Organisations I’ve worked with
Systems & Operations Consultant
You’ve got the tools. Maybe even a team. But you’re still the one who knows where everything lives, what breaks when you’re away, and why nothing quite works without you in it.
Find out where it’s breaking →
What I Do
Tools that were supposed to save time now need managing. Processes that were meant to scale are still in someone’s head. Data that should be making decisions easier sits in a spreadsheet no one fully trusts. And the person who knows how it all fits together?
That’s you. Which means the moment you step back, it wobbles.
I’ve seen this in a 50-person EU-funded body and in a one-person practice. The tools are different. The problem is the same: everything grew, and nobody ever connected it.
What I do is figure out what’s actually broken — not just what looks broken — and help you build something that doesn’t need you in the middle of it.
Case study: From disconnected stack to systems that run without you →
About
I’ve spent my career at the intersection of creative organisations and the operational reality behind them — media, AdTech, global publishers, government-backed bodies, and businesses of one.
I’ve run transformation work at The Economist Group, NBCUniversal, and organisations across three continents. I’ve also been the founder in a two-person team wondering why everything takes twice as long as it should.
Both of those experiences matter. The problems that slow down a 50-person team are structurally the same as the ones slowing down a solo practitioner. The scale changes. The person holding it all together — the one the whole thing depends on — almost never changes.
Services
Every engagement starts with a deep dive into where your business actually is.
90 minutes · written summary within 48 hours
A working session, not a discovery call. We go through what you’ve got, where it’s breaking down, and what actually needs fixing — in order of what matters. You get a written summary within 48 hours.
Right for you if: Most people leave having already identified things they can stop doing immediately. That tends to cover the cost before the summary even lands.
Fixed scope
2–3 weeks · intake call + written action plan + delivery call
A full review of your tech stack, workflows, and processes — with a prioritised plan for what to fix, in what order, and why. Not a list of tools. A clear picture of what’s actually slowing you down, and a concrete path out.
Right for you if: Getting this wrong costs more than £3,000. In time spent, tools bought without the full picture, and decisions made on assumptions. This is the version where you know before you spend.
Fixed scope
Monthly · two sessions + async support
Guided implementation of what the audit surfaced. Fixed scope, agreed at the start of each month. No surprises.
Right for you if: You have a clear plan but need expert guidance to execute it without going down the wrong rabbit holes.
Fixed scope · extra hrs at £150/hr
Limited to five clients
A consistent thinking partner who already knows your business. Limited to five clients.
Right for you if: You want ongoing support without a big commitment. Often where clients land after implementation ends.
Fixed scope · limited availability
Results
Siloed tools, broken processes, systems that depend on one person to hold them together: scale doesn’t matter, which is why the same approach applies across the board.
Co-Founder
As the co-founder of a two-time Innovate UK grant winning adtech startup, Jess understands what it is to be responsible for all aspects of a business with limited time, limited budget, and no one to escalate to.
EU Government Body
Ran a full capability audit, and subsequent implementation across communications systems, partner CRM, and technology stack. Managed RFP processes, worked with the team to create formalised processes and built the data architecture and automations from scratch.
Major News Publication
A global marketing and creative team using Airtable but not getting the most from it. Ran 20+ discovery sessions across the team, mapped multiple workflows, and identified where data silos, manual workarounds, and disconnected tools were slowing people down. Delivered a prioritised set of fixes, and a development roadmap to take them from functional to fully embedded.
Major Streaming Platform
Performed audit on creative ordering and media trafficking workflow that had grown bloated and unreliable over time. Audited everything from creative asset ordering brief to media trafficking process to business intelligence dashboards, identified where manual workarounds, process irregularities and disconnected tools were causing data loss downstream, and delivered a prioritised set of fixes to clean up the process and improve reporting reliability.
Major Media Organisation
Performed a full-scale review of Airtable and possible competitors for a major media organisation. Led the requirements gathering process across 10+ teams and 70+ stakeholders, built and scored a detailed functional requirements framework across project management, workflow, and reporting needs, and produced the RFI that went out to vendors, providing the business with a clear, evidence-based foundation for the platform decision.
Get Started
The Ops Diagnostic is 90 minutes. You’ll leave knowing what’s broken, what to fix first, and what you can stop spending time on entirely. Most people find that last part alone is worth it.
Book the Ops Diagnostic →Contact
If your business is running well but the systems behind it are not, let’s talk.
hello@jesscarlin.com