About Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is your home for bold and breathtaking art.
Across contemporary art, dance, film, and more, we present essential artistic voices from around the world, while celebrating the vibrancy of Bay Area culture.
Embodying the independent and unconventional spirit of our city, YBCA has been the creative heartbeat of San Francisco for more than thirty years. YBCA showcases innovative and thought-provoking work across visual arts, performing arts, film, and more, bringing together artists, audiences, and perspectives under one roof.
YBCA is a catalyst for conversations around critical social and cultural questions, using art as a medium for dialogue. YBCA supports artists who push boundaries, challenge conventions, and spark experimentation and innovation in the arts.
The Opportunity
YBCA is seeking a Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) to lead the institution’s next phase of growth. This newly configured executive role unifies five functions under a single Advancement framework: fundraising, marketing and communications, visitor experience, government and community relations, and board engagement. Cultural institutions are strongest when these functions operate as one coordinated system, and this structure establishes clear executive accountability for growth in donations, earned revenue, and visitor attendance.
The CAO will join YBCA at a consequential moment: a newly configured leadership team, an organization recommitting to its identity as an active presenting arts institution, and a fundraising program in active rebuild. San Francisco's arts landscape has contracted sharply in recent years, with gallery closures and institutional losses reshaping the ecosystem. Yet YBCA's position in the Yerba Buena arts district, its city-supported infrastructure, and its historic role in civic and cultural life give it durable advantages that a skilled advancement leader can activate.
Strategic Priorities for CAO
- Align revenue, brand, visitor engagement, and governance within a single accountable structure
- Strengthen the audience-to-donor pipeline
- Protect and scale fundraising performance
- Elevate institutional positioning regionally and nationally
- Clarify executive leadership and accountability
The Chief Advancement Officer reports to the CEO and serves as a member of the Executive Leadership Team. Direct reports will include the Director of Development and the Senior Director of Marketing & Communications.
Compensation & Benefits
The salary range for this position is $200,000 to $215,000. YBCA offers an excellent benefits package that includes:
- PTO & Holiday Pay
- Medical, Dental, Vision coverage
- Flexible Spending Accounts (Medical & Parking/Commuter)
- 403(b) Retirement Plan with employer match
- Group Life and AD&D Insurance
- Long Term Disability Insurance
- Voluntary Life and AD&D
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Reciprocal entry to participating Bay Area and North American Museums (NARM)