Gallery Associate

Node Foundation; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 52,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation based on experience

Job summary

A nonprofit foundation for digital art in Palo Alto seeks a Gallery Associate to lead front-of-house operations and enhance visitor experiences. This role requires supervisory experience in retail or hospitality, with a focus on training staff and managing inventory. The ideal candidate will ensure high service standards and have strong communication skills. They will blend guest service leadership with operational oversight in a creative environment.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of supervisory experience in retail, arts spaces, or hospitality.
• Strong inventory and POS management skills.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills.
• Comfort with basic reporting and data analysis.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills.
• Ability to adapt policies to evolving exhibition and event needs.
• Commitment to NODE's artistic mission and visitor-centered culture.

Responsibilities

• Develop and refine visitor interaction policies.
• Oversee front desk operations and cash handling.
• Train and coach Guest Experience staff.
• Build and manage front desk and retail staffing schedules.
• Train and coach Guest Experience staff on best practices.
• Conduct shift reviews, performance feedback, and handoffs.
• Oversee merchandise assortment, visual merchandising, and product placement.
• Manage inventory tracking: counts, replenishment, shrink control, and reporting.
• Collaborate with partners and vendors for product sourcing and pricing.
• Maintain service standards so every visitor has a meaningful experience.
• Respond to visitor feedback and resolve escalated service issues.
• Partner with curatorial and production teams on exhibition storytelling.
• Generate daily/weekly reports on sales, inventory, foot traffic, and staffing.
• Analyze metrics to recommend improvements in retail and visitor flow.

Skills

Supervisory experience

Leadership

Inventory management

Communication skills

Customer service

Tools

POS systems

Job description

NODE is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to transforming how digital art is experienced. NODE is both an idea and a place, built with artists, by artists, and for artists—part exhibition space, part learning lab, part cultural engine. The Gallery Associate leads front-of-house operations, retail, and the policies and staffing that make visitor experiences meaningful. This role blends guest service leadership with retail execution and operational oversight.

Responsibilities

• Develop and refine front desk, retail, and visitor interaction policies and procedures
• Oversee opening, closing, security, and cash handling protocols
• Ensure compliance with nonprofit and space safety standards
• Build and manage front desk and retail staffing schedules
• Train and coach Guest Experience staff on best practices
• Conduct shift reviews, performance feedback, and handoffs
• Oversee merchandise assortment, visual merchandising, and product placement
• Manage inventory tracking: counts, replenishment, shrink control, and reporting
• Collaborate with partners and vendors for product sourcing and pricing
• Maintain service standards so every visitor has a meaningful experience
• Respond to visitor feedback and resolve escalated service issues
• Partner with curatorial and production teams on exhibition storytelling
• Generate daily/weekly reports on sales, inventory, foot traffic, and staffing
• Analyze metrics to recommend improvements in retail and visitor flow

Requirements

• 3+ years of supervisory experience in retail, arts spaces, or hospitality
• Leadership experience: scheduling, training, coaching, and staffing
• Strong inventory and POS management skills
• Comfort with basic reporting and data analysis
• Excellent communication and customer service skills
• Ability to adapt policies to evolving exhibition and event needs
• Commitment to NODE's artistic mission and visitor-centered culture

Competitive compensation commensurate with experience.

About NODE

NODE is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to transforming how digital art is experienced. NODE is both an idea and a place – built with artists, by artists, and for artists.

NODE is the antidote to sterile galleries and stagnant institutions. NODE is part exhibition space, part learning lab, part cultural engine—designed to give digital art a home that matches its energy and potential. It challenges how we think about art, who gets to create it, and how we engage with it. It celebrates code as culture, and believes the future of art is collaborative, alive, and always evolving.

From Palo Alto to every connected device worldwide, NODE brings together a network of creators who understand that art has the power to bring us closer. We host experiences that evolve and deepen as more people engage. We create spaces – both physical and digital – that invite interaction, experimentation, and dialogue. We partner directly with artists to protect and preserve their code and creative legacy. We collaborate with universities and forward-looking institutions to nurture and inspire the next generation of digital creators. Because it takes a network to make art work.