Licensee & Venue Manager for Live Music Venue in Sydney

Location: The Vanguard, 42 King Street, Newtown, NSW

Employment Type: Full-time

Applications close: 20 September

Salary: 85K + super negotiable

About the Role

We are looking for someone proactive, hard-working, charismatic, kind and competent to join our close knit team at The Vanguard. As the Licensee and Venue Manager you will be working alongside the General Manager, Owner, Late-Night Programme Coordinator and bar staff. The person in this role sets the tone for the venue, welcomes guests and artists warmly, and anticipates their needs. They will carry genuine operational and financial responsibility, so the role suits someone who can offer a warm floor presence at 10pm and a detail-driven P&L review the next morning.

The Vanguard is a 200-capacity live music venue in the heart of Newtown, operating four to six nights a week and often running packed double-header shows. We hold a 3am licence Thursday to Saturday, used selectively for late-night events.

Key Responsibilities

• Culture, Bar & Customer Service
  • Lead from the front, in the bar, on the floor, particularly at door time and through the busiest hours of the night.
  • Greet artists at load-in, learn their names, understand what they need, and make sure they leave wanting to come back.
  • Build genuine relationships with guests, from regulars who attend weekly to first-timers who found us through one show.
  • Bring real curiosity to a music programme that spans genres, treating a Sunday folk matinee with the same care as a sold-out double-header.
  • Recruit, train and mentor bar and floor staff, holding a consistently high standard of service and setting the tone by example.
  • Bring strong product knowledge across wine, spirits and classic or curated cocktails, both to lift the bar offering and to train the team well.
  • Represent the venue publicly across Newtown's music community, with artists, agents, promoters and neighbouring businesses.
  • Maintain a spotless and well organised back and front of house.
• Private Events & Functions
  • Act as the venue's point of contact for private event enquiries, from first approach through to delivery.
  • Work with management to assess incoming enquiries, prepare quotes, host site visits and confirm bookings.
  • Liaise with the chef on menus, dietary requirements, timings and service style.
  • Coordinate with production, bar and floor staff on run sheets, set-up, staffing levels and pack-down.
  • Roster appropriately for each event and brief the team before guests arrive.
  • Hold the venue to a high standard of presentation and cleanliness before, during and after every function.
  • Be present on the day as the client's primary contact, then follow up afterwards on invoicing, feedback and repeat business.
• Licensing, Compliance & Stakeholder Relations
  • Act as the primary Venue Licensee, ensuring strict adherence to NSW liquor laws, RSA obligations and the 200-person capacity limit.
  • Maintain, update and implement the Plan of Management and associated venue operating procedures.
  • Attend local Liquor Accord meetings and maintain constructive relationships with police, council, community stakeholders and neighbours.
• Financial & Operational Management
  • Manage venue budgets, track expenses and produce weekly P&L reporting.
  • Build efficient rosters aligned to show schedules, peak trade and labour targets.
  • Oversee inventory, stock ordering and supplier relationships.
  • Balance daytime administration with busy evening service, which calls for genuinely strong time management.
  • Recommend and implement new income generating strategies.

About You

• Proven experience as a Licensee, Venue Manager or Assistant Manager in a boutique or mid-capacity live music venue or hospitality venue.
• Current NSW Approved Manager or Licensee qualification, or eligibility to attain one.
• Warm, energetic and outgoing, with the kind of presence that holds up at 11pm on the fourth night in a row.
• A real love of hospitality and of live music across genres, and interest in the people who make it.
• Experience delivering private functions or events in a licensed venue, comfortable dealing directly with clients.
• Strong wine and cocktail knowledge, paired with a serious commitment to customer service.
• Sound financial acumen, with hands-on experience managing budgets, COGS and P&L statements.
• Genuine affinity with Newtown's local culture.
• Will work late on weekends.