Specialist, West Coast – Post War & Contemporary Art

Specialist, West Coast – Post War & Contemporary Art The Company

Christie’s, the world’s largest Art Business, is an incredibly exciting & enriching place to start or continue your career. Whether you work within one of our Specialist Art Departments or in our more Operational focused teams we are all working together with one common goal in mind: to continue the success of this over 250-year-old company, steeped in history, bringing constant innovation whilst not forgetting our age-old values;
Passionate Expertise, Exceptional Client Service, Teamwork, Integrity, Business Judgement & Innovation. Colleagues across all departments are truly passionate about what they do and it is constantly inspiring to work with industry leaders across all segments of the business.

Leveraging specialist expertise, the role is responsible for leading regional Post-War & Contemporary business development and sales efforts, with a focus on supporting international sales through sourcing and selling for auction, private sales, and tours/exhibitions. This role will necessitate new and existing client development, strategy & team building to develop an expanded client network in LA and across the west coast.

Level will be commensurate with experience.

• Work with senior Post-War and Contemporary, and Impressionist and Modern teams on key projects and client management as assigned
• Participate in targeted marketing efforts and work with new and existing clients to drive bidding activity, for all relevant international sales.
• Meet consignment targets by both leading independent consignments in specialist areas of expertise and in assigned geographical areas, as well as partnering within and across departments on larger business, for both auction and private sales
• Partner with business management team to follow appropriate processes and approval matrix for structuring and negotiating all deals.
• Support regional tours and exhibitions, providing a key point of contact for clients and colleagues and working to coordinate and execute events in collaborations with the regional office, sales team, and client strategy
• Participate in Telephone Bidding with clients during the auction. Actively track competitors’ auctions, regional activities, local fairs and other related events to understand the broader competitive landscapes.
• Other duties as determined by Management team.

• Lead regional appraisals and valuations for the category, working with the EAV Department and other key 20/21 colleagues.
• Build and sustain relationships with key clients, artists and lead team members in active management of their clients with focus on the west coast, primarily Los Angeles
• Ensure that new business opportunities are acted on in communication with the Regional Managing Director and Head of Department
• Coordinate approach with NY colleagues and client strategy team

• Be a role model as ambassador for Christie’s brand externally, continually raising own and others’ profiles to maintain a presence in the market
• Lead and develop relationships with key market-makers attending regional Christie’s events, supporting Christie’s exhibitions and participating in key external openings and other events to build and maintain a network of new and existing clients
• Continually build and communicate an understanding of the current market and oversee analysis of competitors’ activities
• Identify and develop new market opportunities and promotion of Christie’s on the west coast, including periodic gallery programming

• Comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of the field including clients, market dynamics & estimation of art works
• Proven experience of business-getting at an international level
• Strong organizational skills and ability to lead projects
• Ability to think strategically on long term growth areas and opportunities in the market

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental and Vision care plans for employees and dependents (On average, Christie’s pays 80% of total premiums)
• 401(k) Savings Plan – Christie’s provides a matching contribution up to 5%…