NVO Gerlach Waste Streams Assistant Manager

JOB SUMMARY

The Gerlach Waste Streams Assistant Manager will assist the GWS Manager in seamless oversight and documentation of operations, supervising up to four crew members during the height of the NVO season through the end of the Burning Man Event cycle. 

This is a temporary, full-time, non-exempt role, based in Gerlach, NV running from April to October, 2025.

The deadline to apply for this role is 5:00 pm Pacific on February 26th, 2026.

DUTIES & ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Staff Management 30%

• Support the GWS Manager in creating and managing daily operations and staffing schedules, with some oversight of Paycom entries.
• Assist with personnel-related matters, including but not limited to: conflict resolution, workers comp claims, payroll tracking, and human resources inquiries.
• Demonstrate leadership through transparent decision-making, clear communication, and by exercising integrity.
• Mentor staff to ensure their success in creating a team-driven environment and meeting work expectations.
• Monitor crew health, safety, and well-being, sharing techniques and best practices whenever possible.
• Ensure the crew is aware of operational updates with communications that are prompt and professional.
• Proactively address crew and personnel concerns with the manager.
• Foster team culture, morale, and education.

Site Management 30%

• Work with the GWS Manager to provide logistics for successful operations.
• Assist the GWS Manager with overseeing worksites and stations at all BMP Nevada Properties as defined in the NVO Ecological Waste Diversion Plan.
• Assist in maintaining clean and safe work sites; ensure that all crew members are familiar with and able to exercise best practices; ensure that all crew members are provided with the necessary OSHA approved personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Assist in setting up extra collection stations for special events.
• Assist with dumpster deliveries and placement in Gerlach.
• Oversee the training of crew members in the proper operation and maintenance of the cardboard baler and incinerator.

Collections Operations 15%

• Work with the GWS Crew to execute the NVO Ecological Waste Diversion Plan, assisting with collections tasks as necessary.
• Monitor sorting stations for contamination and necessary stream collection.
• Coordinate with the GWS Manager for recycling staging, dumpster servicing, and removal of cardboard bales.

Standard Operating Procedures 10 %

• Assist the Gerlach Waste Streams Manager and Gerlach Properties Senior Management in the creation of the NVO Ecological Waste Diversion Plan.
• Assist in the creation and editing of GWS Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
• Assist GWS in documenting processes along with photo and video content for educational, training, and communications purposes.

Educational Outreach  10%

• Communicate with NVO staff and Gerlach residents to share best practices and knowledge to coincide with the NVO Ecological Waste Diversion Plan.
• Coordinate with the GWS Manager to update and provide the most current sorting guidelines in educating the public.
• Assist GWS Manager in furthering education styles and signage at stations.

Other Functions and Responsibilities 5%

• Attend and support crew attendance at weekly All-Hands Meetings.
• Attend additional meetings as required and scheduled; maintain related correspondence and communication with associated crew and managers.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

LEARNING AND TEACHING

• Documentation - Assists in the creation, publishing, and maintenance of process documentation related to their assigned duties.
• Teaching – Takes a leadership role in the acculturation and training of staff. Teaches live or e-learning classes, as requested. Promotes a culture of teaching and learning throughout the community.
• Mentoring - Mentors subordinates in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and experience that will allow them to advance in the organization. Encourages, aids, and inspires their team.
• Knowledge sharing – Helps acculturate and educate junior staff in Burning Man culture and business processes.
• Training development - Collaborates with the education team to develop training materials in their area of expertise, as requested.
• Learning – Pursues ongoing learning in their area of expertise, working to stay current on emergent knowledge, skills, and processes.
• Speaking – Represents Burning Man as a subject matter expert and culture-bearer, as requested.

QUALIFICATIONS

REQUIRED

• Ability to move to Gerlach, Nevada for the length of the contract.
• Knowledge of Burning Man values, ethos, and 10 Principles.
• Be familiar with and act in accordance with Burning Man’s staff policies and abide by the rules and codes of conduct as described in the NVO Compass.
• A professional demeanor in verbal and written communication with strong communication, interpersonal, and teaching skills.
• Able to follow directions and respectfully interface with collaborators.
• Effective at task switching, with good time-management skills, able to evaluate and reprioritize workload as necessary.
• Situationally aware and safety-minded, able to work long hours in extreme conditions.
• Ability to think quickly, problem solve, apply critical thinking to situations, and remain calm under pressure.
• Proven leadership skills, a team player who leads by example.
• Well-organized and detail-oriented.
• 3+ years in waste stream sorting or similar, preferably with a strong knowledge of Resource Recovery Management.
• Working knowledge of Google Suite (Gmail, Groups, Docs, Sheets, Drive).
• Experienced and comfortable with using 2-way radios.
• Ability to energize and engage people.
• Reliable, fulfills obligations. 
• Ability to adjust schedule seasonally to work at the Burning Man event held in Nevada.

PREFERRED

• It is helpful if the candidate has previously been to Burning Man and/or is familiar with its culture.
• It is helpful if the candidate has previously worked for Gerlach Waste Streams, Burning Man’s DPW TSA Crew, or is familiar with their operations and methods.
• It is helpful if the candidate has 3+ years of leadership experience in customer service, waste handling, or event-based production work.
• It is helpful if the candidate is practiced in facilitating team meetings, task training, and conflict mediation.
• It is helpful if the candidate has basic carpentry skills and knowledge of basic tools.
• It is helpful if the candidate has previously been to Burning Man and/or is familiar with its culture.

Note: If you have gained the necessary experience to succeed in this role and have acquired this experience in other ways, we encourage you to apply and share all relevant experience in your application.

REQUIRED LICENSES/CERTIFICATIONS

• Valid driver’s license and a good driving record.

COMPENSATION: 

Individual compensation decisions are dependent on a variety of factors, including prior experience and geographical location. The anticipated pay rate for this position is $_18__ to $__20___ per hour.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Off-playa: This position requires periods of heavy lifting, bending, kneeling, squatting, and climbing. This position will be physically demanding, and requires individuals with good physical health, and endurance. Work will include the need to find and meet with department representatives who may not be in the vicinity therefore this could include walking or using some form of transportation. Much of the work will be in outside weather conditions and will be exposed to fumes or airborne particles as well as possible extremes in temperature.
• On-playa: This position requires periods of heavy lifting, bending, kneeling, squatting, and climbing. This position will be physically demanding, and requires individuals with good physical health, and endurance. Work will include the need to find and meet with department representatives who may not be in the vicinity therefore this could include walking or using some form of transportation. Much of the work will be in outside weather conditions and will be exposed to fumes or airborne particles as well as possible extremes in temperature.

NOTICE FOR ALL APPLICANTS:

• Burning Man Project celebrates the importance of creating a diverse environment and enthusiastically encourages Black, Indigenous, Peoples of Color, LGBTQIA+, Immigrant, women, and people with disabilities, of all ages, to apply.
• Burning Man Project provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
• Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.