Job Title: Department Coordinator and Junior Specialist, Jewellery
Responsible for: None
Purpose of job: To provide full administrative support and coordination to the department; to contribute towards the cataloguing and selling of Jewellery in line with the department and business year-on-year growth objectives
Main contacts: Internal: Jewellery team (Head of Department, Senior Specialist), Managing Director, Executive and Associate Directors, other specialist departments (especially Interiors, Homes and Antiques, and Watches), client liaison and other business functions especially marketing and photography
External: private clients, collectors, dealers, other auction houses
Contract type: Permanent
Hours: Full-time or part-time
Location: Based at 6 Roslin Square W3 8DH
Background and Context:
Chiswick Auctions is a privately owned, well-established London auction house which is fast becoming a major player in the international art market. With 20 specialist departments, regular dedicated and themed sales are held across a breadth of specialisms. The main headquarters is based on Chiswick High Road, and the auction house employs around 50 staff.
The Jewellery department specialises in Western jewellery of the last three hundred years. Sales would normally comprise pieces from the Victorian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, post-war and contemporary periods, and feature works from famous jewellers and jewellery houses.
There are six auctions a year – three ‘specialist’ live sales, focusing on lot values in the region of £500 to £10,000 with notable exceptions, and four ‘affordable’ timed-online sales, with lot values usually in the £100 - £500 range, again with exceptions. The overall hammer is well over £1m.
Areas of Responsibility
Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:
· Manage clients throughout the auction process - this includes generating and managing client contracts, collecting and uploading client information, managing payment details
· Stock management - receipting works into our internal auction software ‘Go Auctions’; organising the jewellery and watches safe, ensuring that everything is secure
· Assist the team with walk-in, written, phone and email enquiries, as well as online valuations – as directed
· Manage the photography process, co-ordinate the schedule and physical property management, proof the photo catalogue and marketing images
· Assist with cataloguing the sale, including weighing and measuring pieces. Ensure cataloguing is consistent with Chiswick style, proof read the sale in conjunction with Head of Department and Senior Specialist
· Assist with writing and sending condition reports and additional images to interested parties prior to auction
· Take jewellery to London-based authenticators, dealers and other external contacts as required by the HOD
· Assist with the preview and sales including weekend viewings, telephone bidding and clerking the auction
· Support the accounts team to ensure all charges are correct and that additional fees such as testing are tracked
· Post-sale administration – bag sold jewellery per invoice to hand to post-sale team; liaise with that team regarding collection of unsolds
General
· Ensure compliance with all internal policies and procedures and any relevant external bodies or processes
· Participate in organisation-wide meetings, activities and processes, and develop internal contacts, networks and interactions as appropriate
· Actively participate in and suggest events, valuation days, and other functions to represent Chiswick Auctions and the department
· Carry out other duties as required by the HOD, Managing Director, Executive and Associate Directors
Person Specification
Essential qualifications skills and experience
· A qualification relevant to the field as evidenced by an FGA, DGA or GG qualification (or evidence of working towards one of these qualifications)
· Experience in the field, preferably at an auction house, within the trade or at another relevant institution e.g., jewellery house or own business
· Excellent writing skills in English, and ability to combine an understanding of the material with a commercial sense of marketing and promoting value
· Excellent verbal communication and interpersonal skills, including first class spoken English
· Ability to work to tight auction deadlines, balancing photography, cataloguing, sale organisation, marketing and promotional details
· Experience working on projects of all sizes, long- and short-term; demonstrated ability to prioritise a variety of concurrent projects
· Excellent knowledge of the Microsoft 365 Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Outlook etc)
· Excellent IT proficiency, implying an ability to learn Chiswick Auctions’ systems
· Superior customer service skills
· Strong follow-up skills with attention to detail
· Ability to thrive within a fast-paced team environment
· Can-do attitude, and the flexibility to work longer hours in prime times (e.g. cataloguing deadline, exhibition setup and preview)