Women at Work: Claire Harb

Posted on 4 December, 2014

Were you one of the 1.374 million viewers who watched The Bachelor finale? Imagine if it had cut out right at the moment when Blake was about to kneel for his (ill-fated) proposal to Sam? Or if one day you tried to switch on The Project only to see nothing but a blank screen?

Yep, like the proverbial duck paddling furiously under water, behind every smooth-sailing television program is a room of hard-working producers.

For television service Southern Cross Austereo, that’s 27 year old Claire Harb and her team of 30.

As the Television Playout Operations Manager, Claire and her team manage the airing of over 126 channels across the country—no mean feat, given the unpredictable nature of live television.

But for Claire, the irregularity of the industry has become second nature.

“We have affiliations with other parts of the country, so at any given day I’ll walk in and there’s something different,” she says.

“I really enjoy the live environment, I love the unpredictability and thrive off not knowing what’s going to happen. It’s stressful, you’re always second guessing yourself, but it’s what I’ve become used to.”

Claire receiving the award for Demonstrating Ownership and Accountability at the Southern Cross Austereo Awards

Claire’s career in television stemmed from her days as a media student at CIT, when her then-teacher suggested she apply for a job at Southern Cross Austereo in Watson.

Starting out in a junior position eight years ago, Claire quickly rose up the ranks to lead the Playout Operations team and hasn’t looked back since.

“So much has changed in that time – when I first started out, there were only about 35 channels, now of course there’s over 126, so to have overseen that growth is fantastic,” she says.

Last year Claire won the award for Demonstrating Ownership and Accountability at the Southern Cross Austereo Awards, where her colleagues praised her ability to “get amongst the team and shows them best practice by example.”

She says the secret is “always staying one step ahead”.

“If there’s a big news event, I will watch and tell the guys they’ve got to go to a press conference in an hour,” she says.

“Because the networks are so busy, you’ve got to stay on top of it – you’ve got to look far enough ahead that you don’t have any problems.”

Though she usually works standard Monday to Friday hours, Claire is on call 24/7 and is no stranger to the 2am phone call if there’s any playout issues.

She reveals there’s been a few “doozies” in her eight years.

“There’s always going to be complaints, no matter how well you go, but a lot of it is out of our control because we rely on the networks,” she says.

“A few months ago we had something scheduled but the network went into it early. We thought it was time to go into a sporting event but the network had gone into the wrong thing. You just have to take it in your stride.”

When she’s not in the studio, Claire resides in Bungendore with her partner and three year old son. She says she enjoys the quiet as a stark contrast to the bustling operations floor.

“I grew up in Bungendore, so I really love it there. On a weekend we’ll just relax, it’s a nice change,” she says.

Does watching television all day in her job put her off watching it at home?

Claire and her son Cam.

“I still watch it all the time – I’m a massive NCIS and Offspring fan actually,” she laughs.

Another past time for Claire is charity work—she and her Austereo team regularly volunteer for national fundraiser Give Me Five For Kids, which raises money for children’s hospital wards around Australia.

“My son has been hospitalised before, so this charity is really important to me,” she says.

“I like that the company I work for is passionate about using their reach to help others too.”

For now, Claire says she hopes to continue to make gains on her already bright career in the television industry.

“The television industry is doing so much more online, so things are certainly changing and I’m loving every minute.”