Head of Valuations

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Bonhams is a global auction house with an 18th century heritage poised for transformative change. Our global operations are based in London, Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong where we sell in over 60 categories, including motor cars, paintings, jewellery, and entertainment memorabilia.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities

In your role as Head of Valuation, you will be required to carry out the following:

1. Valuation sourcing and valuation management
   • Generating and producing valuations for sale, and formal appraisals for probate and insurance purposes.
   • Providing valuations at clients’ homes, at Bonhams, and other premises.
   • Promoting the services offered by the valuation department to clients, suggesting communication or events to give more visibility to new clients.
   • Ensuring our formal valuations for probate and insurance meet the highest standard of research and production.
   • Sourcing goods for sale and negotiating with clients wishing to sell mainly in France but also in continental Europe if needed or for export outside the EU.
   • Contacting former clients to offer updates of old valuations.
   • Working with our specialist departments to finalise valuations and identify and manage client relationships.
   • Working with valuation colleagues in Europe and the UK on international valuations.
2. Conduct any business generation project with intermediaries
   • Manage on a daily basis the relationship with those companies.
   • Suggest and participate in any event related to art with those intermediaries.
   • Develop the network of representatives of Bonhams in the regions of France and animate the network with the Paris management team.
   • Work closely with marketing and press to enhance the knowledge and reputation of the valuation department of Bonhams.
3. Assisting the departments on the management of Private Collection and House Sales, oversee/conduct as project leader some in-house sales/collections.
4. Structure the valuation department and manage the team.
5. Be an auctioneer for live sales, charity sales in France and in Europe.

Key Skills and Attributes

• Generalist auctioneer background with a minimum of 10 years of experience in an auction house.
• Experience with intermediaries like notaries, family offices, insurance, and real estate as key partners for auction sales.
• High quality customer service in the production of verbal and written valuations for sale, probate, and insurance.
• Extensive knowledge of values and trends within the auction world.
• Extensive knowledge of the Auction/Trade environment; expertise in one or more areas is a plus.
• Great communication skills and charisma; team player and management skills.
• Fluency in French and English.

If you wish to apply, please send your CV and cover letter by the 9th May 2024 at midnight.

We thank you for your interest in this position but please note that we will only contact candidates chosen for further consideration.

Bonhams is an equal opportunity employer. As part of our commitment to fight for equality, we work to ensure a fair and consistent interview process. We celebrate diversity and we are committed to an inclusive work environment.