Senior Art Sales Consultant, EAMES FINE ART

Eames Fine Art is an established, commercial art gallery based in SE1 over four venues. We specialise in original artworks by printmakers from all periods in history, from Rembrandt to Hodgkin; from Rego to Hepworth. We also work with a formidable and exciting group of contemporary printmaking artists. Eames Fine Art regularly exhibits at art fairs in addition to hosting our own exhibitions, talks, auctions, and special events at our Collectors’ Studio on a weekly basis.

Eames Fine Art is offering an exciting opportunity to be a part of a hard-working and passionate team of people. We work closely together and good communication between us is essential for the smooth running of the business. Each day begins with a morning meeting over coffee where we discuss the responsibilities and opportunities of each day. Our reputation in the market is excellent. We ensure a very personal and attentive service to our clients and make great effort to meet with them personally and to understand their collecting patterns and tastes. Our exhibition and event diary is always full and we have a fast turnover of events. Specialising in original prints means that we manage a high volume of artworks and that we also must be knowledgeable about art from a very broad range of styles and periods. We pride ourselves on the Eames brand being relaxed, personable and making art works accessible to everyone. Our venues are welcoming and comfortable but to be so they must always be beautiful, smart, clean, and above all organised. A professional and friendly attitude and behaviour is always expected from everyone on the team.

We are currently looking for a talented and impressive individual who has a proven track record of sales success and confidence in developing good relationships with clients, as well as a strong understanding of the luxury retail market. The candidate should have at least 3 years' experience in a similar role. A professional background in art is not essential, although confidence and experience in discussing art is important. The successful candidate should have a passion for and knowledge about fine art, and indeed an interest in the Arts in general. We sell a wide variety of artworks from different eras – from Rembrandt to present day – so an important aspect of this role will be to research artists and their works in order to have excellent knowledge about each exhibition in advance of speaking to clients.

This role is about generating sales, working towards realistic sales targets to generate new business through a self-motivated approach. We are looking for someone who can build relationships with clients using our existing mailing list and new enquiries from gallery walk-ins and online enquiries to create tailored propositions with well executed marketing material to generate in-person appointments and sales. It is essential that the candidate has experience of working in an active sales position, and preferably formal sales training. This role will involve representing Eames Fine Art, working in one of our three exhibition spaces (as well as occasional off-site fairs and client meetings). At the front end of our business, it is essential that you provide a welcoming experience for visitors, and we expect exceptional client and customer service, with an ability to engage visitors in conversations about the artworks and convert those conversations into sales.

You will also be involved in proactively making daily calls to promote the gallery – increasing footfall and generating sales. Weekends and evening events are the busiest time of the week and the most exciting for a sales consultant. Working Saturdays and Sundays and one late evening each week is required of the role. Each event we host is like a small performance – as a team we work hard and events can be very busy times, but for someone who enjoys selling and talking with clients they are exhilarating and rewarding.

This is an exciting and important appointment, which will offer the successful candidate a broad and interesting role, covering all aspects of sales and offering a great insight into the running of a gallery. Other aspects of the role will include managing the gallery premises, contributing ideas towards the planning and hanging of exhibitions, working on PR for the shows, talking to journalists, writing about the exhibitions, contributing to special marketing events and promotions, and also updating the exhibition website. This role offers the opportunity to be part of a brilliant, dynamic, and dedicated team. Eames Fine Art is a relatively small company with just 15 people currently working together. We place a high value on mutual respect and support for each other’s role. Together, we work to create a unique and exciting environment for collectors to meet, talk about art, converse with artists, watch demonstrations, contribute to discussions, and ultimately add to their art collections.

The candidate for this role should be highly organised, proactive, and able to remain productive at both very busy and quieter times in the gallery and exhibition calendar. We are hoping to find someone who is passionate about life and their work, whilst enjoying the opportunity to develop and always learn more; someone outgoing and adaptable, with excellent communication skills. We are looking for enthusiasm, motivation, curiosity, charm, energy and tenacity.