Operations designed for the organisation you're becoming
I work inside mission-driven organisations to untangle the systems and processes that have outgrown their original design. Close enough to see it. Far enough to question it.
You might recognise
some of these
- Your team has grown, but the processes haven't kept up. The accumulated complexity is slowing you down.
- You have invested in powerful tools or systems that are not yet living up to their promise.
- Documentation exists, but managers are still the bottleneck for moving work forward.
- A new hire takes weeks to become productive because there's no clear path in.
- Something clearly needs to change, but no one has the bandwidth to step back and figure out what.
How I work
Insight through proximity.
I don't parachute in, run interviews, and produce a deck. I provide immediate value on your urgent operational needs while developing a first-hand understanding of how your systems actually function in practice. That means noticing the things that only become visible from inside: the normalised workarounds, the accumulated complexity, and what's worth keeping versus what can be left behind.
Every engagement ends with something documented so the work doesn't leave with me.
Phase 1
Jump in and contribute immediately
I start by doing real work alongside your team. Not observing from a distance. Contributing to what actually needs doing. This is how I build the context that no briefing document could give me.
Phase 2
Diagnose from the inside
Once I know how things actually work, I can see what's worth keeping and what isn't. Growing organisations tend to add complexity layer by layer rather than going back to first principles. I help untangle that.
Phase 3
Leave something useful behind
Recommendations framed as options, restructured processes, or documentation your team can actually use. Something tangible, something that stays.
What I do
Specific problems, concrete improvements
Process design and review
Existing processes that have grown too complex, or new ones that need to be built from scratch. I question what's worth keeping and what should be redesigned rather than patched again.
Knowledge management
Documentation that doesn't exist, isn't used, or is scattered across too many places. I build guides and reference materials that fit how people actually look for information when they need it.
Remote team operations
New hires can't find what they need, the same questions come up repeatedly, and managers become the bottleneck. I put in place the communication norms and structures that let teams work without routing everything through a person.
Tool and system transitions
Migrating to a new ATS, knowledge base, or project management tool. I learn the new system deeply, including its limitations and workarounds, and set it up in a way that actually fits how your team works.
About me
Eugenia Albano
Improving the world has been a key motivation since I was young. Noticing how people are shaped by their environments, paired with the desire to see the impact of my work first hand, led me to study geography and urban planning.
Working with non-profits early in my career brought a question into focus: is this actually helping? Discovering Effective Altruism gave me a rigorous framework to begin answering it. I got involved in the community straight away, but figuring out where my skills could best contribute professionally took longer.
I started where I was and spent the next decade building through doing — eventually leading a remote team of up to 100 people across three locations and managing a portfolio of 1,000+ projects.
That work made me realise that the satisfaction I get from fixing broken systems comes from the same place as my interest in physical spaces: the desire to create environments where people can do their best. That realisation is what led me to go independent and focus on the organisations where it matters most.
Get in touch
Let's see if there's a fit
If something on this page sounds like a problem you're dealing with, the best next step is a short call. No preparation needed.
Pick a time that works for you.
Open calendar →Prefer to write things down before a call? Fill in the form below.