Our client, a Blue Chip Contemporary Art Gallery in New York, are looking for a junior candidate ideally with some experience in a busy commercial or blue chip gallery. The role involves supporting the Gallery team in a variety of activities, to ensure the smooth daily running of the gallery and be an effective link with the wider team. This position will provide a vital professional front of house experience for all gallery visitors and a range of administrative support across the gallery.
Job Responsibilities
Key Front of House responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Being the lead person for reception duties
- Acting as front of house for the gallery’s clients and visitors
- Answering phones in an efficient and friendly manner, providing a high-quality message service
- Deputizing for sales staff with visitors as appropriate
- Ensuring reception and gallery areas are presentable and informative well in advance of Private Views, notifying appropriate staff if action needs to be taken to rectify issues
- Upkeep of checklists and tidiness of viewing rooms
- Updating Artbinder in conjunction with the London front of house
- Tracking and recording visitor numbers
- Ensuring press releases and exhibition lists are available for visitors
- Organising couriers/FedEx/taxis where required, coding and reporting to finance
- Ordering office supplies & canteen etc, coding and reporting to finance
- Updating mailing list from reception/exhibition books
- Updating the gallery’s internal contact database in conjunction with London front of house
- Updating the inventory database with regard to sales and reserves
- Other general ad hoc project support work as required i.e. maintaining records of cold calls/walk ins, updating face recognition docs, important client docs etc
- Reception cover at gallery Private Views and support for/attendance at other gallery events as required
- Assisting with general gallery and event duties, when required
- Attendance at key gallery events, when required.
- Manage the gallery’s museum memberships and upkeep calendar of NY exhibition openings
- Arranging for general gallery upkeep ahead of installation/exhibition prep
Documentation services:
- Running gallery’s bookshop
- Ordering catalogues to ensure appropriate stock levels, including for upcoming gallery
exhibitions - Ensure that the gallery is stocked with relevant sales catalogues and publications
- Introduce and monitor allocation of complimentary catalogues
- Ensure that new publications are regularly sent to major international museums/libraries
- Work on project to make best use of catalogue archive/stored catalogues.
- Manage the sale of catalogues in conjunction with MarComms
- Manage offsite storage inventory of catalogues.
- Manage front desk bookshop via Square and online gallery bookshop via Work alongside London front desk team to manage international shipments.
- Manage bookshop email account ensuring a high level of friendly and professional customer service
- Upkeep the inventory of packing and shipping supplies, coordinating with members of
MarComms and Sales Team to ensure that proper packaging is ordered for scheduled mail-outs.
Key skills/attributes include:
- Passion for and strong knowledge of contemporary art
- Previous gallery, museum, or visual arts experience
- Articulate and well presented.
- Positive, can-do attitude (Maybe add something about comfort/willingness to interface with visitors and clients, answer questions and speak comfortably about current exhibitions)
- Excellent inter-personal skills balanced with professionalism and diplomacy.
- Good knowledge of the contemporary art market
- Highly organized & efficient
- Excellent attention to detail
- Excellent organisation & prioritisation skills
- Ability to manage a personal busy workload,
- A calm and friendly manner, especially when under pressure
- High level of IT skills: Microsoft Office, working knowledge of art Database(s), Mac literate.
- Desired but not required: e-commerce experience, specifically experience with Square, Shopify, WordPress, and packing/shipping orders both locally and internationally
Start Date: ASAP
Salary: $40k – $45k DOE
Location: New York