Business Director, Private Sales

Sotheby's•New York, NY

36d•$100,000 - $120,000

About The Position

Business partner to the Americas Global Fine Art departments focused on driving revenue for Private Sales via P&L and pipeline management. Accountable for consignment and sale execution along with structuring financial deals and corresponding legal agreements. Manage volume, deal complexity and client expectations whilst keeping corporate profitability targets in the forefront. Control financial concessions to maximize recoveries to increase profit and mitigate risk. You can think analytically, synthesize quantitative and qualitative information, and are excited by proactive problem solving.

Requirements

Educated to Degree level (MBA or other post graduate business-related qualifications are an advantage)
Post qualification business experience, ideally in a financial or business support role
Excellent math and numeracy skills with deep understanding of financial terminology
A solid understanding of the art world, and ideally experience in an international auction house
Ability to communicate at all seniority levels; strong communication skills as it relates to delivering key financial commentary on sales budget, forecast, and achievements to both senior management and specialist departments
Ability to work under pressure and to very tight deadlines
Capable of pro-actively manage own workload with minimal supervision
Confident team player, capable of working well independently and as part of a busy team
Highly organized, detail oriented, multi-tasker
Creative problem solver, energetic and persistent
Excellent Microsoft Office skills; fluent in Excel, insightful author of complex formulas
Fluent in English, other European or Asian languages would be an advantage

Responsibilities

Partner with relationship managers and senior business getters to drive sales and revenue stream accountability; accountable for tracking deal movement on weekly basis with reference to the overall annual goals. Responsible for pipeline presentation and discussion with heads of departments, specialists, and relationship managers
Oversee and lead consignments from negotiations until final settlement, with oversight from senior Business Management where appropriate
Budget planning preparation in partnership with GM, head of sale and/or head of department.
Partner with financial analyst for (1) month end close (2) forecasting (3) general ongoing P&L maintenance
Develop financial models/scenarios to support deals for all revenue streams; approve/escalate for commercial team approval where appropriate
Deal related cost review and approval
Translate financial results and KPIs into operational recommendations to optimize the business.
Private Sales incentive review/approval/accountability, where appropriate.
Work with Pre and Post sale on Sale settlement to maintain a high-level oversight.
Oversee private sale exhibition calendar and execution of corresponding shows in New York and Los Angeles as well as any potential pop-up projects within the region from both operation and financial planning perspective
In partnership with operations manage department inventory
Assisting with various Post Sale issues where there are financial impacts (e.g. shipping, export licenses, tax(es), etc)
Oversight of templated legal agreements drafted by pre-sale administration
Partner with legal on all contract negotiations (consignment, introductory commission, vendor, consultant); escalating to senior business management where appropriate
Point of contact/escalation for Tax, VAT, Taxe Forfetaire, etc
Research potential additional revenue streams and/or type of property offered for long term strategy and growth in collaboration with the GM
Build and support presentation of post-sale reports and/or other-directed analysis with input from business intelligence, as appropriate
Review and approval of all sale, dept costs as well as business getter travel expenses
In partnership with GM, propose, manage, and implement efficiencies, integration and adoption for new IT and digital improvements aligned to overall responsibilities