JOB TITLE:  Co-Head Preparator

DEPARTMENT: Office of Creativity and Impact

REPORTS TO:  Director of Curatorial Projects & Public Experience

STATUS: Exempt

CLASSIFICATION: Full-Time

SCHEDULE: Mon-Fri, some evenings, weekends, & events

Direct Reports:  (1) Senior Preparator – Generalist (PT) and (2)  On-Call Preparator Team (as needed for various projects)

ABOUT YBCA

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is San Francisco’s center for art and progress. Opened to the public in 1993, YBCA was founded as the cultural anchor of San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens neighborhood. Our work spans the realms of contemporary art, performance, film, civic engagement, and public life. By centering artists as essential to social and cultural movement, YBCA is reimagining the role an arts institution can play in the community it serves. Our mission is to generate culture that moves people.

Mission: We generate culture that moves people.

Vision: A community that thrives on inspiration.

The successful candidate will embody our organization’s core values:

• Abundance: We operate from a place of strength, with a spirit of empathy and generosity.
• Authentic Collaboration: We are engaged and interconnected.
• Personal Agency: We are empowered and accountable.
• Boldness: We create with courage and purpose.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Co-Head Preparator is a newly formed dual role that aims to equitably distribute the workload and responsibility of the institutional needs of preparators. The Co-Head Preparator works with an equal counterpart to support in the planning and executing of YBCA’s organizational strategic priorities.

Their focus is on designing and planning the execution of public-facing installations, experiences, and exhibitions, including working with artists to realize commissioned or newly-fabricated works of art in a variety of mediums. The goal of this position is to move projects forward year-round, and to help alleviate potential silos of working styles, communication, and project vision. They will work closely with their counterpart to develop and track project budgets, labor estimates, schedules for on-call preparators, and dovetail production timeline based on the institution’s critical path of work.

The ideal candidate will have had experience in museum, theater, gallery or other technical production environments. They will possess a working knowledge of general carpentry techniques and have experience installing, troubleshooting, and stewarding projects with heavy AV/Media components. Experience with 3D digital modeling (Vectorworks, SketchUp) preferred.

The Co-Head Preparator is a highly collaborative role, working with other members of the Programs, Facilities, Production, and Marketing teams across the entire organization, as well as outside artists and curators. The Co-Head Preparator also serves as a manager and mentor to the preparator staff, training and delegating tasks with the same spirit of collaboration.

A Note: Research shows that women and individuals from underrepresented backgrounds often apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We recognize that it is highly unlikely that an applicant meets 100% of the qualifications for a given role. Therefore, if much of this job description describes you, then you are highly encouraged to apply for this role.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Co-Leads the preparation, execution and de-installation of art projects, exhibitions, neighborhood commissions, public squares and prototypes.
• Work with production staff to shape and implement multidisciplinary projects to assure the best results for artistic and curatorial vision.
• Works closely with the supervisor to develop and maintain project-specific budgets.
• Co-Project manages indoor and outdoor artistic initiatives, including but not limited to Public Square programs, SF Urban Film Fest Residency, artist commissions, and gallery presentations.
• Serves as primary liaison between Creativity & Impact and Finance & Operations.
• Recruits, trains, manages and schedules a diverse staff of part-time and on-call preparators as well as contracted vendors to meet the needs of developing, installing, maintaining and de-installing of installations.
• Co-develops and maintains relationships with vendors and contractors such as painters, glazers, structural engineers, architects, drywallers, fabricators, and other specialists as needed to realize installations.
• Generates measured construction drawings and documents for contractors and engineers and oversees all permitting processes with the Department of Building Inspection and the Fire Marshall.
• Supports other YBCA teams by coordinating, designing and staffing with Office of Creativity & Impact’s resources as available to support the needs.
• Undertakes registrar work in collaboration with Curatorial Project Manager,  including artist contracts, loan forms, and artwork shipping.
• Other projects as assigned.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Frequently is required to talk and hear; stand; walk; use hands to handle or feel; reach with hands and arms.
• Frequently required to climb (ladders, scaffolds, etc), balance, bend, twist, work above shoulders, stoop, kneel, crouch/crawl, and perform other similar actions.
• Must be able to lift up to 30 lbs. Occasionally lifts/carries/pushes/pulls objects >30 lbs in collaboration with others.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum 3 years’ experience as preparator or in a similar position in a museum, gallery or arts organization, supervising crews.
• Demonstrated knowledge of installation techniques.
• Thorough knowledge of building, ADA and fire codes, construction techniques, materials and tools.
• Demonstrates commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access, and works effectively with people of varied backgrounds, experiences, points of view, and aspirations.
• Ability to read and generate building plans, specifications and diagrams.
• Proven organizational skills, detail-oriented, and capacity to effectively manage multiple tasks and deadlines. 
• Possesses strong communications and problem solving skills.
• Will work primarily on-site, with variable schedules, including extended hours, days, evenings and weekends.
• Thrives in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment.
• Comfortable working in environments with exposure to noise and dust.
• Is familiar with PC and Mac computer systems and software; Vectorworks, Sketch Up, or other drafting software; The Museum System (TMS) knowledge preferred.

Note: Interested applicants who may not have formal training in some of the job requirements but have related experience are still highly encouraged to apply.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

At YBCA, we’re taking steps to protect against the continued spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, to safeguard against likely future variants and to help ensure the continued safe reopening of San Francisco. YBCA has joined a growing number of cultural institutions around the Bay Area and will require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Exemption from these requirements will be reviewed according to standards set forth by state and local health agencies and reasonable accommodations will be made for those providing valid exemptions.

We continue to prioritize the health and wellbeing of our employees and candidates. All interviews will be conducted remotely via phone or video conference while YBCA complies with local and state health ordinances. Please note that this position may perform some work remotely and on site responsibilities.

BENEFITS

PTO, Holiday Pay, Medical, Dental, Vision, Flexible Spending Accounts, Group Life and AD&D Insurance, Long Term Disability Insurance, Voluntary Life and AD&D, Employee Assistance Program, Travel Assistance, paid time off to volunteer, and ability to participate in the 403(b) Retirement Plan with match.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is committed to diversity in its programming and in creating a work culture and environment that is reflective of San Francisco Bay Area demography. The Center encourages and actively recruits applicants representing dimensions of difference that include — but are not limited to — age, national origin, ethnicity, race, religion, ability, sexual orientation, gender or political affiliation.

YBCA will consider for employment all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (SF Police Code, Article 49).

APPLICATION STATUS

Hello and thank you for taking the time to apply and let us know that you are interested in joining our team at YBCA. After you apply, you will receive a confirmation email to let you know that your resume has been received. Rest assured, a member of our recruiting team will personally review your application. If you are a potential match for one of our open positions, we will be in touch. If there is not a match right now, we will keep your resume on file for future opportunities. In the meantime, please connect with us on social media @YBCA to learn more about us. Thank you for your time and we wish you the best on your job search.

Agencies and Recruiting Firms: Please note that we will only review applications submitted directly by candidates and do not accept resumes or pay fees to third parties. Any unsolicited resumes received will be considered the property of YBCA.