Artist Manager/ Lead (DOE)

ABOUT AVANT ARTE

Avant Arte is a curated platform connecting the world’s leading artists and public arts institutions with a new generation of enthusiasts, collectors and patrons. We collaborate with the most exciting contemporary artists such as Ai Weiwei, Mickalene Thomas, Maurizio Cattelan and Jenny Holzer to create limited editions of the highest quality, from prints and sculptures to digital works.

Our global community of over 4 million collectors and art enthusiasts reflects the growing energy and curiosity of a new generation transforming how art is discovered and supported. Together with leading museums and institutions, we develop fundraising collaborations that strengthen public access to art and engage the new generation of patrons who will shape its future. Make-Ready, our North London print studio, is the largest fine art silkscreen printmaker in the world.

Our mission is to make discovering and collecting art more accessible, connecting artists, institutions and audiences in meaningful ways that expand art’s reach and impact.

OUR CULTURE

We’re a small team with really big ambitions, both for what we want to achieve and also the environment we’re building. We want to create a company that remains thoughtful as we scale and tries to be genuinely progressive in how we operate. We want people to really own what they do and be given the autonomy and freedom to make mistakes, learn, and create something meaningful.

We all work incredibly hard because we really care about what Avant Arte is here to do – we’re looking for exceptional people who are proactive, hungry to learn, and want to put their pride in our collective achievements.

We know that creating an inclusive environment that promotes and values diversity is critical if we want to build something with impact and meaning. We believe that having diversity in age, background, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, and perspective will make us an infinitely better company. We were shortlisted for Women in Tech’s Best Employer - Small Company and Best Benefits, and Otta’s top 100 startups to work at. 

SUMMARY

An Artist Manager/Lead is personable and marketing-savvy, with the organisation skills and ability to work across multiple teams in the business. Reporting into the Head of Artist team, this role puts the Artist Manager/Lead in charge of Avant Arte’s important artist relationships.

CORE ROLE ELEMENTS

The role has three main areas of focus:

1. ARTIST RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (ARM)

   1. Account management & artist engagement 

• To act as a primary contact for a roster of artists, building strong, trusted relationships that maximise engagement, streamline project execution and create long-term value for both the artists and the business. Key responsibilities include;

• Proactively manage all your accounts, ensuring consistent communication and smooth delivery

• Building meaningful relationships with artists, their studio managers and galleries.

• Gain a deep understanding of each artist’s ambitions - market positioning, career trajectory, and long-term legacy to shape how we collaborate effectively

• Drive engagement in content, promotion, collector referrals and project deliveries

• Become an expert in each artist’s market and practice, combining relationship skills with analysis of demand dynamics and sharing insights internally.

• Collaborate with internal teams to advocate for artist needs while balancing business priorities.

• Strengthen relationships through studio visits, introductions, profile-building opportunities beyond individual projects

2. PROJECT  MANAGEMENT 

   1. Project management and delivery

• End to end ownership of all projects, ensuring they meet all project milestones and deadlines and are delivered with an exceptional artist experience.

  • Strategy - working closely with the Marketing, Creative Production and Sales team to develop long term strategy and release plans for our top artists - spotting opportunities to grow an artist’s reputation, collector base and commercial value

• Pricing research/ project scope - ensuring all project ideas are data-based, properly researched and the most commercially viable and exciting project with the artist

• Contracts / agreements - working with the legal team to draw up the ‘artist agreement contract’, sharing with an artist to sign at the start of a project before going into production

• Artist facing budgets - sharing full breakdowns with artists, including production costs and profit scenarios, with a break-even point clearly identified before going into production. 

• Cross team project management - ensuring all projects are moving at pace and being delivered to high standards with the setting up of project trackers, liaising with Marketing & Content team for specific content requests for the artist, ensuring Production is on track with CPs - implementing meeting cadences with artists and galleries/studios.

• Comms plans - developed with Marketing & Content team and shared with artists before launch

• Sales check-ins - check-ins provided to the artist 4 weeks before launch, with another update provided 7 days before launch.

• Artist breakdowns - making sure these are shared with artists within 24 hours of release, and paid ASAP. 

• Post launch phase - preparing the artists editions roadmap (future project planning), internal and external retrospectives and post launch report within 7 days of launch. Development and presentation to artists and their studios of the post launch report as well as editions roadmap ideas.

3. Pitching

• Delivering pitches for new projects 

  • Commercially successful concept reviews 

    • Leading and coordinating pricing research, concept reviews and documentation, pulling in input from Creative Production and Sales along with audience and commercial market analysis to inform effective pricing and edition sizing recommendations. During the pitch reviews, you will lead the discussion and oversee the outcome (actions and next steps).

  • Winning pitches 

    • Leading pitch deck creation & meetings and pulling in input from the broader team as required.  

  • Reporting, tracking and learning 

    • Reporting against your pitch targets on a weekly and quarterly basis by keeping pitch trackers up to date in Airtable with status and accurate projected revenue - making sure we understand what’s working and what’s not, so we can iterate our approach as we go. 

KEY SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• Operational & Project Management: Exceptionally organised with experience running efficient projects, delivered to budget and on time.

• Account management: combining relationship management (building trust, communication, and long-term loyalty) with strategic, forward thinking planning for an artist’s long-term editions programme with Avant Arte. 

• High quality execution at pace and with attention to detail: Demonstrated ability to use analytical thinking and data insights to evaluate the Artist Team’s performance—both historically and in planning for the future. Capable of reading and interpreting artist market data from auction records and other relevant sources.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Able to work with a wide range of stakeholders across different functions. You’re approachable and confident. 

• Strong Communication: Comfortable simplifying complex topics, communicating clearly across audiences and writing with clarity and tone.

• Commercial Awareness: Confident working with numbers, commercial models and performance tracking to inform artist-facing decisions.

• Problem-Solving Mindset: Resourceful and pragmatic—able to identify challenges early and help unblock issues quickly.
  
  

DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE

• For the Artist Manager 5+ years of experience & for the Artist Lead 7+ years in a project management or account management (experience in a high-growth or creative environment is a plus)

• Comfortable with project management and account management tooling (such as AirTable, Wrike), as well as understanding operational ways of working 

• Background or strong interest in contemporary art, artist management or cultural production

BENEFITS INCLUDE:

• Salary range of approximately £45-75k dependent on experience (we acknowledge this is a broad range but we are open to a broad range of experience)

• Generous equity allowance

• Private Healthcare (UK)

• Enhanced pension contributions and parental leave policies 

• 25 days of holiday plus four extra company wide days

• L&D budget of €1000 per year per employee

• Regular company socials

• Art loan scheme for employees