Managing Director, Private Sales

Position overview

Level & Co. is a secondary market gallery specializing in Post-War and Contemporary art, from Abstract Expressionism to Neo-Expressionism to 21st-century masters. We advise leading collectors, sell works on behalf of the two largest art funds, and broker secondary market works between collectors. We are wholly-owned by Masterworks, and exclusively represent its $2 billion art collection for sales, which includes over 550 paintings and one of the top collections of works by Basquiat, Kusama, Haring and other artists.

Read on to find out what you will need to succeed in this position, including skills, qualifications, and experience.

We are looking for a New York-based Managing Director, Private Sales to build and lead one of our two private sales teams. You will manage two Sr. Directors, who cover collectors and advisors, and four Private Sales Specialists, who cover the trade. Your job is to make that team productive: hire well, set the cadence, run the pipeline, coach every deal forward and step in to close the important ones. Your compensation includes an override on the revenue your team generates.

You will be responsible for

• Leading the team. Managing two Sr. Directors and four Private Sales Specialists, with clear individual targets and weekly one-on-ones.
• Hitting the team's numbers. Bringing each team member to brokerage revenue of 3x their total compensation, and then to 5x.
• Running the pipeline. Holding a weekly pipeline meeting and keeping the team's funnel moving, from engagements and buyer requests through works sourced, works sent, offers and closed deals.
• Matching and closing. Making sure buyer requests are matched to works across the whole team, not just within one person's book, and leading negotiations on the team's largest deals.
• Driving acquisitions. Directing the team's sourcing toward the priority sourcing list and toward paintings to be acquired for the Masterworks platform.
• Setting activity standards. Defining and enforcing a consistent daily cadence of contact with trade contacts, advisors and collectors, and holding the team to it.
• Coaching. Developing Specialists' trade networks and qualifying skills, and helping Sr. Directors build their collector books.
• Hiring and building the team. Recruiting, onboarding and, where needed, replacing team members to keep every seat productive.
• Keeping the record. Making sure every engagement, request, sourced work and offer is logged in our CRM, and reporting team results and forecasts to leadership.
• Covering key relationships. Carrying a small number of the most important collector and advisor relationships yourself.
• Working across the business. Coordinating with the other private sales team,, Research, Marketing and Operations, and joining pricing sessions on major works.

How you'll be measured

You'll be measured on your team's results, not your own book:

• Team brokerage revenue: each team member at 3x their total compensation, growing to 5x.
• Team acquisitions: paintings the team sources that are acquired for the Masterworks platform.
• Team activity: the funnel from engagements and requests through works sent, offers and closed deals.
• Team strength: hiring, retention and how quickly new team members reach their targets. xhyhwjd

Compensation

Base salary plus an override on the brokerage revenue generated by your team.

In your first few months, you will

• Get fully up to speed on Level & Co.'s sales process and the Masterworks collection
• Meet every team member and their key contacts, and review each person's book, pipeline and targets
• Set the team's weekly pipeline meeting and daily activity standards
• Identify open or underperforming seats and begin hiring
• Take a direct role in closing the team's largest open deals

Requirements

• 10+ years in private sales at a leading gallery or auction house, or as an independent dealer
• 3+ years managing a sales team against revenue targets
• A track record of closing private sales at $1M+ price points, and of building a team that does the same
• Deep relationships across collectors, advisors, dealers and auction houses in Post-War and Contemporary art
• Expertise in Post-War and Contemporary art markets, including how to segment an artist's market by series, period, medium and size
• Strong negotiator; comfortable managing many deals at once through other people
• Disciplined about data, pipeline reporting and forecasting
• Excellent verbal and written communication; fluency in another language is preferred
• Able to travel locally and internationally

Additional requirements

• Must be eligible for full-time US work, no exceptions
• Must be able to work from our New York office; this is not a remote role

Benefits at Level & Co.

• Free admission to art museums and galleries
• Health, dental, and vision coverage with FSA options
• PTO, paid parental leave, and 401(k)