Emily Rose
Title: Head of Programming and Promotion Employment Status: Contractor (38 hours per week) Key Responsibilities: Programming, event management, marketing, social media, stage management, communications Contact: Through meet@prideofourfootscray.bar or via social media
Role and Responsibilities
Events and Programming
- Booking talent: DJs, drag artists, hosts, promoters, other performers
- Relationship management: “Has links all over the country” (performer network)
- Advance planning: Calendar typically planned 6 months average, with events on sale 1–2 months in advance (Emily’s estimate). Mat’s expectation is 9–12 months ahead for sufficient advertising lead time.
- Booking documentation: Maintains universal spreadsheet to avoid double-booking or incorrect dates
- Event budget setting: Works jointly with CEO (Mat O’Keefe) to decide event budgets
- Ticket pricing: Responsible for pricing decisions (described as “half art, half science, half luck”)
- Event review: Quick and anecdotal reviews after events (jointly with Mat) due to time/resource constraints
- Promo codes: Manages promo codes for comps, performer guests, VIPs, group bookings, social groups
Marketing and Communications
- Social media management: Oversees Instagram (~15,000 followers) and Facebook; manages Google Business Profile
- Meta Business Suite: Schedules all Instagram advertising
- Advertising spend: Manages ~$400/month paid advertising budget (primarily Instagram)
- Content strategy: Watches Instagram statistics; adjusts strategy based on likes and shares; generates monthly social media reports (sent to Mat but often lost in his inbox)
- Email communication: Enthusiastic advocate for email marketing; planned monthly sends through Pride Perks email collection mechanism. Mat dismisses this opportunity. Emily sees email as actionable advantage and is willing co-owner of email campaigns.
- Customer messaging: Responds to customer inquiries and engagement
- Coordination pressure: Competes with Tom (events) and Mat (comms) for single Instagram page promotion space
Technical and Operational
- Sound system management: Manages the venue’s sound system (has stage management responsibilities)
- CCTV/Security: No direct responsibility (but awareness of licensing requirements)
- Questionnaire respondent: Provided comprehensive answers to 105-question operational questionnaire (March 2026)
Contract Details
Employment
- Status: Contractor (not full-time staff)
- Hours: 38 hours per week
- Duration: Ongoing at March 2026; no fixed term specified
Compensation
Updated 2026-04-11: Emily’s hourly rate confirmed per Mat O’Keefe, meeting 11 April 2026.
Rate: $33/hour + superannuation (12%). Mat’s assessment: “paid less than the bartender… paid way less than the bartenders” — bartenders earn $37–$45/hr depending on shift (see Labour Cost Structure). Emily’s rate for professional marketing/programming work is below casual bartender rates.
HR context (Mat, meeting 11 Apr 2026): Emily has had “an incredible number of warnings for the most absurd fucking reasons. Nothing to do with her work at all.” Mat has intervened to prevent termination multiple times. Kept on contract (not full-time) partly as liability management — “you’d never see her if she had those things [leave, sick leave].” Emily is “a bit sick of” contractor status and wants security, but the company cannot financially commit to another full-timer.
Emily corrected Mat’s “extreme overpay” narrative regarding performer rates. Rates are “fair, not significantly higher” than market. Some acts decline due to fees; DJ rates potentially lower than market average. No complaints from performers because venue has good reputation.
Key Contributions and Strengths
Programming Expertise
- Extensive performer network (“links all over the country”)
- Understanding of event types that “most reliably drive attendance”:
- Drag Bingo (very popular)
- Eve Sapphic Night / Lesbian Dance Party (Thursday monthly — very popular)
- Lesbian Arts workshops
- Ability to plan and execute event calendar effectively within a 6-month rolling horizon
Marketing Effectiveness
- Growth of Instagram to ~15,000 followers
- Strategic use of Meta advertising ($400/month budget)
- Understanding of content performance and audience preferences
- Data-savvy operator; generates social media reports and monitors engagement analytics
- Relationship building with media and promotional platforms
Collaborative Leadership
- Works jointly with Mat O’Keefe on event budget and programming decisions
- Maintains performer relationships and bookings
- Represents venue to external partners and promoters
- Known for being “easy to work with”; performers and community respect her
- Efficient operator who delivers high volume of work within 38 hours
Strategic Thinking
- Understands community segments and competitive positioning
- Aware of trend windows and audience urgency signals
- Proactive about multi-venue operations and expansion strategy
Operational Context
Team Structure
Emily operates as the key contractor/promoter/programmer:
- Reports to CEO (Mat O’Keefe)
- Collaborates with Venue Manager (Monique Anderson)
- Separate from full-time staff (Mat, Monique)
- Key knowledge holder on event planning and performer networks
Resource Constraints
- Event reviews are “quick and anecdotal” due to “time and resource constraints”
- Programming decisions rely on “luck, speculation and hope” rather than formal data analysis
- No dedicated analyst or assistant explicitly identified
- Single-person bottleneck managing expanding social media, programming, and promotional demands
- Cannot resource TikTok, X, or Grindr/Tinder advertising without additional support
- Asset management friction: delays around finding and sharing digital assets (performer photos, venue signage). Recently manually shared Canva designs with Monique despite being on shared “team.”
Communication Preferences
- Prefers email for long/important messages (“important messages tend to get lost in chat”)
- Aligns with structured communication approach
- Stopped sending monthly social media reports to Mat after they got lost in his overwhelmed inbox
Automation Stance
Emily has stated (Q98) that external graphic design and public communications “should be as AI-free as possible” because “we are in the arts business” — reflecting a values-based approach to marketing aligned with the venue’s community and creative positioning.
Expansion and Multi-Venue Considerations
Career Path Retention Signal
When Mat mentioned centralising the Head of Programming role for multi-venue expansion, Emily asked: “Who would run the events in the other venues if my role is central?” This is a retention signal — she wants to understand her career path and role structure before expansion conversations progress.
Venue Strategy Insight
Suggested Coburg or Brunswick over Fitzroy for second venue — “close to queer precinct but rougher around the edges.” Shows strategic brand positioning thinking and venue selection criteria understanding.
Knowledge and Relationships
Performer Network
- Maintains extensive relationships with drag artists, DJs, comedians, performers
- Ability to book established talent (e.g., RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni for special events)
- Negotiates performer fees (in consultation with Mat)
Venue Brand Understanding
- Embedded knowledge of what programming works for Pride’s specific audience
- Understanding of Footscray’s demographics and community context
- Relationship with local artist and performer communities
- Strategic awareness of competitive positioning and comparable venues
Marketing and Audience Insights
- Real-time understanding of what resonates on Instagram (likes, shares, comments)
- Awareness of customer acquisition channels and performance
- Knowledge of competing venues and comparative programming strategies
- Email marketing expertise and conviction (contradicts Mat’s scepticism)
Potential Bottlenecks
Contractor Dependency
- All event programming and marketing routed through Emily
- No identified backup or co-programmer if Emily is unavailable
- Performer relationships and bookings not explicitly documented (spreadsheet exists, but Emily is primary manager)
Workload
- 38-hour week covering:
- Event programming and booking (major time commitment for 6-month rolling horizon plus 1–2 month on-sale window)
- Social media management and content creation
- Paid advertising strategy and budget management
- Customer communications and engagement
- Sound/technical management
- Asset management and coordination
Cross-Functional Gaps
- Marketing and programming not formally integrated with financial analysis
- No KPI dashboards linking social media performance to ticket sales or customer acquisition cost
- Event success metrics “quick and anecdotal” rather than systematic
- Email marketing data and opportunity dormant due to Mat’s scepticism and Emily’s reporting pain point
Retention Notes
Emily is a highly valuable, efficient operator with strong community reputation and strategic thinking. To retain her:
- Acknowledge email marketing expertise — her conviction on email is valid and actionable; not dismissable
- Address multi-venue expansion career path proactively — clarify Emily’s role and growth opportunity before major expansion discussions progress (she’s already asked the right retention question)
- Reduce daily coordination friction through operational improvements:
- Develop 4-week batched content calendar to reduce daily coordination workload
- Establish centralised asset folder with organised structure
- Implement automated reporting for social media data (addresses the “reports lost in inbox” pain point)
- Support capability expansion — platforms and tools where she shows interest (e.g., email tools, reporting dashboards, content scheduling)
- Document workflows — create reusable content templates and documented processes to enable future delegation or hiring
Related Pages
- Mat O’Keefe — CEO she reports to
- Monique Anderson — Venue Manager she collaborates with
- Events and Programming — Her primary responsibility domain
- Marketing and Communications — Her secondary responsibility domain
- Staffing and Roles — Team structure context
- Drag Bingo — Flagship event she books
- Sapphic Nights — Popular recurring event
- Social Media Presence — Strategic channel she manages
- Email Marketing Strategy — Opportunity she champions