Gallery Operations & Sales Assistant
Forest Gallery – Peasmarsh & Petworth
Full-time | Tuesday–Saturday
Salary: From £26,437 per year
Forest Gallery is a family-run independent art gallery established in 1980, specialising in original paintings, limited editions and sculpture.
With galleries in Peasmarsh and Petworth, we are looking for a warm, outgoing, highly organised and commercially minded Gallery Operations & Sales Assistant to become an important part of our small team.
This is a varied, hands-on role combining customer service, sales, administration, logistics, artwork handling and day-to-day gallery operations across both locations.
Forest Gallery is a busy, dynamic small business where priorities can change quickly depending on customers, sales, incoming artworks, deliveries and appointments.
One moment you might be chatting with a customer about a painting; the next you could be processing their order, checking the condition of an incoming artwork, arranging a courier or organising something needed at our other gallery.
The right person will thrive in an ever-changing, dynamic atmosphere, enjoy variety, adapt calmly when priorities change and have the common sense to work out what needs attention next — without losing sight of the details.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Welcoming customers and creating a warm, engaging gallery experience
- Starting conversations naturally and developing the confidence to turn genuine interest into sales
- Learning about our artists and artworks and discussing them enthusiastically with customers
- Processing sales and customer orders accurately
- Packing artworks safely and professionally
- Booking and monitoring UK and international couriers
- Receiving deliveries and carefully checking artworks for damage, condition issues or anything that does not look right
- Handling artworks with exceptional care and immediately communicating any concerns
- Coordinating artworks and stock between Peasmarsh and Petworth
- Maintaining accurate customer, order and stock information
- Preparing for appointments, private viewings, photography and gallery activities
- Monitoring deadlines and following tasks through without needing to be chased
- Supporting the wider team wherever required
- Spotting problems, sales opportunities and better ways of doing things
- The person we're looking for
Personality and attitude are extremely important in our small team.
You should be:
- Warm, chatty and naturally engaging — someone who genuinely enjoys customers and conversation
- Commercially minded, with either good sales ability already or the potential and enthusiasm to develop it
- Exceptionally attentive to detail — both when working with information and when physically handling or inspecting valuable artworks
- Naturally observant — if an artwork has a mark, damaged corner, unusual surface, incorrect label or anything else that appears wrong, we need you to notice it
- Strong on practical common sense and able to think logically when something unexpected happens
- A big team player who naturally asks, "How can I help?"
- Equally capable of working independently, taking ownership and following tasks through
- Proactive and comfortable communicating problems early
- Highly organised while being able to adapt when priorities suddenly change
- Someone who genuinely thrives in a busy, ever-changing environment
- You don't need to know everything from day one. What matters is being willing to learn, asking when unsure and becoming increasingly confident and independent.
- PC skills & accuracy
Strong PC skills are essential.
You should be comfortable using email, web-based systems and standard office software, as well as being confident learning new systems.
The role involves regular data entry, including customer details, orders, prices, addresses, stock information and courier bookings, so accuracy and attention to detail are extremely important.
Previous data-entry, order-processing, database or CRM experience would be a strong advantage.
We want someone who doesn't simply wait for instructions.
As you learn the business, we want you to notice potential problems, sales opportunities and ways to improve customer experience, logistics or how our two galleries work together.
Our approach is simple:
Know → Do
Unsure → Check
Problem → Communicate
See an improvement → Suggest it
This role would particularly suit you if...
You enjoy the combination of people + sales + organisation + practical problem-solving.
It is unlikely to suit someone looking for a desk-only position, a purely creative role, a highly predictable routine or a job where every task is allocated by somebody else.
We are looking for someone whose natural reaction to a busy day is:
"What needs to happen next, what is most important, and how can I help?"
Salary: From £26,437 per year
Working days: Tuesday–Saturday
Typical working hours: 9:00am–5:00pm
Locations: Working across our Peasmarsh and Petworth galleries as required
Driving licence: Full UK driving licence required
Reliable access to a car: Required due to our locations and the nature of the role
On-site staff parking is available at Peasmarsh only. There are no staff parking facilities at our Petworth gallery. Having said, there's free local parking only 10min away from the gallery.
The position includes a 6-month probationary period with structured reviews.
Starting salary is £26,437 per year, with opportunities to review pay and responsibilities as you demonstrate increasing competence, accuracy, sales ability, independence, initiative and responsibility.
We are looking for someone interested in developing a long-term career with Forest Gallery, rather than simply filling a short-term vacancy.
Why join Forest Gallery?
- Join a long-established independent family gallery
- Work with beautiful original artworks and an established clientele
- Be part of a friendly, close-knit team
- Enjoy a varied, dynamic and constantly changing working environment
- Gain broad experience across sales, customer service and gallery operations
- Have your ideas and initiative genuinely valued
- Opportunity for increasing responsibility and progression
- Employee discount
- On-site parking at Peasmarsh
- Team social activities
How to apply
Please apply with your CV and a short covering letter explaining why a role combining customers, sales and hands-on gallery operations appeals to you.
We are particularly interested in finding someone looking for a long-term career move (ideally 3+ years).
Please apply with CV and covering letter. Position will include 6 month probationary period with discretionary rise in pay following successful passing of probationary period.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: From £26,437.00 per year
Benefits:
- Employee discount
- On-site parking
Application question(s):
- Do you have a car?
- Will you be able to work Tuesday - Saturday every week?
- Do you see this as a long term career move (3+ years)?
- How comfortable are you starting conversations with customers and helping turn genuine interest into a potential sale?
- This role can change quickly between customers, sales, artworks, deliveries and operational priorities. Do you enjoy that type of working environment? Please briefly explain why.
- What does being a great team player mean to you when you are also expected to work independently?
Education:
- A-Level or equivalent (required)
Experience:
- Administrative: 1 year (preferred)
- Operations management: 1 year (preferred)
- Sales: 1 year (required)
Licence/Certification:
- Driving Licence (required)
Work Location: In person
