Head of Sales and Strategy

Company: Arts Council England
Apply for the Head of Sales and Strategy
Location: London
Job Description:

Overview

In this senior, hands-on role you lead the gallery’s commercial growth and strategic direction. You will cultivate collectors, drive a high-profile fair programme, and activate artist residencies, working closely with directors. The position combines sales instinct with strategic business development in a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment. You help shape the gallery’s international footprint and network with artists, collectors, and institutions.

Pay / Benefits

  • commission and performance-related bonus
  • travel/fair-related expenses
  • flexible working/holiday policy
  • hybrid work arrangement
  • opportunity for international travel
  • close, entrepreneurial team environment

Responsibilities

  • Grow collector, advisor, designer and institution networks
  • Lead sales across exhibitions, fairs, online platforms, commissions and private sales
  • Develop repeat collectors and international relationships
  • Lead negotiations from inquiry to acquisition with client care
  • Prepare tailored proposals, presentations and collection recommendations
  • Shape fair strategy, applications, budgets, artist selection and booth planning
  • Plan previews, invitations, appointments and pre-fair sales
  • Represent the gallery at international fairs and cultural events
  • Manage on-site sales and post-fair follow-up
  • Attract audiences through private events, visits and partnerships
  • Connect residency artists with collectors, curators and institutions
  • Develop art, design, interiors, corporate and secondary-market opportunities
  • Maintain CRM, pipeline, artwork statuses, sales reports and fair P&Ls

Key requirements

  • Minimum 5 years’ contemporary art sales experience in a commercial gallery
  • Minimum 3 years’ in a senior sales or client-development role within a commercial gallery or art advisory, with minimum of 1 year based in London
  • Proven record of closing high-value transactions and achieving or exceeding sales targets
  • Experience of established international art fairs; upper-tier fairs experience is desired
  • Active and established network across private collectors, advisors, and art-world professionals
  • Excellent CRM and pipeline-management skills; Artlogic experience is desirable
  • Warm, polished and discreet, with the ability to host confidently with sophisticated clients
  • Ideas-led, commercially rigorous, organised and hands-on
  • Experience with design, functional art, interiors or collectible design is desirable
  • Additional languages spoken are an advantage, Spanish desirable
  • Flexibility to travel internationally and work some evenings and weekends
  • relationship-building
  • negotiation
  • client-care
  • CRM and pipeline-management (Artlogic desirable)
  • proposals and presentation preparation
  • booth planning and fair operations

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Posted: November 13th, 2026