VIP Manager, Americas

At Frieze we believe art is vital to communities and cultures. Bringing together galleries, artists, institutions, and art lovers all over the world to make art flourish.

Frieze is a media and events company that comprises three publications, frieze magazine, Frieze Masters Magazine and Frieze Week; and five international art fairs, Frieze London, Frieze LA, Frieze New York, Frieze Seoul and Frieze Masters; regular talks and summits, led by frieze editors; and frieze.com – the definitive resource for contemporary art and culture.

In October 2021, Frieze launched No.9 Cork Street, a hub for visiting international galleries in the heart of Mayfair, London. Frieze is part of the IMG network. IMG is a global leader in sports, fashion, events, and media and is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global entertainment, sports and content company.

Working closely with the Frieze teams, the VIP Manager role, based in our New York office, is key in ensuring the success of Frieze Fairs, particularly in Americas. This role will involve building Frieze brand recognition across Americas, establishing strong relationships with key collectors and art world professionals in the region, and delivering audiences to all Frieze fairs and projects internationally.

Strategy

• Feed into and deliver the strategic goals for Frieze’s activity in Americas across Frieze Fairs
• Inform and support the implementation of Frieze’s strategy to strengthen audiences in Americas;
• Nurture and maintain relationships with key stakeholders in the region.

Brand building

• Identify and deliver brand building cultivation and partners events across Americas in advance and during all Frieze fairs with the support of Director of VIP
• Attend important art events in Americas including major exhibition openings and dinners;
• Host targeted initiatives with VIPs and galleries across Americas (e.g. lunches, collection visits, drinks, dinners, digital events, etc.) as agreed with Frieze senior team; 
• Identify and coordinate opportunities for collaborations with local and regional institutions;
• Support Frieze Week VIP programme in LA & NYC;
• Attend key international art events including other art fairs on behalf of Frieze, as agreed with Frieze senior team;
• Support with new cultivation exercises and insights building as well the expansion of VIP Consultant network and recruitment

 Year-round VIP cultivation 

• Identify important collectors and key museums actively acquiring Contemporary, Modern and Historical art in Americas and hold relationships with collectors and art world professionals in Americas;
• Formulate and execute strategies to encourage VIP attendance to all Frieze fairs, viewing rooms and other events, including delivery of key museum patrons groups;
• Advise Frieze on how to further engage with collectors and curators/museum directors in the region both online and in person, with regular visits to collectors and museums throughout the region;
• Make visits to Frieze-participating Americas galleries when traveling around the region, demonstrating a deep engagement with their programmes and enabling new VIP introductions;
• Be the advocate for new Frieze projects with galleries in the region

Development of VIP Database

• Actively support with the development of a segmented and targeted Americas VIP database
• Source contact details for the VIPs and implement into database, offering guidance of what access and invitations they should receive to Frieze fairs; 
• Act as point of contact in correspondence from Frieze to VIPs from the region, tailoring correspondence when necessary.

Cultivation and audience delivery during Frieze Fairs

• Deliver key audiences from Americas to all Frieze events, internationally;
• Familiarise yourself with information relevant to upcoming Frieze fairs;
• Identify and communicate special opportunities for visiting collectors; 
• Facilitate participation of collectors from the region in all aspects of the fairs, especially new or important collectors who have not previously attended; 
• Ensure collectors attending the fairs are well looked after and feel connected and important to Frieze;
• Facilitate introductions between collectors and exhibiting galleries;
• Host hospitality events (drinks, lunches) at the fairs with very targeted purpose;
• Support Frieze team travel in the region with general planning and introductions;

Knowledge and Experience

• In-depth understanding of the art world and the key players in Americas;
• Significant experience at a senior level within a client facing background in an environment such as a commercial gallery, museum, auction house, international art event, corporation or brand  in Americas
• Strong relationships with collectors, curators and opinion-formers in Americas
• Deep knowledge and understanding of the global contemporary art world

Skills & Abilities

• Excellent organisational and time management
• Able to work to tight deadlines
• Experience of working with data, analytics and a database
• Experience of using Microsoft applications

Per local requirements and in the interest of transparency, the range shown below reflects the prevalent current hiring range for this position. Hiring pay rates are based on a number of factors, including location and may vary depending on job-related qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience.  Endeavor strives to provide locally competitive rewards packages, which include base rate along with, as applicable, short- and long-term incentives, growth and developmental opportunities, and robust benefits, such as health care, retirement, vacation and other paid time off, and additional offerings.

Hiring Range Minimum:

$58,500 annually

Hiring Range Maximum:

$71,500 annually

Frieze unites people in our love of the arts. We understand this can only be accomplished when we harness the entirety of our company and lead with a lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion in everything we do. As a global company that drives culture, we are committed to practicing anti-discrimination including race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability, together with artists, writers, and cultural practitioners from all backgrounds. There is still much work to be done to address systemic inequality and discrimination within the arts and culture industry, and we are dedicated to making progress to both within our own organization and the art world at large.