Cockpit
Gallery & Retail Manager
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Gallery & Retail Manager
Cockpit 40 Leadenhall
Applications due by midnight, Sunday 20 September 2026
This year Cockpit celebrates its 40th anniversary, marking four decades as one of the UK’s most influential charities for contemporary craft and making. To celebrate this milestone, we will be bringing Cockpit to new audiences, to share the extraordinary skill and creativity of our makers through the opening of an exciting new gallery and retail space in the City of London — a public-facing home for Cockpit's makers, showcasing exceptional contemporary craft through rotating exhibitions, a curated retail offer, and a programme of workshops, talks and private views.
Our vision for 40 Leadenhall is as an active, energised, welcoming space, presenting work from emerging makers and leading figures within craft. The space will give visitors the chance to meet the makers, view and buy work, watch makers in action, and explore their own creativity with expert guidance.
We're looking for a seasoned, ambitious Gallery & Retail Manager to lead this new space from launch.
Reporting to the CEO & COO, this role is key in the launch, delivery, and management of Cockpit’s new City of London location, cementing Cockpit as a leading voice within contemporary craft. The role will lead Cockpit's new vibrant cultural destination within the Square Mile — a space designed to connect thousands of people who work in the city looking to engage with world-leading creative talent, whilst also encouraging a new type of visitor into the Square Mile.
About Cockpit
Cockpit is a centre of excellence in contemporary craft and home to more than 180 makers united by their extraordinary skill and creativity. A charity recognised as a UK top 100 social enterprise, we give makers the tools to build their businesses so they can focus on what they do best: making. We provide funded studio space, in-house business training and coaching, and exhibition opportunities for makers working across 25 different disciplines.
Cockpit aims to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity and is the UK’s only business incubator for makers. We are a destination for talent, having launched the careers of some of the major names in craft.
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About the role
We're looking for an experienced, entrepreneurial Gallery & Retail Manager to spearhead this new space from day one. You'll take full responsibility for its day-to-day running and long-term success — curating and delivering a rotating exhibition programme alongside Cockpit’s CEO, building a commercially successful retail offer of maker-made work, and hosting a lively events programme of workshops, talks, and private views. You'll manage a small team, including a Gallery & Retail Assistant, and act as the face of Cockpit in the City.
This is a senior hands-on role suited to someone who combines a genuine passion for contemporary craft with strong commercial, operational, and people management instincts.
About you
- Proven experience managing a gallery or retail space, with a commercial mindset and a track record of building profitable retail offers.
- A curatorial eye and the confidence to help shape an exhibition programme.
- Experience planning and delivering events from workshops to private views.
- Operationally strong, comfortable managing stock, deliveries, packing, shipping, and the logistics of moving artwork and retail goods safely in and out of the space, as well as the day-to-day running of the space.
- Ability to lead and support a small team, ensuring they deliver operational excellence and seamless customer service.
- Entrepreneurial, resilient, and comfortable working autonomously.
- Communicate with confidence and warmth, and can represent Cockpit and its makers to customers, collectors, and other stakeholders.
- Share our mission of connecting exceptional creative talent with real opportunity.
Diversity drives creativity
Cockpit is committed to inclusion, diversity, and equity in all our activities. We know that creativity and innovation are fuelled by diversity. Recognising that equity is a matter of social justice, we foster an inclusive culture where all aspects of diversity are celebrated and seen as key to success and flourishing.
We are committed to building a more diverse community and creating an environment where anyone, from any background, can develop their talents, do their best work, and realise their full potential. This extends to our community of makers, staff team, and Board of Trustees. We especially welcome applications from candidates with backgrounds currently under-represented in craft, including people from the Global Majority and D/deaf and disabled people.
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As part of our commitment to increasing the diversity in our staff team and better reflect the communities we serve, we offer a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates who meet all the essential criteria in the person specification and identify as being from a Global Majority background and/or as D/deaf and/or disabled.
If you identify as having one or more of these protected characteristics and meet the essential criteria for the job, please state in your application that you would like to be considered under our guaranteed interview scheme.
To ensure accessibility for all candidates, everyone who is invited to interview will be asked in advance to let us know of any access needs.
Read more about our commitment here: https://cockpitstudios.org/careers/diversity-and-inclusion/
How to apply
To apply, send a CV and covering letter outlining how you fulfil the brief to fabienne@cockpitstudios.org with the subject line GALLERY & RETAIL MANAGER APPLICATION. Your cover letter should outline your interest in the post and working with Cockpit, and how your experience fits the job role.
On submission of your application please also complete our equal opportunities monitoring questionnaire. Answers to the questionnaire will be stored separately from the application and are for monitoring purposes only.
Interviews
- First-round interviews will be held via Microsoft Teams on Wednesday 30 September and Thursday 1 October.
- Second-round interviews will be held in person at Cockpit Bloomsbury on Tuesday 6 October and Wednesday 7 October.
We will contact shortlisted applicants by Wednesday 23 September if you have been invited to interview. We are sorry that we won’t be able to contact every applicant. If you haven’t heard from us by that date, please assume that you haven’t been shortlisted for the role. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide any further feedback.
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