Job Details

Organizational Profile

Stern Grove Festival is the longest-running nonprofit music festival in the country. Since 1938, this cherished summer tradition has brought Bay Area communities together for world-class performances in the stunning outdoor amphitheater of Sigmund Stern Grove, nestled on the city's west side. Last year, the Festival welcomed over 110,000 attendees to its iconic concert series, which has featured legendary artists like Chaka Khan, The Flaming Lips, Patti Smith, Bob Moses, Phil Lesh & Friends, Ziggy Marley, Herbie Hancock, Diana Ross and many more.

As a cultural cornerstone of the Bay Area, Stern Grove Festival remains committed to making music accessible to all while celebrating artistic excellence and community connection.

The Dispatch role is primarily responsible for:

• Routing emergency communication to support incident resolution
• Tracking incidents
• Coordinating concert day milestones such as opening and closing procedures

Leadership Standards

The festival seeks to be a world class leadership organization and each staff member is expected to embody, execute, and promote core standards of excellence: Good Character, Skill, Experience, Learning Mindset, and Composure.

Reporting Relationships

Dispatch reports directly to the Operations Manager. Dispatch works closely with the Director of Operations, Perimeter, Safety, Ticket, House, Bar, Security, and Medical Managers and teams as well as Operations Staff.

Position Description

Stern Grove Festival's Dispatch serves as a central communication and reporting hub to coordinate the Festival's response to any incident requiring multiple teams. This includes Medical, Safety, and Security incidents as well as major daily milestones.

Dispatch will use radio's, scripts, and checklists to coordinate our response plans. Dispatch will also use the forms to create reports of these incidents with the ability to track open incidents to ensure we close loops.

This year will see the implementation of (2) Dispatchers to better manage incidents during show time. These shifts will be split 7am -5:00pm and then 11am - 7:00pm to maintain dual coverage during the critical points as well as maintain dispatch capabilities through the entire operating period

2026 Working Arrangement and Hours

• Must be available every Sunday: May 17, 2026 - August 16, 2026
• *except Memorial Day Weekend
• Must be available Saturday August 15th, 2026
• Employees will average 8-10 hours per week

General Duties

• Setup Dispatch area in the second floor of the Trocadero House
• Run milestone procedures
• Evacuation Procedure
• Festival Opening Procedures
• Queue Opening
• Festival Opening
• Festival Closing Procedures
• Coordinate response to Medical, Safety, and Security incidents
• Communicate clearly and effectively to bring about incident resolution.
• Attend pre-season orientation to learn about the organization's culture, understand the Staff's role in producing the Festival, get hands-on experience with equipment, and participate in venue safety drills.
• Adhere to SGFA approved policies, protocols, and procedures to ensure high standards are upheld in regards to staff professionalism and performance
• Articulate and embody the Festivals Mission

Personal Characteristics

• Excellent communication skills and collaborative work ethic.
• Capability and comfort being in large crowds of people.
• Possess the capacity to handle stressful situations with diplomacy and tact.
• Able to work efficiently in an organized and detailed fashion.
• Ability to adhere to SGFA policies, protocols and procedures.
• Able to maintain self-assurance and control during the concert day.
• Understanding of your own personal limits and ability to articulate those limits to your supervisor.
• Experience is required and a good attitude and excellent work ethic is a must.
• Working knowledge of security standards, crowd control practices, crisis intervention, emergency procedures, and first aid
• Ability to judge rapidly changing conditions and make quick decisions while adhering to SGFA guidelines
• Ability to maintain self-assurance and level-headedness and know when to turn to a supervisor if you cannot perform the job duties
• Have a great sense of humor and maintain dedication to SGFA mission

Physical Requirements

• Listening and speaking ability is required. In a typical work day the employee will be interacting with many people and they must have the ability to hear and clearly express their ideas with spoken words.

Work Environment / Physical Demands

The work environment characteristics and the physical demands described here are representative of those an employee encounters while successfully performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Occasionally sound levels may exceed 100 db. All efforts will be made to protect employee's hearing.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by the incumbent in this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills.

Locations

1. Sigmund Stern Grove, 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard, San Francisco

Compensation

Starting at $25 and commensurate with experience.

TO APPLY:

Please email jobs@sterngrove.org

EEO Statement:

SGFA provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, SGFA complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, leaves of absence, compensation and training. SGFA expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status.