Executive Co-Director

Full-Time, Permanent Position, Exempt 

Salary Range:  $120k-$131k/year, DOE + Full Benefits

WHO WE ARE

BAYCAT is an innovative nonprofit media production company composed of a professional Studio and a youth Academy. Our work addresses racial, gender and economic inequities in the media industry by building equitable pathways to employment for diverse storytellers. Through the education and employment of Black, Indigenous, people of color, women, transgender and non-binary mediamakers in the Bay Area — and through our production work for socially-minded clients — we are changing the stories that get shared with the world. 

WHAT WE CARE ABOUT  

Creating positive social change through storytelling, design & media.
Uplifting diverse voices that have been historically oppressed by or excluded from mainstream media and society.
Building long-term positive systemic impact and pathways to employment through skills building, coaching, and real-world experience.
Doing well and doing good. As a social enterprise, we’re a sustainable nonprofit business model.
Excellence. The highest quality of services in education and media production.
Building community, diversity, inclusion & equity from within and with all our partners.

CONTEXT & EVOLUTION

Established in Bayview Hunters Point in 2004, Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology (dba BAYCAT), is an award-winning established media arts, youth and workforce development organization in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founder Villy Wang has established BAYCAT as an organization that strives to build a world where media celebrates diverse voices and experiences by training the next generation of storytellers from historically oppressed communities. Our work inspires lifelong learning in the arts by empowering young people to discover their creative voices and recognize the value of their own stories. Our ultimate goal is to diversify the media industry so that BIPOC and gender diverse creatives can reclaim their narratives and tell their stories in profound new ways. 

Our unique, social enterprise model is at the heart of our Digital Media Arts Pathway Program, a transformational education to employment pathway that guides 200+ young creatives through the creative media making process each year and employs them to produce media for clients and community partners. In collaboration with 250+ partners over 17 years, BAYCAT has: bridged the digital divide for 4,700+ youth; trained, employed, and launched the careers of 290+ paid interns; and placed 83% of intern graduates into creative careers with Pixar, HBO, MasterClass and other leading employers. Our Studio and youth media reaches 3,000,000 people annually.

From its beginnings, BAYCAT’s unique social enterprise model has created a sustainable and diversified revenue stream of both contributed (BAYCAT Academy) and earned income (BAYCAT Studio) that supports its programming and media services. This hybrid model has supported the development of deep relationships and long-lasting benefits, not only of the BAYCAT participants, but also of important stakeholders of the ecosystem that drives the creative and media industries. BAYCAT’s hybrid model supports multiple stakeholders including donors, clients, nonprofits, small business and community based organizations. 

BAYCAT ACADEMY offers paid introductory and advanced media arts training to youth (ages 11-17) through project-based, youth-centered curriculum in filmmaking and graphic arts. Cohorts collaborate to make short films that explore social justice issues, while our earn-and-learn model pays advanced high school mediamakers, “The Crew” (ages 15-18), to create pro bono media for community partners.

BAYCAT STUDIO produces original content and socially-conscious media for high profile clients like the Golden State Warriors and The San Francisco Foundation and serves as the training ground for our internship, fellowship and apprenticeship programs (ages 18+). Interns receive one-on-one mentorship, work with professional clients, graduate with a completed demo reel and resume and are placed into jobs with BAYCAT’s network of employer partners. Fellows receive creative support and mentorship from industry professionals, while working on creative pitches and project ideation. Apprentices join the BAYCAT Studio team to deepen their editing and production skills. We average 400 hours of donated media services each year and increasingly uplift Black-owned businesses and nonprofits to help them weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch our Studio Reel.

FUTURE DIRECTION:

BAYCAT is an established organization that continues to evolve as we center impact for our young creatives based on their changing needs in a very dynamic industry. We have been adaptive during these complex times and have transformed programming toward a hybrid in-person and virtual model, while implementing COVID-19 safety protocols in all aspects of our Academy and Studio in-person offerings and productions.

We are entering a phase of strategic growth and deeper impact at a systems level to bring greater equity, diversity and inclusion for young creatives. Co-creating evolving racial and social justice narratives starts with BAYCAT investing in shared learning, language and vision for systemic change both inside BAYCAT and in the world. The team has been actively engaged in Becoming an Antiracist Organization, which was kick started by a 4-month capacity building process through Be the Change. We aspire for our explicit practice of race equity to stand as a model for other employers and partners with whom we work. We believe and have centered the wellness of our team and young people in our evolution, and hope the Executive Co-Director would lead this continued work.

QUICK LOOKS:

Budget size: $3.1 million with a healthy cash reserve

HQ: San Francisco is currently the HQ of all in-person programming. The Executive Co-Director must physically be based in the Bay Area

Staff: 23 core team members, majority located in SF/Bay Area, 2 in LA Area, 2 in NYC Area (areas of potential programmatic expansion)

Interns, Apprentices and Additional Hires: approximately 50 people per year

Board: 18 active Board member with backgrounds in media production, design, tech, fin tech, finance, executive coaching

Builders: a non-fiduciary active volunteer advisory group with 11 members working on annual projects as defined by the team

THE ROLE

We are in search of an Executive Co-Director to co-lead BAYCAT with the Founder, President and CEO. 

The Executive Co-Director is a new role created to provide executive leadership and management for program, human resources, operations and finance. The Founder and CEO will be shifting out of day-to-day engagement in these areas to be able to shift focus to BAYCAT Studio’s evolution. The Executive Co-Director will lead these areas in partnership with the Management Team, which consists of 3 Academy Managers, Development Director, Associate Development Director, Senior Producer and Creative Producer of Studio, Fiscal Manager and Manager of EDI. We are currently looking for a Fractional COO and Operations and Tech Manager. BAYCAT also engages outside HR compliance and auditing consultants.

The Executive Co-Director role and Founder will share leadership and work in close collaboration on strategic planning and organizational development of a hybrid programming model. 

The Executive Co-Director will focus on the strategic growth and impact of BAYCAT Academy, and will directly supervise 3 Academy Managers. The Executive Co-Director will manage and be responsible for all operational, fiscal and budgeting needs of the organization, and will supervise BAYCAT’s Fiscal Manager and a Fractional COO. The EDI Manager will also report to the Executive Co-Director who will ensure equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) practices are centered throughout the organization.
The Founder, President and CEO will focus on strategic development of BAYCAT with an emphasis on evolving BAYCAT Studio’s model. The Founder and CEO will supervise the Development Director and Senior Producer to focus on cultivating prospects, investors and partners while being a key ambassador for BAYCAT and mentoring BAYCAT staff in development and revenue generation. 

Our new executive structure is a further expression of the shared leadership values already being practiced among our managers and directors and in how BAYCAT has always believed in leadership development by promoting from within, mentoring and uplifting the next generation of leaders, in both creative and managerial development. There is enthusiasm for how this evolution at the executive level will add capacity and further manifest our equity values.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Organizational Leadership and Management 

Develop organizational infrastructure, operational and internal communications systems for both our physical and virtual spaces.
Overall responsibility for BAYCAT’s financial planning and management.
Management team leadership and development including strategic thought partnership, coaching and mentoring.
Ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) practices are centered in the culture and throughout the organization.
Human resources leadership to ensure BAYCAT hires and retains the necessary staff. There are effective human resources and supervision practices and systems throughout the organization so that staff are supported to grow in a positive, sustainable work environment.
Foster and model organizational culture of learning and feedback and space for professional development. Act as lead motivator to keep the team inspired, focused and accountable – making sure projects are executed efficiently, professionally and on time.

Strategy Leadership and Management

Ensure BAYCAT has current strategic plans and lead plan implementation, reflection and adaptations while facilitating robust staff and board participation.
Provide supervision and support the development of 3 Academy Managers, DEI Manager, Fiscal Manager, and Fractional COO (to be hired).
Ensure effective systems to regularly evaluate progress, impact and mission alignment.
Act as a strategy thought partner with BAYCAT board, staff and partner organizations.

Fund Development (in collaboration with the Development Director and Founder, President and CEO)

Steward and build relationships with clients, donors, sponsors and investors. 
Serve as an ambassador for BAYCAT. 
Strategize prospects, and make requests for financial support. 
Ensure BAYCAT maintains a diverse portfolio of sustainable funding that includes both contributed income (government, foundation, corporate and individual contributions) and earned income (Studio and educational programming contracts)

External Communications Leadership: 

Act as one of the key BAYCAT spokespersons.  
Co-Lead communication strategy with the Management Team and Founder, President and CEO
Ensure effective  implementation of BAYCAT communications that includes social media presence, web presence, events, press and other external communications.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO:

Brings 5+ years in organizational leadership and management, with growing responsibility for strategy and program, people and human resources, operations and finance.
Is highly knowledgeable and experienced in building capacity through non profit and/or social enterprise operational structures, management and leadership. 
Is passionate about BAYCAT’s mission and the value of equity, diversity and inclusion within the filmmaking and media landscapes.
Demonstrates the ability to cultivate positive lasting work relationships across diverse identities and communities that reflects BAYCAT’s staff and community base.
Has a working knowledge and lived experience with the racial justice values of our mission.
Is a humanistic, equity-centered leader that can motivate a team, build trust and a culture of accountability and model emotionally intelligent communication. Excels in facilitating and nourishing collaborative processes.
Understands the importance, has a working knowledge and experience of cultivating a feedback rich culture.
Is naturally organized, responsive, solutions-oriented, flexible and resourceful.
Is a strong communicator and project manager with the ability to delegate and hold collaborators accountable.
Brings demonstrated experiences of recruiting and stewarding relationships in fundraising and partnership development.
Understands the importance and has experiences in evaluation and measuring impact centered around EDI values.

THE DETAILS

This is a permanent full-time salaried position. 
Compensation range: $120k-$131k/year depending on experience.
Benefits include: Medical insurance paid 85% by BAYCAT, dental, vision and LTD/Life insurance paid 100% by BAYCAT, annual wellness stipend, home office setup stipend, monthly internet reimbursement, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), annual professional development stipend, 4 personal days off per year, 15 holidays per year, 2.5 weeks accrued vacation to start, 8 days accrued sick time, paid 30 min lunch, no meeting Fridays 
Location: This role will be a hybrid role, which means the opportunity to work remotely part time and to be onsite at our San Francisco, CA location. 
Must be able to work 40 hours per week. BAYCAT observes a meeting-free Friday and encourages all team members to use Fridays to catch up on work as needed.  

HOW TO APPLY

Please send a cover letter, resume and link to writing samples to work@baycat.org. No phone calls, please. 

Application process and estimated timelines:

4/8/22 → Application closes

3/28/22 – 5/6/22  → Interview Process (3 rounds + 1 written prompt + references)

5/13/22 → Final offer made

EOE. We strive for a workforce as diverse as the community we serve.

Women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.