Alchemy Operations Leadership Interest Form

Alchemy Operations is the behind-the-scenes engine that helps turn our temporary city from a plan into a functioning reality.

Ops includes APW (Alchemy Public Works), Lamplighters, Quartermaster, and Leave No Trace (LNT). We're currently looking for people interested in Department Co-Lead, Department Lead Shadow, Team Lead, and Team Co-Lead opportunities.

You don't need to know everything already. We're interested in understanding how you think, how you solve problems, how you work with people, what experience you bring, and what you'd like to learn.

This form is the beginning of a conversation, not a commitment from either side.

Tell Us About You

Burn Name or Preferred Name

Legal Name

Pronouns

Email

Phone Number

Preferred method of contact

Text

Discord

Other

How long have you been involved with Alchemy?

Never attended

1–2 years

3–5 years

5+ years

What other burns, festivals, events, nonprofits, or volunteer organizations have you been involved with?

Have you previously volunteered in Operations, infrastructure, logistics, LNT, or a similar event department?

Yes

Tell us about that experience. What roles did you hold and what were you responsible for?

Which Ops leadership opportunities are you interested in?

Share Your Skills & Interests

Which types of work do you have experience with OR would be interested in learning?

Tell us about something you've built, organized, operated, coordinated, or helped make happen that you're particularly proud of. What was your role?

Tell Us About How You Operate

When you're part of a team or project, which roles do you naturally gravitate toward?

Which part of a project usually gives you the most energy?

What tends to frustrate you most when working on a team or project?

Share Your Operations Philosophy

What do you think a great Operations Department should provide to the rest of an event?

What does "good enough" mean to you when you're working with limited time, people, or resources?

In your opinion, what makes an Operations team successful even when participants never notice the work it did?

Lets Talk Problem Solving & Prioritization

It's Build Week. You arrive expecting to complete a project and discover you're missing a critical resource, another department is waiting on you, and the person who was supposed to know the plan isn't answering their radio. What do you do?

Three different departments come to you with requests they each consider urgent, but your team only has the capacity to handle one immediately. How would you determine what gets priority?

When something isn't going according to plan, which sounds most like you?

I stop and reassess before doing anything.

I immediately start looking for another solution.

I find the person with the most expertise and ask.

I gather the people involved and troubleshoot together.

I escalate it to whoever is responsible for the decision.

It depends heavily on the situation.

What makes you decide when to solve something yourself versus when to ask for help or escalate it?

You're halfway through an important project when someone raises a legitimate safety concern. Addressing it could significantly delay the project. How would you approach the situation?

Someone on your team wants to use a tool or piece of equipment they're confident they can operate, but you aren't sure they're qualified. What do you do?

How do you approach a situation where you think something is probably safe, but you're not certain?

Someone with significantly more experience tells you the way you're approaching something isn't going to work. Your approach still makes sense to you. What do you typically do next?

Tell us about a time you learned you were doing something inefficiently or incorrectly. What did you do with that information?

How do you learn best?

How do you prefer to receive feedback?

The Spicy Part Collaboration & Conflict

Another department asks your team for something they consider urgent, but your team already has several higher-priority projects underway. How would you handle the request?

You disagree with another Lead about how something should be handled. What do you typically do?

What's important to you when resolving conflict with someone you still need to work closely with afterward?

What level of responsibility are you realistically looking for right now?

Significant department-level ownership

Ownership of a specific team

Co-leading alongside someone

Learning alongside an experienced Lead

I'm interested but still figuring out my capacity

Approximately how much time can you realistically dedicate during the planning season?

Which portions of the event cycle can you realistically be available for?

Are there any predictable periods when your availability will be limited?

When life gets busy and your capacity unexpectedly changes, how do you typically handle commitments you've already made?

What's something you're particularly good at that you think would be useful to Alchemy Operations?

What's something you'd like to get better at?

Is there an Ops responsibility or skill you're excited to learn even though you have little or no experience with it yet?

Is there anything about the position(s) you're interested in that you feel uncertain or nervous about?

What haven't we asked that you think we should know about you?

You've been given a crew of ten willing volunteers, a golf cart, a radio, a trailer full of questionable supplies, and six hours. What are we accomplishing?