Job Description

The President and Chief Executive Officer serves as the visionary leader of Gateway Film Center, responsible for guiding the strategic direction and ensuring operational excellence across all aspects of the organization, including theater operations, finances, and staff management. This leader curates and champions the Film Center’s artistic programming, ranging from acclaimed independent and international films to community festivals and educational initiatives, ensuring offerings remain diverse, inclusive, and mission-aligned. They provide inspirational leadership while stewarding the Film Center’s unique identity as a cultural cornerstone.

A key priority for the President & CEO is driving fundraising and resource development, cultivating strategic partnerships, and engaging deeply with donors, artists, and community stakeholders to sustain and grow the organization's impact. This includes honoring existing relationships and building new ones, particularly within the Columbus community.

As Gateway Film Center transitions into a mature nonprofit, the President & CEO must balance its entrepreneurial spirit with the discipline of nonprofit governance. While a passion for cinema and the arts is essential, deep technical expertise in film is not required. Instead, the successful leader will bring the strategic, operational, and relational acumen necessary to guide a cultural institution through a period of transformation, ensuring continued relevance, resilience, and community impact.

Must-Haves:

Visionary and Strategic Leadership: Demonstrated success leading mission-driven organizations through periods of growth, transformation, or uncertainty. Brings strong strategic planning capabilities, sound judgment under pressure, and the ability to align stakeholders around a shared vision.

Financial & Business Acumen: Deep knowledge of nonprofit financial management, including budgeting, forecasting, cash flow oversight, and audit compliance. Able to make strategic decisions that ensure financial sustainability while advancing mission impact.

Fundraising & Resource Development Demonstrated success generating contributed and earned revenue from individual donors, institutional funders, and corporate sponsors. A natural relationship builder who can inspire philanthropic investment and broaden financial support.

Board Partnership & Governance: Experience working with nonprofit boards to drive strategy, ensure accountability, and build mutual trust. Brings maturity, discretion, and collaborative energy to board relationships, helping turn vision into action.

Collaborative People Leadership: Proven ability to lead and inspire cross-functional teams with emotional intelligence, humility, and accountability. Creates a culture of inclusion, trust, and high performance through clear communication and thoughtful delegation.

Community Engagement & Public Presence : A dynamic and polished communicator who serves as a visible ambassador for the organization. Skilled in building authentic relationships with a wide array of stakeholders, including civic leaders, funders, media, artists, and the broader community.

Industry Insight & Adaptive Thinking: While deep technical expertise in film is not required, the candidate must bring strong literacy in the arts, creative industries, or entertainment sectors. Comfortable navigating evolving audience behaviors, curation practices, and programming models.

Change Management & Cultural Stewardship: Proven ability to lead organizations through internal and external change. Brings a steady hand in maintaining organizational morale, evolving team structures, and sustaining mission integrity during periods of transition.

Who We Are:

Gateway Film Center is an independent film and visual arts exhibition venue located at 1550 North High Street in Columbus, Ohio.

The Film Center is wholly owned by Gateway Film Foundation (an Ohio based 501(c)3 non-profit arts organization) and is dedicated to curating a diverse range of films, including commercial, independent, international, documentary, locally-made, and repertory films.

The Center aims to create a unique cinematic experience that fosters a love for film, cultivates engagement, and encourages an enhanced appreciation for film culture and community.

What We Do:

The Film Center is a mission-driven organization. The values that inform our work:

Community — our guests, our team, our partners. Strengthening our community is at the heart of our mission.

Film — the stories, the medium, the industry. Film sits at the intersection of art, education, technology and politics. We work to build a community where the films shown on our screens inspire and encourage us beyond box-office results.

Artists — as filmmakers and as professionals. We are committed to supporting the creativity and talents of artists, both locally and internationally, and we will amplify the reach of their stories through our own.

Columbus — where we live, work, and give back. We seek collaboration with like-minded organizations and individuals who are working to improve the lives of central Ohio residents.

The Center — accessible and safe; clean and comfortable; with state-of-the-art projection technology. Consistently maintained, constantly improved.

Service — professional and proactive, informed and compassionate. Every guest, every time.

Sustainability — investing in our potential, with a global perspective.

We believe success for the film center is only achieved through focus on doing the right work and understanding how our decisions impact the lives of the people we serve.

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