Gallery Manager

Description

Tuesday – Saturday (Full-time, exempt)

David Kordansky Gallery seeks a highly motivated, extremely organized, and collaborative individual to join our team as Gallery Manager. Reporting to the Managing Director in Los Angeles and the Director, New York, the Gallery Manager is a critical, cross-departmental role, responsible for a range of significant functions of the business, including management of front desk staff, the daily functions of the office, and general operations, facilities, and security. The Gallery Manager oversees gallery visit hospitality, ensuring that clients, staff, and visitors have a pleasant, streamlined, clean, and safe experience when visiting the gallery. This position is a full-time role, Tuesday through Saturday, and will require flexibility for additional hours based on the needs of the gallery. A generous benefits package is offered.

About the Gallery:

David Kordansky Gallery is one of the most dynamic venues for contemporary art in Los Angeles—and soon to be New York—and is internationally regarded as a leading gallery of its generation. Established in 2003, the exhibition program is dedicated to presenting artists’ work with passion and intellectual rigor, and to bringing the utmost care and precision to showcasing artistic visions. The Gallery is committed to presentations that blend scholarship and connoisseurship with equity and inclusion. We are an institution rooted in our hometown of Los Angeles, and in California, even as we embrace cultural activity as a fully global phenomenon.

Maintaining a culture of belonging is important to us—we strive for a workplace where every single team member feels valued, supported, and heard. We believe in the power of creativity and seek opportunities for connection, collaboration, and learning between cultures and communities. We are committed to championing policies and practices that promote diversity, foster cultural equity, and sustain an environment of inclusivity. The Gallery is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit, qualifications, and abilities. The Gallery does not discriminate, and does not permit discrimination against its employees, interns, volunteers, or applicants. We recognize our strengths lie in the broad range of individuals who contribute their time and talents to our mission, and we pledge to create a safe, accessible, and inclusive place to work.

The Gallery’s consistent growth, developed in tandem with its artists’ ambitions, occurs through the unique participation and contribution of each employee. We look for colleagues who are the most driven, the most talented, and the most creative. Every member of the Gallery’s team should aim for excellence and ingenuity, surpassing challenges and discovering new possibilities together. We value long-term commitment and loyalty, and in turn provide avenues for career advancement across all departments.

Compensation & Benefits:

• This is a full-time, salaried position.
• The pay scale for this position is $70,000 – $85,000 annually.

Benefits for full-time employees, following a waiting period, include:

• Premium medical insurance (partially subsidized, at minimal cost to employee)
• Vision insurance (fully subsidized, at no cost to employee)
• Dental and long-term disability insurance
• Paid personal and vacation days
• Paid sick time
• Paid holidays and floating holidays
• Paid gallery closures
• Paid family leave

Participation in a 401k retirement plan (with employer contribution)

Additional Details:

• This position is based in New York, NY.
• The gallery greatly values the health & safety of its employees, and is following all COVID-19 city, county, and state business guidelines for the pandemic.
• This position is primarily remote to start. When the gallery opens to the public, regular in-person work is required.

Responsibilities

Hospitality & Visitor Services:

• Manage all aspects of New York gallery hospitality and the client / visitor experience
• Oversee the maintenance of the aesthetic of the gallery’s interior and exterior, ensuring that clients, staff, and visitors have a pleasant, streamlined, clean, and safe experience when visiting the gallery
• Direct leadership of one or more Gallery Administrators at the front desk as well as other assistant-level employees; oversee front desk scheduling and coverage; manage the execution of tasks by Gallery Administrators and ensure projects are completed with accuracy and within deadlines
• Interface with clients and visitors at the front desk and in the office, assisting with answering phones and responding to inquires
• Adhere to and update all gallery administration manuals and protocols, liaising closely with the Los Angeles team

Management & HR:

• Review, update, and approve time sheets for Gallery Administrator(s) and other hourly employees; track and approve overtime; ensure regular breaks
• Lead all New York human resource administration and projects, including maintaining an awareness of state and federal employment laws; overseeing compliance as well as workplace health & safety; making informed recommendations; organize leadership training, staff development, and all-staff group enrichment opportunities; all with a consideration for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA)
• Assist with providing a streamlined onboarding and training process for new hires
• Serve as a resource and mentor for all New York gallery employees

Facilities & Office Administration:

• Serve as a core member of the Operations Team, with the Head Preparator and Registrar
• Collaborate with the Head Preparator in the management of the gallery’s facility maintenance vendors, including anticipating issues, scheduling repairs, processing invoices; and researching new vendors
• Maintain an efficient, organized, well-stocked, and streamlined office environment; perform material and supply audits for cost-saving measures
• Manage shared staff calendars and information tracking spreadsheets, ensuring clear communication between New York and Los Angeles

Security & Technology:

• Monitor all facility security measures for both artwork and people, including cameras, locks and keys, alarms
• Execute the opening and closing of the gallery, as needed
• Remain on-call for security alarms and/or emergencies, including evenings and weekends
• Liaise between staff and the gallery’s IT consultant for all office technological needs

Events & Programs:

• Assist with all New York-based private events (dinners, receptions) and public programs (openings, artist talks), in collaboration with the Events Manager in Los Angeles

Requirements

Our ideal candidate is highly detail-oriented and creative with exceptional organizational skills; an excellent verbal and written communicator; and possesses the ability to work successfully in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment. We seek candidates who are extremely self-motivated, responsible, and efficient, and who hold a sincere appreciation for and experience with navigating diverse cultural spaces. In addition:

• Knowledge of contemporary art required
• Experience working in a sales environment at a contemporary art gallery in New York strongly preferred, including basic familiarity with the sales process; gallery operations; visitor and client relations; shipping logistics; exhibition cycles; and art fairs
• BA preferred in Modern or Contemporary Art History, Studio Art, or Art Administration; consideration is given to candidates with related experience
• At least five (5) years of professional experience as a Gallery Manager, Gallery Coordinator, or related operations management position strongly preferred; six to eight (6-8) years of experience welcomed
• At least three (3) years of people management experience for a small team (2-4 employees) strongly preferred
• Basic understanding of and interest in New York state and federal employment law and the fundamentals of human resources strongly preferred
• Familiarity with gallery-specific event project management welcomed (e.g. dinners, receptions, openings)
• Advanced skills in a Mac-based environment required, including: Google Suite (Gmail, Calendar, Sheets) and Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Skills in the Adobe Creative Suite (Acrobat, InDesign, Photoshop) welcomed
• Intermediate knowledge of databases such as ArtBase / FileMaker, ArtLogic, or similar preferred
• Fluency in multiple languages (including Spanish) welcomed
• Preference is given to candidates with expert knowledge of global contemporary art, including art of the African Diaspora, Latin America, and Asia
• BIPOC and LGTBQIA+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

How to apply

Please submit the following via email with the subject line “DKG NY: Gallery Manager” to jobs@davidkordanskygallery.com:

• a cover letter detailing your previous experience and how you would approach the position
• a complete CV

In your application, please note all relevant skills requested in the qualifications above.

BIPOC and LGTBQIA+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants with most, if not all, of the requested qualifications are invited to apply. Submissions including the above items will be prioritized. No phone or walk-in inquiries, please.