Description

Verge Center for the Arts invites applications for our next Executive Director, a visionary leader who will champion contemporary art and artists in the Sacramento region. Located in Sacramento’s Southside Park neighborhood, Verge is the leading cultural institution in the region for contemporary art and ideas, supporting local career and emerging artists and offering arts education for youth and adults.

The Executive Director will lead the creative, strategic, and financial vision of Verge’s exhibitions, educational programs, and community initiatives. This role oversees programs, staffing, fundraising, and operations, working closely with the Board of Directors to advance Verge’s mission and deepen its impact in the region.

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing strategic and creative leadership for exhibitions, educational programming, and artist support.
• Serving as a public ambassador for Verge, building partnerships and visibility in the local arts and philanthropic communities.
• Leading fundraising efforts with individual donors, foundations, corporations, and public agencies, including events and grant writing.
• Overseeing financial stewardship, including budgeting and financial reporting, in alignment with Verge’s fiscal policies.
• Managing daily operations, supervising staff, and fostering a healthy, collaborative, and inclusive workplace culture.

Requirements

The Executive Director of Verge will lead the creative, strategic, and nancial vision of the organization’s programs, stafng, and development efforts. Reporting to the Board of Directors, specic responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Creative Vision & Strategic Leadership

• Leads the organization and develops strategic guidance to achieve its mission.
• Establishes and drives visionary leadership and program partnerships to enhance Verge’s direction, growth, and impact in the elds of visual art and arts education
• Amplies Verge’s brand and visibility and serves as a key player in the local arts ecosystem.
• Promotes and pursues diverse community engagement and partnerships within the Sacramento region.
• Develops and implements Verge’s exhibition program and schedule.
• Oversees Verge’s delivery of high-quality, relevant programs for artists, youth, and the broader community
• Stewards Verge’s diversity, equity, and inclusion frameworks and ensures they span across all constituencies and programs
• Acts as the face of Verge in the community working closely with other local organizations, stakeholders, and the media to ensure its place in the community is recognized and appreciated.

Development & Advancement

• Creates and implements fundraising strategies, partnerships, and events in collaboration with other staff members and the Board.
• Works with Board and staff to cultivate individual and corporate donors and solicit funds, including making specic requests personally to existing and potential donors
• Identies funding opportunities and prepares grant proposals and sponsorship requests to solicit foundation, corporate, and government support, and maintains relationships with funders
• Represents the organization internally and externally.

Financial Stewardship

• Oversees nancial management functions, including accounting, budgeting, and reporting systems
• Serves as a liaison to the Board Treasurer and Finance Committee.
• Ensures strong scal and asset management while meeting Verge’s financial policies.
• Prepares the annual budget and presents it to the Board for approval.

Operations & Administrative Leadership

• Oversees daily operation and management of all Verge programs.
• Leads and supervises a staff team, including hiring, retention, performance evaluation, and leadership development initiatives.
• Works closely with the team to ensure a healthy, collaborative work environment and a thriving community culture.
• Serves as the key staff liaison with the Board of Directors.
• Represents and advocates for overall organizational wellness, models behavior and organizational core competencies to all staff, artists, and board members.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN A NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The ideal candidate will have the following personal qualities and professional experience:

• 5 years of experience in leadership roles at nonprot arts organizations
• A graduate degree and/or work experience equivalent to a master’s degree
• Visionary leadership guiding programmatic direction with a deep understanding of artists’ needs and working within a regional arts scene
• Proven fundraising ability with individual donors, grant writing, and corporate sponsorships
• A demonstrated record of nancial stewardship
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience managing equitable and inclusive staff teams and experience working collaboratively in a creative, fast-paced environment
• Strong personal initiative, and detail-oriented organizational skills with the capacity to manage schedules and meet deadlines
• An ability to converse and establish positive relationships with people of all ages and from a wide variety of backgrounds, including artists, curators, students, visitors, neighbors, donors, and civic leaders.