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What does a gallery manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
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Gallery manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real gallery manager resumes:

  • Manage a staff of 12 dj 's
  • Manage data entry and bookkeeping with Quickbooks.
  • Assist with all interior design and restoration projects and manage VIP clients with private art showings and sales.
  • Manage telephone communications, promotions and maintain payroll.
  • Manage accounts payable/receivable, administering an expansive QuickBooks database.
  • Maintain inventory of all catalog titles (CDs, DVDs, and LPs).
  • Pull in several bulk sales in CDs and DVDs ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 each.
  • Organize and curate monthly exhibitions.
  • Hang and curate each show.
  • Compose web blogs, Facebook posts and email blasts.
  • Implement several different POS systems for sales and consignment payouts.
  • Assist customers in locating and selecting music and DVD's.
  • Play own music mix select for the radio station and schedule playlists.
  • Maintain all personnel information and perform payroll duties.
  • Administer performance management by diagnosing improvement opportunities, providing effective feedback, coaching, and corrective action plans.

Gallery manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 22% of Gallery Managers are proficient in Gallery Exhibitions, Press Releases, and Graphic Design. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Creativity, and Leadership skills.

We break down the percentage of Gallery Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Gallery Exhibitions, 22%

    Organized the office environment and gallery team schedule according to gallery exhibitions and events.

  • Press Releases, 13%

    Prepared and distributed press releases and advertisements customized for multiple print and digital listings.

  • Graphic Design, 7%

    Performed graphic design and photography for various marketing campaigns and gallery advertisements.

  • Client Database, 4%

    Develop and extend client database by notifying potential clients of particular works and exhibitions, according to their stated interests.

  • Art Exhibitions, 4%

    Curated art exhibitions and coordinated public events.

  • Payroll, 4%

    Maintained all personnel information and performed payroll duties.

Common skills that a gallery manager uses to do their job include "gallery exhibitions," "press releases," and "graphic design." You can find details on the most important gallery manager responsibilities below.

Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a gallery manager to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "art directors must be able to listen to and speak with staff and clients to ensure that they understand employees’ ideas and clients’ desires for advertisements, publications, or movie sets." Gallery managers often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "prepared all written communications including brochures and press releases as well as business letters. "

Creativity. Many gallery manager duties rely on creativity. "art directors must be able to come up with interesting and innovative ideas to develop advertising campaigns, set designs, or layout options.," so a gallery manager will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways gallery manager responsibilities rely on creativity: "complete reorganization of the gallery space and inventory. "

Leadership skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of gallery managers is leadership skills. This skill is critical to many everyday gallery manager duties, as "art directors must be able to organize, direct, and motivate other artists." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "attended leading industry trade shows, collaborating with store leadership for procurement of key product lines. "

Time-management skills. For certain gallery manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "time-management skills." The day-to-day duties of a gallery manager rely on this skill, as "balancing competing priorities and multiple projects while meeting strict deadlines is critical for art directors." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what gallery managers do: "process orders on quickbooks in a timely manner to insure the deadlines are adhered to. "

Most common gallery manager skills

The three companies that hire the most gallery managers are:

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Compare different gallery managers

Gallery manager vs. Assistant manager/manager training

An assistant manager/manager of training performs various support tasks to assist with maintaining smooth workflow operations, learning management skills along the way. They participate in setting goals and guidelines, establishing timelines and budgets, liaising with internal and external parties, delegating responsibilities among staff, and monitoring the daily operations, solving issues and concerns should there be any. They also perform clerical tasks such as organizing files, preparing and processing documents, handling calls and correspondence, and running errands as needed.

We looked at the average gallery manager salary and compared it with the wages of an assistant manager/manager training. Generally speaking, assistant manager/managers training are paid $18,361 lower than gallery managers per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between gallery managers and assistant manager/managers training are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like payroll, inventory control, and sales associates.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a gallery manager are more likely to require skills like "gallery exhibitions," "press releases," "graphic design," and "client database." On the other hand, a job as an assistant manager/manager training requires skills like "food preparation," "basic math," "math," and "store sales." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

On average, assistant manager/managers training reach lower levels of education than gallery managers. Assistant manager/managers training are 5.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Gallery manager vs. Assistant manager/merchandise

Assistant managers for merchandise are employees who oversee the supplies in the company's stores. They are usually employed in companies that run retail stores. Assistant managers for merchandise are responsible for their stores' supplies, stocks, and inventory. They ensure that their inventories are well-stocked. They are also responsible for approving purchase requisitions to ensure that the store never runs out of supplies. They plan for the daily needs of the store. They also prepare for high volume or peak days and anticipate the needs of the store. As such, they order enough supplies to cover for such days. They also manage store employees and ensure that they are properly trained.

A career as a assistant manager/merchandise brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a gallery manager. In fact, assistant managers/merchandise salary is $3,805 higher than the salary of gallery managers per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Gallery managers and assistant managers/merchandise both require similar skills like "payroll," "inventory control," and "sales associates" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, gallery manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "gallery exhibitions," "press releases," "graphic design," and "client database." Meanwhile, an assistant manager/merchandise has duties that require skills in areas such as "sales floor," "store associates," "store sales," and "store operations." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

In general, assistant managers/merchandise achieve lower levels of education than gallery managers. They're 6.1% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Gallery manager vs. Assistant manager retail

An assistant retail manager is responsible for monitoring daily store operations, managing and delegating staff's tasks, and ensuring the cleanliness and orderliness of the store's facilities. Assistant retail managers supervise the adequacy of the store's inventory, create purchase requests, and inspect store displays. They also assist customers with their inquiries and concerns, resolve complaints, and process item replacements and refunds as needed. An assistant retail manager must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in maintaining the overall store performance to reach sales goals and objectives.

An average assistant manager retail eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of gallery managers. The difference in salaries amounts to assistant managers retail earning a $20,612 lower average salary than gallery managers.By looking over several gallery managers and assistant managers retail resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "payroll," "inventory control," and "sales associates." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a gallery manager is likely to be skilled in "gallery exhibitions," "press releases," "graphic design," and "client database," while a typical assistant manager retail is skilled in "customer service," "retail management," "retail store," and "grass."

Assistant managers retail make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $32,998. On the other hand, gallery managers are paid the highest salary in the construction industry, with average annual pay of $59,593.When it comes to education, assistant managers retail tend to earn lower degree levels compared to gallery managers. In fact, they're 7.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Gallery manager vs. Assistant parts manager

Assistant parts managers tend to earn a higher pay than gallery managers by an average of $5,451 per year.According to resumes from gallery managers and assistant parts managers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "inventory control," "retail sales," and "inventory management. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "gallery exhibitions," "press releases," "graphic design," and "client database" are skills that commonly show up on gallery manager resumes. On the other hand, assistant parts managers use skills like customer service, parts inventory, warranty claims, and purchase orders on their resumes.In general, assistant parts managers hold lower degree levels compared to gallery managers. Assistant parts managers are 8.0% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of gallery manager

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.