runner may require. Stewards are our roaming ambassadors for the con, and when not assisting with track sessions are usually walking the hallways helping attendees find their way, and keeping everyone moving when it all gets a bit busy.

Gophering (go-fer things)

Our general go-to folk who act as runners (a notional concept that can in fact sometimes involve running, but is usually best described as “walking purposefully”), moving around the convention to help carry bits and pieces from a to b, or assist with guest signings, or just generally do what needs doing (within reason) based on Fran, Jane, Jess and Zaquiel’s judgement.

Registration Desk

Here you get to spend your time working for our Registration Leaders Nick and Steve. We aim to ensure our registration line keeps moving at a fair clip so that our attendees can spend their time enjoying the con, rather than standing in line to get their passes. To that end, if you assist on Reg Desk, you get to be part of the magic, registering attendees and giving out goodie bags. You may also be asked to be one of our popular meet & greet reps, who stand in the hotel foyer welcoming arriving attendees to the convention and helping them find their way to the right queue.

Information Desk

Our information desk provides a reassuringly consistent (as in “always in the same spot”) face to the convention. At least one person with management authority will always be available, but we need more people to offer guidance and general information to attendees.

Access Volunteers

Our Access Coordinator is looking for volunteers to help out with setting up the convention on Thursday. This is to help with setting up all our rooms so they are accessible, and is likely to involve moving and labelling chairs, moving supplies to the quiet room etc. No experience is necessary but this is quite a physically demanding role. If you think you could spare some time on Thursday, please email Samantha at access@nineworlds.co.uk detailing when you would be available.

If offering a few hours of your time in one of these roles sounds like your cup of tea/coffee/raktajino, please fill in our volunteering form:

Full-Time Volunteers

We run a tight ship here at HMS Nine Worlds, all thanks to our small core crew of Full-Time volunteers, who will spend their time across all of our functions (Stewarding, Gophering, Reg & Info Desks) depending on their skills and experience to ensure that the convention as a whole runs smoothly. Spaces on the full-time crew are extremely limited and competition is fierce (we have an excellent support package, usually including drinks and some snacks). Not fight-to-the-death Syrio Forel-fierce, but you get the idea. Also: coffee.

With this in mind, if you are able and willing to offer your time for the entire convention weekend for at least 8-10 hours per day (with breaks), please get in touch with Fran, Jane, Jess or Zaquiel at volunteer@nineworlds.co.uk, giving us your name, contact details and some information about you and your experience to support your application. Previous convention experience is a plus, but not a mandatory requirement - other similar experience will be viewed favourably. Working medium to large events, working with a diverse team, and customer service experience are all welcome. We are very proud of our inclusivity and anti-harassment policies, and look to see them reflected in the team. All applicants over the age of 18 will be considered.

In exchange for your time, commitment and drive to ensure all of our attendees have a most excellent time, we will cover your convention ticket costs and provide shared accommodation, as well as a coveted Volunteer Team t-shirt. Uniform Nine Worlds hi-vis vests are provided for your use during the convention.

Who to contact and how to apply

These roles are being recruited on a rolling basis, so we'll close applications once we've filled up. We're not following the formal recruitment process for these roles, as it's a bit too unwieldy for the scale and the rolling nature of these recruitments. For general enquiries about volunteering with the ops team, email volunteer@nineworlds.co.uk. For general enquiries about the convention, email info@nineworlds.co.uk.