Interested in helping at BSidesSF 2024?

BSidesSF is a security event that would not be possible without the work of our local community. Every year, the organizers work hard to build a fun and exciting agenda so you can experience the latest in cool security happenings. However, we rely on contributions from volunteers like you to help with various tasks leading up to and on the two days of the event. Join us!

What’s in it for me?

Volunteering is a great way to get involved with the local security community, especially if you are a newcomer. It’s also a good chance to meet other security-minded people while picking up various skills along the way. All volunteers must work for a minimum of 1 General Volunteer shift or 2 Safety Ops shifts and will get a free BSidesSF t-shirt + badge as part of their volunteer admission. This means you can attend talks during the times that you are not volunteering. This is a minimum, and if you would like to pick up more shifts

What type of volunteers are you looking for?

Anyone and everyone! No two volunteers are alike so we aim to provide opportunities for all personality types and skill sets. Take a look at our role descriptions below for a better idea of which opportunities might be right for you.

At the same time, we realize that not every role will be suitable for every volunteer. For each role, we will mention possible gotchas in order to provide an inclusive experience for all our volunteers. As in previous years, we are adding the following classifications as applicable to our roles:

  • Roles that require lots of interactions with people
  • Roles that may have high noise/sensory effects
  • Roles that require mobility
  • Roles that may require excessive standing
  • Roles that require strength/lifting

We will also clearly highlight accessibility features within the venue for those who require it. And as always, we are open to feedback! Please let us know in your request to volunteer or by emailing volunteer@bsidessf.org, and we will work to provide any possible accommodations.

What tasks need to be done?

We group our volunteer opportunities into several pools.

  • Attendee-Facing - These roles require frequent or constant attendee interaction, often providing information or helping with registration
  • Behind-the-Scenes - These roles require less attendee interaction, but will often require a higher level of agency or operational ability. These roles often involve the setup or teardown of various pieces of the event as it goes along.
  • Social Media - This role will involve documenting the Bsides experience on social media, as well as talk with attendees about their experiences at Bsides.
  • Safety Ops - These roles are the eyes, ears, and voices of BsidesSF staff, as well as a friendly face for attendees and other volunteers to go to if something is going wrong. Strong communication skills and a cool head are a major benefit to these roles.
  • Room moderators - This attendee-facing role requires that you are comfortable acting as an MC for event talks/workshops. This means you should be able to communicate clearly for both the speaker’s and the audience’s benefit, and ideally have a strong command of the English language. This role will require a pre-screening, if you’d like to be considered for this role please fill out this form.

When you sign up for a shift slot, you will pick one of these larger pools and you will work in one or more of the given roles inside that pool depending on volunteer availability and accessibility needs. For more information on the individual roles, see descriptions below.

What if I don’t know how to do any of these?

Our volunteer leads will train you for the specific tasks you sign up for, and there will also be volunteer Q&A sessions prior to the event. Please try to make time to be available on Friday, May 3rd, 2024 at 12PM-1PM or 6-7PM for training and Q&A.

What if the shift I want is filled up?

You can sign up to be on the waitlist for a given role, but be aware that there is no guarantee that you will get that shift at that time. We recommend you consider other open shifts, and if we see you are under the minimum, we will reach out to see where else you may be able to help out. You can also always send us an email with questions to volunteer@bsidessf.org.

Are all the shifts even?

In the past, we have counted volunteer minimums by a number of hours. This year we are trying out a different strategy, and going for a shift count approach instead. While the shift minimum will put everyone around the same amount of time, we chose to optimize for not having volunteers be on shift when they don’t need to be, rather than making all shifts even. Yes, there is a potential to game this system, if it becomes a problem then we will make changes.

What if there are specific talks I want to go to?

We understand that our volunteers may want to attend specific talks, whether it’s an interesting topic or just to show support for a friend or coworker. Share your preferences with your volunteer lead and we will do our best to accommodate your request.

Can you provide proof of my volunteer hours?

Absolutely! Reach out to volunteer@bsidessf.org after the conference and we will provide the necessary documentation. Note that you will be responsible for checking in and checking out with BSidesSF Event Volunteer registration to keep your hours accurate.

Do you work with Benevity, etc. to facilitate donations based on matching volunteer hours?

If your employer offers a charitable giving program, they can donate money to BSidesSF based on your volunteer hours. Reach out to your company’s HR team for more information.

BSidesSF is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, so if you like the work we do, we would really appreciate your employer’s donation!

How do I sign up???

You can sign up for shifts on our new volunteer management page https://bsidessf2024.volunteerlocal.com. Make sure that you’ve used a valid email and that you’ve created an account in https://bsidessf.slack.com so that we can contact you. Shift sign ups without these being valid are subject to removal.

What if I have further questions?

Please reach out to volunteer [at] bsidessf.org, or the #volunteers channel and tag @sigint


Roles

Safety Ops

Safety Ops

Safety Ops is the group at the con which helps to ensure the protection of our attendees, speakers and guests against threats to their well being and to the con. Some examples are: ombudspersons, safety monitors, crowd control and sometimes security guards. Safety Ops is not EMS, law enforcement, or fire although we support and extend their reach.

Duties Include:

  • Badge check at all points of entrance and exit
  • Facilitate orderly conduct of the con for all our guests
  • Act as ombudspersons for our guests by representing them to the BSidesSF organizers and staff
  • Observe and report incidents which may endanger the safety of our guests of violates our Code of Conduct
  • Operate a radio to keep in communication with other safety ops on the floor along with BSidesSF leads

Bonus:

  • Prior safety ops experience (might have been called public safety in the past)

Accessibility:

  • Requires mobility (accommodations can be made)
  • Requires strong communication/coordination skills
  • Requires strong multitasking ability
  • Requires potentially interacting with large numbers of people
  • May require going for long periods of time without breaks
  • May feature loud sounds/noises/flashes

Attendee Facing Roles

Coat Check

The Coat Check area will be responsible for Coat Check, T-Shirt Sales/Pre-Sales, and Lost & Found during the conference.

Duties Include:

  • Collect attendees’ coats and bags for storage during the conference
  • Act as a cashier and distribute conference merchandise (badges, t-shirts, drink tickets)
  • Answer questions for attendees
  • Manage venue Lost and Found

Bonus:

  • Have strong communication skills
  • Have strong customer service skills

Accessibility:

  • Requires interacting with large numbers of people
  • Requires mobility
  • May require carrying/lifting heavy items for attendees

Registration/Information Desk

You will be the “face” of BSidesSF for all attendees. Your goal is to make a positive, welcoming first impression for all attendees and visitors. You might also be pulled to hype the crowd during our event raffle.

Duties include:

  • Greeting attendees arriving (or departing) at each Metreon entrance in an engaging and confident manner
  • Direct attendees to their correct destination (registration desk, sessions, etc.)
  • Answer questions for incoming attendees
  • Check-in pre-registered attendees
  • Ensure attendees have everything they need to enter the conference
  • Sell conference merchandise at the desk, provide a receipt and direct attendee to coat check to retrieve their merchandise
  • Share attendee feedback with other volunteers as necessary
  • Handle walk-in ticket sales

Bonus:

  • Have strong communication skills
  • Have strong customer service skills

Accessibility:

  • Requires interacting with large numbers of people
  • May require standing for long periods of time (accommodations available)

Room Moderator Positions

Presentation Room Moderator

This is a customer-facing position that ensures overall speaker readiness, primarily related to technology and announcing speakers and breaks throughout the day.

Duties Include:

  • Assist speakers with audio and visual equipment
  • Make sure the speaker is present and ready prior to talk
  • Welcome and announce speakers
  • Thank our sponsors
  • Hand out speaker gifts on-stage
  • Announce lunch/coffee breaks, etc
  • Record speaker statistics: # people in talk, talk time, engagement etc

Accessibility:

  • Requires interacting with people
  • May feature loud sounds/noises/flashes
  • Not wheelchair-friendly

Workshop Room Moderator

In this position you will be responsible for making sure the workshops are conducted smoothly. Ensure that all attendees and presenters have everything they need during the workshops.

Duties include:

  • Direct attendees to their correct destination (registration desk, sessions, etc.)
  • Answer questions for attendees and presenters
  • Check-in pre-registered attendees
  • Ensure attendees and presenters have everything they need for the workshops
  • Proctor the workshop sessions

Accessibility:

  • Requires interacting with large numbers of people
  • May require standing for long periods of time

Behind-The-Scenes Volunteer Positions

Registration Bag Stuffing

Our sponsors provide us with materials to put into the bag participants receive at registration. This all needs to be put into the bags and organized for registration to be able to hand them out. In order to do this rapidly, we build a human assembly line, where each station collects a type of items and passes them down the assembly line. While doing this we are constantly communicating about what supplies are needed, running low, or we are out of – to make sure we give out as much sponsor material as possible.

Please note that this shift will be the day before the event but will be counted towards your volunteer hours.

Duties Include:

  • Preparing registration swag bags for all attendees

Accessibility:

  • May require standing or sitting for long periods of time (accommodations available)

Setup/Teardown

In this position, you will be responsible for the appearance of the venue and ultimately support the overall BSidesSF experience! This is a brief overview of what to expect, but you’ll receive more detailed instructions at the start of your shift.

Duties Include:

  • Work with Vendors to unload freight from trucks, move it into the venue, and back out again
  • Set up tables, chairs, linens, podiums, stanchions, and signage according to space plans

Accessibility:

  • Requires strong mobility
  • Requires lifting 30+ lbs

Party

In this position, you will contribute to the event setup and tear down team and deliver the ultimate BSidesSF party experience by being a part of the crew responsible for the appearance of the party space! You will be an instrumental force in all setup and tear down configurations pertaining to seating, tables, decorations and all other venue details before and after as required. Your goal will be to perform work under tight deadlines to meet required specifications.

Duties Include:

  • Check in all party attendees
  • Answer attendee questions
  • Route any complaints to the appropriate core staff member

Accessibility:

  • Requires interacting with large numbers of people
  • May require standing for long periods of time (accommodations available)
  • May feature loud sounds/noises/flashes

Runner/Helper

In this role you will represent the interest of BSidesSF to ensure operations are running smoothly and support your fellow volunteers.

Duties Include:

  • Checking on various volunteers and staff on the floor
  • Running errands for BSidesSF staff/leads

Accessibility:

  • May require standing for long periods of time (accommodations available)
  • You may be called on to make announcements to large crowds
  • You may be called on to fill in for missing shifts
  • Communication skills are a plus