Project Manager & Creative Operations — Deliverythat feelseffortless

Bilingual project manager. Over a decade in creative ops and marketing analytics. Usually the person between the creative team and the deadline.

✓ On time✓ On budget
See the workflow
Project Coordination
Team:6
Timeline:6 weeks
Stakeholders:4
Agile + Kanban
On Track
Next: User Testing Done (Fri)
Decision: Finalize features for v1.1
PM Workflow

Discovery

✓ Completed

Talked to everyone involved and agreed on the problem and how we'd measure success.

Deliverables
Problem Statement
Stakeholder Map
Constraints Doc
Success Metrics
Progress
Phases3/6
This Sprint
12
Tasks
8
Done
Sample Impact
Improve checkout flowBetter conversion ·Fewer support tickets ·Shipped on time

— a real workflow, pieced together from past projects. Click any phase on the left to see what came out of it.

Method & rhythm

How Irun things

Most projects end up hybrid: Agile where iterating helps, phase-gate when the date can't move. The weekly rhythm underneath doesn't really change, whatever the label is.

Methods.

How the work gets organized.

  • Agile / Scrum ceremonies
  • KanbanA board of cards moving through columns, so every job's stage is visible at a glance. flow for production work
  • Hybrid & phase-gateA plan split into phases, with a go/no-go checkpoint between each one. delivery
  • Sprint planning & backlog groomingRegularly tidying the to-do list: clarifying, re-ordering, and dropping what no longer matters.
  • Critical-path scheduling
  • Change control & scope management
  • Risk & dependency mapping

Rhythm.

The weekly operating rhythm.

  • Daily 15-minute standup
  • Monday risk review — five lines
  • Weekly one-page status to stakeholdersEveryone with a say in the work or a stake in its outcome.
  • Decision log, updated same-day
  • Monthly budget & scope checkpoint
  • Retro after every release

Artifacts.

What lands in your inbox.

  • Roadmap & critical pathThe chain of tasks that sets the finish date: if one slips, the whole project slips.
  • RAID log — risks, actions, issues, decisions
  • Ownership matrix (RACIA one-page chart of who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed on each task.)
  • Budget tracker
  • Release & QA checklists
  • SOPsStandard operating procedures: the written playbooks for how routine work gets done. & onboarding playbooks
◇ Daily driversAsanaTrelloAirtableGoogle WorkspaceGA4Looker StudioYour team runs Jira, Monday, ClickUp, Notion? Also fine. I've had to learn a new tool in week one at basically every job.
Working Principles

What everyprojectgets from me

The three defaults I keep coming back to, project after project.

Principle 01

No surprises.

Risk reviews every Monday. Most weeks nothing's wrong, and when something is, we catch it early.

◇ In practiceMonday risk review · five lines, before standup
Principle 02

Everyone's in the loop.

Decisions go in a log instead of another meeting. Stakeholders get a one-page status every week, so change orders don't come as a surprise.

◇ In practiceWeekly one-pager · decision log lives in the wiki
Principle 03

Better each time.

Every project ends with a retro, and the SOPs get updated with what we learned.

◇ In practiceRetro every release · SOPs updated after each one
06 / Selected Work

Pick a project

Three past projects: same workflow, very different teams. Switch tabs for scope, timeline, and what shipped.

◇ Project file2023–2025
01 / 07

Naperville Running Company build-out — the finished store. The graphics package ran through my schedule.

BUILDMultiple concurrent projects, ongoing

Image Source

Start-to-finish delivery of large-format print and digital branding for outdoor and lifestyle brands (HOKA, Patagonia, Stio, Urbane Café), covering scope, schedules, vendor routing, proofing, and on-site install.

RoleProject Manager, Creative Operations
TeamCross-functional: pre-press, press, and install teams + client stakeholders
Visit site

Outcomes

  • Project budgets up to $200K, shipped on time and on budget
  • Custom ordering portals that standardize specs for national retail reorders
  • Pre-press → press → install workflow with AI-assisted QA and approval automation

Note from the PM

The schedule's main job was making sure one brand's launch never cost another its press window.

Word of mouth

In theirown words

Three people I've shipped work with, lightly condensed to fit the cards.

Carlos moves between strategy and the technical weeds without losing the thread, which is rare on cross-functional teams. He was usually the person we put in the room when engineering and the stakeholders weren't speaking the same language.

Connor ElfrinkSr. Product Manager · Evernorth Health Services

What stood out about working with Carlos wasn't any one project — it was how the team felt. He'd quietly take something off your plate before you'd said anything was wrong.

Lauren StahmerCX Agent · Stio
Read the originals on LinkedIn
Common questions

The screening callanswered up front

The stuff every screening call starts with. That way the first call can be about the work.

How many years of project management experience does Carlos have?

Over a decade across creative operations, marketing operations, and general operations management. Most recently he ran six to seven brand campaigns in a typical week, peaking at 30 concurrent projects across 8 national brand accounts.

What industries has Carlos worked in?

Outdoor and lifestyle brands, large-formatPrinting at big sizes: banners, wall graphics, displays, signage. and fine-art print, retail POPPoint-of-purchase: the branded displays and signage you see inside a store. and signage, independent retail, B2BBusiness-to-business: selling to companies rather than to consumers. SaaS / digital health, and aviation supplies. Engagements span enterprise and indie clients.

What tools and methodologies does Carlos use?

Asana, Trello, Airtable, and Google Workspace day-to-day; GA4Google Analytics 4: measures who visits a website and what they do there., Google Tag ManagerA tool that installs measurement tags on a site without code changes., and Looker StudioGoogle's dashboard tool: live charts built on real data. for analytics. Agile/Scrum, KanbanA board of cards moving through columns, so every job's stage is visible at a glance., and hybrid phase-gateA plan split into phases, with a go/no-go checkpoint between each one. delivery depending on the project. Quick to adopt whatever your team runs (Jira, Monday, ClickUp, Notion).

Where is Carlos based, and what work formats are available?

Ventura, California, USA. Remote, hybrid, or on-site nearby. Looking for full-time first; contract engagements considered. Willing to travel for press checksStanding at the printing press while a job runs, approving color against an approved sample., installs, or quarterly on-sites.

What languages does Carlos work in?

Fully bilingual: English and Spanish, native/fluent in both. He runs standups and stakeholder meetings in either language.

◆ The paperwork

Need the one-pager?

Full timeline's on the résumé. The longer stories are in the portfolio.

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