PROGRAM MANAGEMENT & PMO CONSULTING
I’m Melody Laughlin, PMP. I help organizations strengthen delivery, establish practical governance, and give leadership a clearer view of priorities, risks, and progress.
Consulting from $150/hour · Based in San Diego, California
WHEN THE WORK NEEDS A CLEARER PATH
Teams need a consistent way to evaluate requests, understand capacity, and focus on the work that matters.
Leadership needs a reliable view of status, dependencies, and decisions without chasing disconnected updates.
Cross-functional work needs coordinated plans, clear responsibilities, and an actionable approach to risk.
PRACTICAL SUPPORT, SHAPED TO YOUR NEEDS
I work with your existing teams and tools to understand the current situation and agree on useful, achievable deliverables.
Bring workstreams together around a coordinated plan.
Create a consistent way to initiate and manage work.
Connect project information to leadership decisions.
Add experienced support for an agreed part of the week or month.
EXPERIENCE BEHIND THE APPROACH
Led PMO execution and portfolio alignment supporting 800+ stakeholders. Designed and implemented a Smartsheet PPM framework with executive dashboards.
Co-led a $35 million finance back-office transformation. Led project management system transformation and portfolio reporting work supporting prioritization across a $100 million annual budget.
Delivered an enterprise transformation program in a regulated financial environment at BMO. Led a $10 million Taleo SaaS implementation at SAIC.
Selected experience from prior employment. View roles, dates, and responsibilities →
A CLEAR STARTING POINT
Choose a focused assessment, ongoing leadership support, or hourly consulting. Final scope, timing, and deliverables are confirmed in a written agreement.
FOCUSED ASSESSMENT
$1,500 starting fee
A focused look at one program’s current plans, risks, dependencies, and reporting.
BUILD THE FOUNDATION
$3,000 starting fee
Assess your current delivery practices and define a practical roadmap for improvement.
ONGOING SUPPORT
$3,000 per month, starting at
Experienced program leadership for a defined set of priorities and an agreed working rhythm.
Hourly engagements start at $150/hour. Specialized scope, urgent work, or additional capacity is quoted before work begins.
Hours include preparation, document review, meetings, analysis, and deliverable development. Assessments cover the agreed scope; PMO implementation, custom dashboard builds, additional programs, travel, and third-party licenses are separate unless included in your proposal. Work beyond an allowance requires approval. Monthly arrangements, unused hours, response expectations, and cancellation terms are defined in the agreement.
HOW WE BEGIN
A complimentary 20-minute discovery conversation helps establish your needs, timing, and whether my experience fits.
You receive a proposal with priorities, deliverables, responsibilities, hours, and fees.
We establish the working cadence, review progress, and keep decisions and next steps visible.
BEFORE WE START
Yes. An engagement can support an established team, address a specific delivery issue, or help define new practices. Roles and decision-making responsibilities are agreed at the outset.
Yes. My experience includes Smartsheet PPM frameworks, administration, portfolio reporting, and executive dashboards. Configuration or implementation work is scoped separately from an assessment unless explicitly included.
I’m based in San Diego. Remote, local on-site, and hybrid arrangements can be discussed based on the work, availability, and client requirements. Any travel costs are agreed separately.
The review assesses the agreed program and provides prioritized recommendations. Implementation and ongoing delivery can be proposed as a separate phase.
Yes. I welcome conversations about employment and contract opportunities as well as independent consulting. The working arrangement and compensation are discussed separately. View my résumé.
A short description of the organization, the program or PMO challenge, your goals, and your timing is enough to begin. Please do not send confidential client records or sensitive project documents before we agree how they should be shared.
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE WORK AHEAD
Tell me about your organization, your challenge, and the support you have in mind. We’ll start with a discovery conversation.
melodylaughlin@gmail.com · 858-668-9770
Inquiry buttons open your email application. Consulting is subject to availability and an agreed scope.