YMCA of San Francisco is hiring: Associate Creative Director in San Francisco

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.

Position Summary

The Associate Creative Director is a visionary, hands‑on leader who defines, guides and elevates the creative direction of the YMCA of Greater San Francisco brand. Reporting to the Director of MarCom Operations, this role unites design, storytelling, and brand experience to bring the Y’s purpose to life—strengthening community by connecting people to their potential, purpose, and each other.

Part strategist, writer, and designer, the Associate Creative Director both leads and produces creative work—developing campaigns, crafting compelling copy, and delivering high‑quality visual assets that drive engagement and advance equity. As the guardian of the YMCA’s brand voice and visual identity, this role ensures all creative—from digital and social to print and video—reflects the Y’s mission, brand standards, and inclusive spirit.

While not managing internal staff, this role oversees a network of freelance designers, writers, photographers, and videographers providing creative direction, feedback and quality control to maintain consistency and excellence across all outputs. Working collaboratively across the Marketing & Communications team and with internal stakeholders, the Associate Creative Director transforms complex ideas into cohesive campaigns and creative work.

A skilled communicator and planner, this leader works within annual priorities, the MarCom ticketing system and digital project management tools to manage workflow, set timelines, and ensure creative efforts align with organizational goals. Balancing strategic vision with creative practicality, they roll up their sleeves to write, design, plan and evaluate—delivering inclusive, accessible, and culturally relevant storytelling that resonates across all communities the Y serves.

This role also plays a key part in measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of creative work through data management and analytics—helping the team understand what resonates with audiences, optimize future campaigns, and demonstrate the impact of marketing and communications efforts.

This is a hybrid role located in San Francisco , CA with a requirement of four (4) days onsite.

Job Responsibilities

Creative Strategy & Leadership

• Lead and define the YMCA of Greater San Francisco ’s vision, ensuring all work reflects organizational values, mission, and brand standards.
• Serve as the primary guardian of the YMCA’s brand voice, overseeing messaging and visual identity to ensure inclusive, accessible and culturally relevant communications.
• Collaborate with senior MarCom leadership to translate organizational priorities into compelling creative strategies and campaigns that drive awareness, engagement, and impact.
• Stay current with design trends, technologies, and storytelling techniques to keep creative work fresh, relevant, and effective.

Hands‑On Creative Execution

• Lead and produce creative campaigns, including copywriting, design and visual storytelling assets across digital, social print, environmental, and video platforms.
• Translate campaign strategies into compelling visuals and messaging, ensuring brand consistency across all channels.
• Develop, refine and deliver final creative assets including presentations, infographics, reports, event collateral, digital ads, and social media content maintaining high standards of quality, accuracy, and mission alignment.

Brand Stewardship

• Ensure consistent application of visual and messaging standards across all creative outputs.
• Evolve and adapt brand guidelines as needed to meet new initiatives, campaigns, and storytelling opportunities.
• Provide feedback and direction to internal stakeholders to uphold brand integrity.
• Oversee all creative output for alignment with inclusive storytelling and translation/localization efforts.

Self‑Service Platform Oversight

• Oversee and manage self‑service creative platforms (e.g., Canva, Marq, and Public MarCom channel) available to staff across the association.
• Maintain and regularly update templates, ensuring they are current, on‑brand, and aligned with evolving organizational priorities.
• Provide guidance and support to staff using these tools, helping troubleshoot issues and promoting best practices for self‑service design.
• Collaborate with MarCom leadership to establish governance standards and ensure platforms are used strategically and consistently.

Freelancer & Vendor Oversight

• Manage and direct a network of freelance designers, writers, photographers, and videographers, including creative briefs, feedback, and quality control.
• Ensure external work meets YGSF standards, project objectives, and organizational priorities.
• Manage timelines and deliverables in collaboration with MarCom project managers to ensure smooth integration of external creative work.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with MarCom team, branches and other departments to understand goals, audiences, and desired outcomes.
• Participate in campaign planning and brainstorming sessions to bring creative insights to strategic conversations early in the process.
• Present creative concepts and campaigns to stakeholders and incorporate feedback to refine deliverables.
• Ensure all cross‑functional work aligns with annual planning priorities and MarCom ticketing system workflows.

Project & Workflow Management

• Prioritize, plan and manage multiple creative projects simultaneously, balancing hands‑on design work with strategic oversight.
• Collaborate with project managers to scope, prioritize, and schedule work effectively.
• Ensure all creative projects are delivered on time, within budget, and at the highest quality standards.

Measurement & Evaluation

• Use data and analytics to assess the effectiveness of creative campaigns, identifying insights that inform continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with MarCom leadership to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for creative projects tied to engagement, reach, and brand impact.
• Partner with the Digital and Operations teams to integrate metrics from web, email, and social platforms into reporting dashboards.
• Leverage data insights to inform creative strategy, refine messaging, and align visual storytelling with audience behavior and organizational goals.
• Develop regular summaries or reports highlighting creative performance trends and learnings.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Arts, Marketing, Communications, or related field.
• Minimum 7‑8 years of progressively responsible experience in a creative leadership, including hands‑on writing, design and production across digital, social, print and video platforms.
• Proven experience managing and directing freelancers and external creative partners including creative briefs, feedback, production timelines, and quality control.
• Expertise in brand voice, visual identity, and inclusive, culturally relevant storytelling, including translation/localization processes.
• Strong strategic and tactical skills, with ability to translate organizational priorities, and balance both strategic vision and hands‑on execution.
• Excellent project management, planning and prioritization skills, able to manage multiple projects simultaneously within structured workflows and timelines.
• Self‑starter with strong accountability, taking ownership of projects from concept through delivery and ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, able to collaborate across teams, stakeholders, and external partners with transparency, professionalism, and respect.
• Positive, mission‑driven attitude with the ability to engage and inspire colleagues and partners, earning their trust and respect.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills; able to work with complex information, generate insights, and propose relevant creative solutions.
• Demonstrated creativity, innovation, and adaptability in a fast‑paced, dynamic, mission‑driven environment.

Desired Qualifications (Optional)

• Experience working within an ad or integrated marketing agency with nonprofit, mission‑driven, or community‑based clients.
• Knowledge of marketing platforms such as Salesforce, Canva, WordPress, etc.
• Familiarity with accessibility standards and best practices for inclusive communications.
• Awareness of trends in design, storytelling, and creative engagement for diverse audiences.
• Experience developing budgets and resource plans for creative projects.

Work Environment & Physical Demands

This role operates in a professional office environment and routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing cabinets. Some travel between YMCA branch locations may be required. The role requires the ability to communicate effectively, work at a computer for extended periods, and occasionally lift up to 25 pounds. Some evening or weekend work may be required to support special events or critical deadlines.

Disclaimers

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 us 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.

Compensation

The Associate Creative Director position offers compensation of $75,000-$107,000. This rate is based on salary benchmarking for similar roles and is aligned with grant fund approvals and requirements for the position.