Production Coordinator in City of London

Working Conditions

• Perm, London, Surrey Street
• Mon‑Fri, 35 Hours per week

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 September 2021 Frieze launched a new initiative at No.9 Cork Street, a hub for visiting international galleries in the heart of Mayfair, London, and in 2023 Frieze acquired two additional art fairs in the USA – EXPO Chicago and The Armory Show. Frieze is part of the newly formed MARI Group.

About The Frieze Production Department

The Production team are responsible for delivering all physical elements of the fairs and ensuring it’s safe, timely and successful delivery. This team is an operational one, based in London, made up of two distinct subsets, with a Head of Department for each:

• Exhibitor Production – focuses on all production elements related to the Exhibitors at the fairs, including booth builds, complex artwork installation, technical support, drafting, floor planning, art shipping logistics, Frieze Sculpture management, production schedules (venue builds), Health & Safety.
• Fair Operations – encompasses all other areas of the fair, including tent builds & related infrastructure, F&B, contract management, Partnership lounge support/production, other non‑gallery build, fair design, site infrastructure, security, cleaning, contractor management, production schedule (tent builds), Health & Safety.
• Frieze FRAME – this newly formed department, although working closely with the above teams, is a stand‑alone team who will act as the Frieze in‑house production agency. FRAME will primarily be sold to existing and new sponsors across the Frieze Fairs portfolio, offering a turn‑key production management service for their on‑site brand activations.

What You'll Do

The Production Coordinator is a key role responsible for the coordination and administration of the non‑Exhibitor areas of the Frieze fairs, known as ‘Feature Areas’. The role will support the Department Directors and each fair’s Production Manager in the production and operational running of, primarily, Frieze Los Angeles, Frieze New York, Frieze London and Frieze Masters as well as some support on site and in advance on Frieze Seoul.

Key Responsibilities And Accountabilities

• Each show will have a lead coordinator appointed either annually or bi‑annually, out of the two Production Coordinators in the team.
• Both Production Coordinators will work across all five shows with different responsibilities on each depending if they are the lead or support coordinator on a show.
• Feature Areas administration and coordination (including furniture/equipment orders, storage/inventory, catering partner co‑ordination etc.) on allocated shows.
• Fair documentation collation (permits, safety documents, insurance etc.).
• Coordination of Reading Room / Publications / Non‑Profits areas.
• Co‑ordinate temp staff needs for the team (excluding Accreditation team).
• Attend meetings as required to take minutes and follow up actions with other team members and/or the wider Events team.
• Booking & coordinating internal & external meetings/debriefs/briefings.
• Support Production Manager on fair signage requirements.
• General fair related administration duties as required to support PM.
• Finance administration – including, but not limited to, gathering financial information, processing invoices/payments, keeping a detailed log of payment status where needed, raising PO’s.
• Working closely with finance team to ensure vendors are set up for payment in advance of the Fairs.
• Co‑ordinate and communicate delivery instructions to Frieze internal teams.
• Database coding for invitations/VIP as needed.
• Respond quickly and calmly to on‑site requests from staff, exhibitors and contractors.
• First point‑of‑contact for team queries for other departments and stakeholders.
• Methodical filing and record keeping, arranging meetings, keeping minutes and follow up correspondence.
• Coordinate with post‑project reviews and create recommendation reports.
• Champion and implement sustainability and accessibility initiatives.
• Develop and maintain an archive of events for easy review and analysis.

General Duties

• Conduct research & development for new initiatives.
• Constantly review department processes to find efficiencies and improvements.
• Support to Senior Production team on other projects that may launch in future, as needed.
• Administrative support to the Executive Production Director & Operations Director (eg: travel & diary management, booking meeting rooms, Concur/credit card reconciliation, HR administration, etc).
• Agenda & minutes for Production Dept team meetings (shared responsibility with Production Coordinator, depending on location and availability).

Please Note

• Overseas travel will be required – candidate must be potentially able to stay in the USA for approx 2-3 weeks at a time, up to twice a year, and in Seoul for a minimum of 10 days once a year. Travel subject to change depending on show requirements and annual show allocation.
• Extended hours will be required when meeting project deadlines and when on site.

You Have These Mandatory

• Experience working in a fast‑paced, high‑pressure environment, ideally in events or the arts.
• Experience in providing excellent client service and maintaining strong relationships with external parties.
• Prior experience in working in an administrative or coordination role.
• Experience working with multiple external contractors.
• Competent in the use of Microsoft Office, in particular Excel.
• Confidentiality as required.

Desirable

• Health & Safety qualification and/or experience – in US or UK.
• Experience in working on art fairs and/or large‑scale public events.
• Health & Safety experience in countries other than the UK.
• Experience in using CAD software (eg Omnigraffle, Sketchup, etc).
• Clean Driving License.

Skills And Abilities

• Strong communication skills.
• Highly organised.
• Adaptable with excellent attention to detail.
• Self‑motivated and able to take responsibility.
• Strong interpersonal and customer service skills.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent attention to detail with a logical approach.
• Ability to calmly and effectively prioritise and execute tasks in a high‑pressure environment.
• Excellent proven ability to problem‑solve.

Our Diversity & Inclusion Statement

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.