Business Manager, 20th & 21st Century Art

Christie's

New York (NY)

On-site

USD 80,000 - 90,000

Full time

3 days ago

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Job summary

Christie’s in New York seeks a leadership-oriented Operations Manager with strong experience in auction environments. You will oversee Sales Coordinators, departmental staff and cross-functional partners to ensure timely, compliant sales execution and process improvements.

You will partner with directors to plan staffing, budgets, and risk management while maintaining exceptional client service and integrity across all Christie’s operations.

Qualifications

5+ years of work experience in auction or an equivalent field.
Demonstrated proactive, collaborative approach.
Supervisory experience preferred.
Ability to remain calm in stressful situations and maintain confidentiality.
Ability to solve practical problems and deal with concrete variables.
Knowledge of Outlook, Excel, Word Processing, and Presentation software.
Ability to create and analyze Excel spreadsheets, bar graphs, reports and business correspondence.
Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from colleagues and clients.

Responsibilities

Directly manage Sale Coordinators, Department Coordinators, and temporary staff; hire, train, plan and appraise performance.
Partner with Business Director and Department Heads on staffing and succession planning.
Allocate resources across sales and projects; guide operational priorities.
Maintain relationships with operations, publishing, finance, marketing and legal to ensure smooth sales processes.
Drive process improvements and resolve operational issues; ensure deadlines and commitments are met.
Oversee sale execution to meet deadlines, compliance requirements and milestones.
Assist in budgeting, forecasts, consignment approvals, and financial reporting.
Collaborate with internal teams and external partners on strategic initiatives and risk mitigation.

Skills

Auction experience

Proactive collaboration

Supervisory experience

Stay calm under pressure

Problem solving

MS Office

Excel & charts

Presentation skills

Tools

Outlook

Excel

Word

PowerPoint

Job description

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; Respect, 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.

The Company

Why this role matters

How You Will Make An Impact

Leadership and People Management

Directly manage Sale Coordinators, Department Coordinators, and temporary staff. Responsibilities include hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance and setting development plans; addressing challenges and resolving problems.
Partner with the Business Director and Department Heads on staffing needs, workload management and succession planning.
Allocate coordinator and temporary resources effectively across sales and projects.
Provide support and guidance to sale teams and coordinators on operational matters.
Effectively and regularly communicate to ensure clarity around priorities, deliverables, deadlines and departmental initiatives.

Operational Management

Maintain relationships with critical business partners, including operations, publishing, finance, marketing and legal to ensure all functions run smoothly to support the sales
Facilitate communication with external support teams as needed to ensure propersupport, trouble shoot potential issues and define and implement process improvements
Work closely with sale coordinators to ensure flow of information, management of deadlines and deliverables, and accuracy of all sale related information and commitments
Resolve and elevate where necessary all operational issues
Work closely with sale team, marketing, publishing and others to ensure key sale deadlines are met
Oversee sale execution to ensure deadlines, compliance requirements and operational milestones are met.

Financial Management & Sale Related activities

Oversee and approve consignment agreements within level of authority
Assist Regional Managing Director and Business Director to provide necessary information to the Finance Business Partner for financial reporting (e.g. Sale Forecasts updates, budgeting, and quarterly forecasts)
Support Business Director in preparing documentation for deals requiring elevated approvals.
Work with Sale Coordinators to review and approve: Lot Withdrawals (including associated fees and charges), cancelled sales below a certain threshold, post-sale settlement amendments, client settlements, damage claim costs, etc.
Manage catalogue to budget provided by Content
Approve purchase orders
Approve property movement and associated costs
Approve all catalogue elements related to compliance and general sale information
Review client charges to ensure costs are correctly captured and entered, acting as a point of escalation for over budget spend
Inventory control: proactively work with Specialists, Sale Coordinators and Logistics to clear old inventory and action property in breach of Inventory Policy
Manage and resolve client concerns, working closely with client contact and internal departments as needed
Work with sale team and credit to monitor payment terms and other sale financials

Strategic Support

Participate in, make recommendations for, and lead where appropriate, strategic initiatives as directed by the Regional Managing Director/Business Director, including areas for opportunity and growth
Work with the Regional Managing Director, Business Director, and Heads of Department on preparing and delivering all internal and external communications for significant events, including policy, staffing, best practices and any strategic changes
Develop and implement improvements to operational systems for the department, working closely with other support departments and international team to ensure consistent approach within the global team
Work with Business Director to monitor and mitigate outstanding risk, identifying areas for improvement
Partner with external departments to ensure proper support and implementation of business plan
Provide competitive analysis and insight on market segments
Other duties as defined by manager

What You'll Bring To The Team

5 + year’s work experience preferably with a background in auction or an equivalent field.
Demonstrated proactive, collaborate approach.
Supervisory experience preferred.
Ability to remain calm in stressful situations and maintain confidentiality.
Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
Knowledge of Outlook, Excel, Word Processing, and Presentation software.
Ability to create and analyze Excel spreadsheets, bar graphs, reports and business correspondence.
Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from colleagues and clients.

What’s Great About Working For Us

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% (subject to IRS limits)
Life Insurance - 3x base salary up to $400k (100% paid by Christie’s)
Disability Insurance (100% paid by Christie’s)
Generous time-off and leave policies; including 100% Paid Family Leave up to 16 weeks.
Fitness Reimbursement Program: reimbursement of eligible fitness fees and memberships up to $600 per year
Annual Discretionary Performance Bonus Plan
Commuter Benefits - Pre-tax money towards your daily commute with a Christie’s contribution of $21 per month
Back Up Child & Elder Care – up to 10 days of back-up Child or Elder Care through Bright Horizons
CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Day- Each employee receives one paid day per year to dedicate their time to a charity of their choice.
Perks and Discounts through Zo and Plum Benefits
Christie’s reserves the right to change company benefits at any time

Christie’s, Inc. is committed to principles of equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, and to compliance with all federal, state, and local laws concerning employment discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act.
To this end, Christie’s Inc. ensures equal opportunity to all employees and applicants, regardless of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, lawful alien status, physical, mental, and medical disability, veteran status or liability status for service in the United States Armed Forces.

Closing Date: November 18th, 2026