We're Hiring! Head of Photography & Media

HEAD OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND MEDIA

12-Month Maternity Cover

Location: Battle, East Sussex

Hours: Full-time, Monday to Friday 9am-5:30pm

Salary: £27,000-£30,000 per annum, depending on experience

Contract: Fixed-term maternity cover

JOB OVERVIEW

Burstow & Hewett Auctioneers is seeking an experienced and highly organised photographer to join our team as Head of Photography and Media on a fixed-term maternity-cover contract.

This is a varied, hands-on role combining specialist product photography, image editing, catalogue production, marketing and general auction support. Working within a busy auction-house environment, you will photograph an extraordinary variety of items - from jewellery and watches to fine art, antiques and collectables - while ensuring catalogues and marketing materials are completed accurately and to strict deadlines.

The successful candidate will be confident in managing their own workload, have excellent attention to detail and be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where priorities can change quickly.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Photography and image management

• Photograph auction lots efficiently and to a consistently high standard
• Set up lighting, control reflections and accurately capture colours, details, signatures, hallmarks and condition
• Produce specialist photography of jewellery, watches and reflective objects such as silver
• Take additional photographs in response to customer condition-report requests
• Crop, edit and rename images using Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom or equivalent software
• Follow strict lot-number and file-naming/storage conventions
• Safely handle a wide variety of valuable, fragile and occasionally heavy objects

Catalogue production

• Upload images and auction information to our back-office catalogue systems Prepare, check, publish and update online auction catalogues
• Ensure images are correctly assigned to the relevant lots
• Work closely with valuers, cataloguers and administrative staff to meet catalogue deadlines
• Carry out final quality-control checks before publication

Marketing and media

• Take responsibility for the company’s day-to-day visual media
• Create print and digital advertisements in keeping with the company’s brand
• Design and produce marketing emails promoting forthcoming auctions
• Plan, film and create engaging content for social-media channels
• Identify interesting lots, collections and stories suitable for promotion
• Maintain a consistent and professional visual identity across all platforms

Auction and general support

• Operate live online-bidding platforms during auctions
• Assist with pre-sale preparation and viewing days
• Welcome and assist customers in a professional and approachable manner
• Support the cataloguing and administrative teams when required
• Help with the careful movement, packing and handling of auction items and parcels

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Professional product or ecommerce photography experience
• Demonstrable experience photographing jewellery and watches
• Strong Adobe Photoshop and image-editing skills
• A good understanding of studio lighting, reflections, colour accuracy and close-up photography. Comfortable using Canon cameras.
• Excellent organisation and meticulous attention to detail
• Ability to manage large numbers of images and follow precise file-naming systems
• Ability to work accurately and calmly to strict deadlines
• Confidence using computer systems and learning new software
• A practical, flexible approach and willingness to assist across the business
• Comfortable handling and moving fragile or moderately heavy items, with reasonable adjustments where required

DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE

• Experience creating content for Instagram, Facebook and other social-media platforms
• Graphic-design or email-marketing experience, particularly using Canva or Mailchimp
• Videography and short-form video-editing experience
• Previous work within an auction house, antiques business, gallery or luxury retail environment
• An interest in art, antiques, jewellery, watches or collectables

ABOUT YOU

You will be creative but methodical, with the ability to balance visual quality with the pace of a busy auction calendar. You will take pride in producing accurate, polished work and will be equally comfortable behind a camera, editing at a computer or helping customers on a viewing day.

This position would suit an experienced product photographer who enjoys variety and is looking for a broader role incorporating content creation, marketing and live auction production.

HOW TO APPLY

Please send your CV, a covering letter and a portfolio demonstrating relevant product photography. Examples of jewellery, watch, reflective-object and social-media photography would be particularly welcome. Applications can be sent to gracevioletellin@gmail.com

Please also include details of your availability and current notice period.

Burstow & Hewett Auctioneers is an equal-opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

Deadline for applications: 24th October 2026

Benefits:

• Free parking
• On-site parking

Work Location: In person