Gallery & Exhibition Planning Manager, France

Fondée en 1744, Sotheby's est le leader mondial de la vente aux enchères dans les domaines de l'art et du luxe. Synonyme d'innovation, Sotheby's favorise l'accès, la connaissance et la préservation des œuvres d'art et des objets rares par le biais de ventes aux enchères, de ventes privées et de points de vente. Notre marché international s'appuie sur un réseau de spécialistes répartis dans 40 pays et couvrant 50 catégories telles que l'art contemporain, l'art moderne et impressionniste, les tableaux anciens, les arts d’Asie, les bijoux, les montres, les vins et spiritueux et le design, entre autres.

ROLE

Gallery & Exhibition Planning Manager, France (L3 – Manager)

REPORTS TO

Head of Exhibitions & Property, France (VP)

Role Overview

This role serves as the strategic hub for the France sales calendar, including exhibition and auction programming, as well as building activations such as events, rentals, and space allocation in Paris. The role includes oversight of all space scheduling within the building—salons, galleries, blacklight rooms, freight landings, and other shared areas—and requires close coordination to anticipate and manage operational impacts. In a project-management and communications‑heavy capacity, this leader ensures that all stakeholders—from Specialist departments to Events, Partnerships, Facilities, and Exhibition Design—have clarity on what spaces are available, what is booked, and how activities impact one another. The role proactively anticipates pressure points, aligns timelines, and provides clear guidance on potential conflicts or constraints.

Key Responsibilities

Sales Calendar Ownership

• Lead development of the Paris sales and exhibition calendar in partnership with Specialist departments, Sales Directors, General Managers, Bids, Private Sales, and regional colleagues.
• Manage turnaround timelines and ensure schedule cohesion across Paris galleries and activities.
• Communicate sale dates to global colleagues and competitors where appropriate.
• Lead the annual planning process for worldwide gallery scheduling, ensuring alignment across regions.
• Notify global counterparts of changes promptly and maintain strong channels of communication to avoid conflicts.
• Serve as a liaison with scheduling counterparts at other major houses to monitor and mitigate sale calendar clashes.

Space Planning

• Serve as the primary point of contact for all Paris space allocation—including exhibitions, private sales, events, viewings, and construction impacts.
• Partner with Logistic manager to ensure proper space allocation.
• Assess space requests, identify conflicts or downstream impacts, and recommend appropriate allocations or adjustments.
• Provide visibility to all teams on building constraints, closures, or schedule adjustments.
• Maintain a real‑time understanding of building activity, upcoming sales, major art fairs, and global events that impact scheduling.
• Share updates and planning documents with key internal stakeholders to ensure alignment.
• Partner with Logistics, Exhibition manager and Facilities to improve the space’s flow, functionality, and visitor experience.

Exhibition Planning & Execution

• Translate exhibition design concepts into executable plans, coordinating closely with Exhibition Design on intent, materials, timelines, and constraints.
• Lead installation and breakdown with the Art Handling team, ensuring safe, efficient movement and placement of all property.
• Plan and manage gallery turnovers, lighting adjustments and any required construction or customizations.
• Work in partnership with Facilities teams—including Carpentry, Electrical, and Painting—to ensure all built elements, repairs, and adjustments meet design and safety standards.
• Manage project costs and ensure expenditures align with approved budgets. Identifying ways of making savings across Gallery & Exhibition design.

Stakeholder Management

• Manage 2 people: Exhibition Manager, Logistics Manager.
• Partner with Events, Facilities, Marketing and Logistics to communicate how programming decisions impact timelines, labor planning, and readiness.
• Escalate scheduling conflicts early and propose solutions that meet business needs.
• Work in close partnership with the Director of Gallery Operations to ensure adequate turnaround time for deinstall, installation, and resets between exhibitions.
• Collaborate with the Head of Warehouse and Exhibition Manager to plan the transfer schedule for property moving in and out of the building and ensure that logistical constraints are incorporated into the programming calendar.
• Map projected costs associated with compressed turnovers, obtain necessary budget approvals, a