Careers by Empowering Futures, Building Communities
Imagine going to work each day knowing that your efforts positively impact individuals and
communities. As a global movement and the nation's leading nonprofit organization
dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living, and
social responsibility, the YMCA of Greater San Francisco offers more than just a job—we
offer a career with a future and the opportunity to make a lasting difference in your
community. At the Y, you can uncover your passion and build a lifelong career addressing
some of the nation's most pressing social issues
Our Organizational Culture
At the YMCA of Greater San Francisco, we are committed to demonstrating values that aim to building strong communities where you can Be, Belong and Become. With Truth & Courage, we strive to understand and act on individual and societal truths. We ensure a safe and inclusive environment with Authenticity & Accessibility, allowing everyone to participate according to their needs. Our approach is Dependable & Creative, as we respond to community needs through strong partnerships. Above all, we embody Dignity & Empathy, treating everyone with respect and compassion, and recognizing the inherent dignity in all individuals.
- Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Marketing, Journalism, or related field — or equivalent professional experience.
- 6–10 years of progressive experience in communications, marketing, or integrated agency work, with at least 3 years at a senior Account Director, VP, or equivalent level.
- Demonstrated background in strategic communications, PR, or integrated agency account leadership — managing senior client or institutional relationships and delivering under deadline pressure at scale.
- Exceptional institutional writing and data-storytelling ability — able to produce or direct executive- and board-facing narrative to a standard that is ready to advance without revision. A portfolio of published formal work is required.
- Proven creative direction experience: has directly supervised a creative director, ACD, or senior art director. Understands the account director / creative director relationship — the brief sets the direction and the creative director elevates it.
- Demonstrated production portfolio management experience at scale: scoped and managed complex, multi-channel portfolios with precision and strategic instinct. Makes sound, independent trade-off decisions and arrives at every conversation equipped with solutions and clear recommendations.
- Demonstrated experience establishing and setting up vendor governance standards and visibility systems — ensuring contract compliance, deliverable accountability, and budget clarity across a complex portfolio of external relationships.
- Experience leading B2B or institutional communications for complex organizations — funders, partners, boards, or cross-sector stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to manage department budgets, vendor contracts, and procurement responsibly and transparently.
- Genuine commitment to the YMCA’s mission of strengthening community through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.
- Application requirement: Writing samples and a portfolio of published formal work are required with application.
- Nonprofit & Community Expertise: Deep familiarity with mission-driven organizations and the ability to tailor philanthropic storytelling to diverse community audiences.
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Operational Excellence: Experience applying lean methodologies or continuous improvement frameworks to streamline complex departmental structures.
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Strategic Brand Activation: A demonstrated track record of managing brand platform development and activation across distributed, multi-site networks.
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Inclusive Engagement: A strong commitment to accessibility, with a preference for candidates who are bilingual or have experience overseeing translation and localization for communications materials.
Imagine bringing your agency leadership, operational precision, and narrative governance expertise to an organization that impacts thousands of lives daily across San Francisco, Marin, and San Mateo counties.
The YMCA of Greater San Francisco is an established leader in community well-being—delivering deep, holistic impact across the region every single day. Right now, we are in an historic period of expansion and brand acceleration to ensure our public narrative matches that reality. We are opening our first new branch in 30 years, executing major capital investments at Peninsula and Camp Jones Gulch, and building a sophisticated communications infrastructure to close the gap between who we are on the ground and how we are perceived. Our Marketing & Communications department operates as a fast-paced, integrated, in-house agency. We are seeking a Director of Strategic Communications & Creative Operations to serve as its operational anchor, framework builder, and institutional storyteller.
As the head of our centralized operations, you are the strategic engine that connects our department's creative output to the Y's highest-level business outcomes. This role acts as our executive publisher and operational anchor—owning the core messaging frameworks and quality standards that allow the Y to articulate its deep well-being impact to boards, major funders, and corporate partners.
Managing our internal agency infrastructure through the IMC Project Manager and the Associate Creative Director, you will drive operational throughput, manage portfolio capacity, and protect brand standards. Sitting alongside two peer directors who respectively own public brand reputation and consumer marketing, your focus is entirely on optimizing our operational delivery, enabling leadership readiness, and perfecting our institutional voice.
The YMCA of Greater San Francisco’s Marketing & Communications department is at the center of accelerating our organizational narrative. We have built a clear brand framework, defined sharp ownership across every function, and invested in the infrastructure needed to operate as a true force multiplier for our mission. This is a team that is serious about its craft, clear about its direction, and ready for an operational leader who wants to help scale our impact.
At the YMCA of Greater San Francisco, we are committed to building strong, vibrant communities rooted in holistic well-being—ensuring everyone has a place to Be, Belong, and Become. We lead with Truth & Courage, Authenticity & Accessibility, Dependable & Creative thinking, and Dignity & Empathy in everything we do.
Executive Readiness & VP Enablement
- Partner closely with the VP to drive complex operational initiatives, track strategic commitments, and ensure the department's case for resources is current and data-backed.
- Own the master department calendar for all board meetings, budget cycles, and leadership presentations, ensuring briefing materials are prepared well ahead of deadlines.
- Maintain a high-level view of departmental deliverables to optimize cross-functional alignment, stepping in early to clear organizational bottlenecks.
- Surface emerging challenges to leadership early with full context and recommended paths forward.
Narrative Ownership & Executive Publishing
- Serve as the executive publisher for the association's most critical formal materials—including the President’s Report, Annual Report oversight, board briefs, and high-level institutional impact stories.
- Translate channel data, program outcomes, and campaign performance into sophisticated, data-backed impact narratives for monthly dashboards, corporate partners, and major funders.
- Partner with Advancement to align institutional storytelling with capital campaigns, major gifts, and donor stewardship.
- Establish clear review cycles and briefs when directing freelancers or agencies, ensuring external work consistently hits the executive standard.
Creative Operations & Team Leadership
- Directly supervise, coach, and develop the Associate Creative Director (ACD) and IMC Project Manager, giving each the support and runway to own their respective functions.
- Actively mentor the Project Manager into the full scope of their realigned role, focusing on capacity management, financial processes, and production calendars.
- Manage the macro view of the production pipeline, sequencing cross-functional work thoughtfully and sourcing external freelance or agency talent to maintain team balance during surge periods.
- Write strategically grounded creative briefs for portfolio initiatives and set the quality standard for briefs department-wide.
Internal Issues Management
- Serve as the internal operational lead during organizational communications issues—activating the protocol, managing timelines, and sequencing internal stakeholder communications.
- Own formal stakeholder narratives that keep leadership and staff aligned while the Sr. Director of Brand Communications handles external media strategy.
Build & Execute Operational Excellence
- Establish, document, and scale the department’s foundational SOP and SLA frameworks to maintain repeatable workflows that balance capacity and speed.
- Co-own weekly portfolio intake review and prioritization with the Sr. Director of Marketing & Audience Engagement.
- Design and oversee the department’s budget tracking, forecasting, procurement, and corporate card compliance with full fiscal transparency.
- Set centralized compliance and onboarding frameworks for vendor management and MarTech governance, while functional owners retain daily ownership of their respective tools and partners.
- An agency-caliber professional with 6-10 years of progressive experience in strategic communications, corporate communications, or integrated agency account management, with a heavy background in project management or account direction.
- An exceptional institutional writer and data storyteller, with a proven portfolio of executive summaries, annual reports, board-ready materials, or equivalent formal work.
- A creative operations leader who has directly managed teams, understands how to run a centralized IMC project management system, and knows how to keep a multi-channel production pipeline moving efficiently.
- An operational manager who can establish the standards, SLAs, SOPs, and frameworks that keep vendor relationships, contracts, and budgets visible and accountable.
- Someone who leads through development, not just direction. The growth of the people you lead is your measure of success.
Disclaimers
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Must successfully complete a background screening, including criminal and employment verification. Some positions may also require a credit check.
- All duties and responsibilities are essential job functions subject to reasonable accommodation. The YMCA of Greater San Francisco promotes an equal employment opportunity workplace, which includes reasonable accommodation for otherwise qualified disabled applicants and employees. Please contact your manager if you have any questions about this policy or these job duties.
- This job description may not be all-inclusive, and employees are expected to perform other duties as assigned by management. Job descriptions and duties may be modified by management as needed.
- Job offers are conditional and contingent upon background clearance. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and CA Fair Chance Act, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.
