PMO and portfolio governance
PMO assessment, design, and build; intake, prioritization, and stage gates; executive portfolio reporting.
Business Services
Fractional and interim leadership for complex programs.
PMO, project controls, and program leadership for utilities, energy companies, municipalities, and capital programs, one to three days a week, or full time for a defined stretch. The person on your first call is the person who does the work.
The main offer
Leadership now, without waiting on a permanent hire.
A vacancy, a reorganization, or a program that has outgrown the team running it rarely waits for a six-month search. Fractional and interim leadership puts an experienced PMO and program leader in place now, at one to three days a week or full time for a defined period.
The job is to steady the work now, put the routines in place that keep it consistent, and bring your permanent leader up to speed when they arrive. Ongoing support is absolutely available if it's needed.
Typical fractional and interim roles →
Alongside leadership
The systems behind the leadership.
Most engagements pair leadership with the structure behind it: governance, controls, and plans. Each one is built with your people, handed over with training, and supported for as long as you want help.
Project controls and reporting
Budget, forecast, contract, change order, and schedule controls, including live Smartsheet dashboards contractors can update themselves.
Long-range planning and forecasting
Multi-year capital, work plan, and workforce forecasts that turn broad assumptions into job-level plans.
The process
From first call to handoff.
Here's what working together looks like, start to finish.
- Step 1
First call
A free 30 minutes. You describe the problem; I ask about the portfolio, the team, the deadlines, and what's already been tried. You leave with my honest read on whether outside help makes sense.
- Step 2
Proposal
A written proposal and statement of work, usually within 3 business days: what I'll do, what you'll have at the end, how much of my time it takes, and the fee. If someone else is a better fit, I'll say so and point you to them.
- Step 3
The work
Leading inside your team, supporting from outside, or somewhere in between, whatever the work needs. The standard is a weekly check-in and a monthly status report.
- Step 4
Handoff
What "done" means is agreed at the start. As the work wraps up, I walk your team through the dashboards, procedures, and templates, train the people who will run them, and stay available while they settle in. If you want ongoing support after that, the engagement can continue.
- One accountable lead on every engagement, from first call to final deliverable
- Signed agreements before work begins
- Insured with general and professional liability coverage
Results
Recent work.
Work I have led, both inside the organizations I worked for and through Vibrant Blue. Names are withheld. Each brief links to the full story.
About $50M
Municipal solar project
A full project controls system for a municipal owner: budget, contracts, invoices, schedule, and decisions in one place, without an enterprise platform.
Read the full story: municipal solar project controls →130+ crews
Investor-owned utility
From "I don't know what my next job is" to a six-month job list for every crew and a five-year portfolio view for leadership.
Read the full story: contract crew management →3 programs
PUCO-regulated inspections
Three inspection programs rebalanced so every region carries an even share each year, approved quickly by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
Read the full story: PUCO inspection programs →
Who leads the work
Andrew Johnson, MBA, PMP, PMI-PMOCP
More than 20 years in utility and energy infrastructure: a 45-person team of PMO staff and regulatory and rate case specialists, more than 130 contract crews, nearly $250 million in projects managed, and a $500 million portfolio in a project controls role. Vibrant Blue began in 2018 as a side practice and became my full-time work in 2025, for organizations that need that experience for a season rather than forever.
About Andrew
Common questions
Questions procurement and leadership usually ask.
How does an engagement get started?
It starts with a no-cost conversation about the challenge. If there's a fit, you receive a written proposal and a statement of work that set out the scope, timeline, deliverables, and fees before any work begins.
Who leads the work?
I lead every engagement and am accountable for every deliverable, from the first conversation through the final handoff. If an engagement ever needs added support, that support works under my direction and Vibrant Blue's signed agreements, insurance, and data security requirements, and you approve it before it starts.
How is my time committed to an engagement?
A retainer reserves a set number of hours each week or month, and that time is held for you. For project and hourly work, deadlines are written into the statement of work, and meeting them is my responsibility. Offerings shows how each structure works.
How long do engagements last?
Fractional and retainer engagements usually run three months or more. Defined projects run as long as the scope requires. The length is set in the statement of work and can be adjusted as things change.
How is pricing set?
Fees are agreed in writing before work starts, as a monthly retainer, a fixed project fee, hourly, or a combination. Proposals can include a not-to-exceed amount so procurement and finance have what they need up front.
Can Vibrant Blue work under your agreement and procurement process?
Yes. Vibrant Blue can work under your organization's agreement or provide its own master services agreement and statement of work. The full procurement checklist, including insurance and the W-9, is on the Offerings page.
Can Vibrant Blue work alongside an existing team or PMO?
Yes. Much of the work involves strengthening what's already in place, including helping outside firms integrate with a client's existing PMO.
How is confidential information handled?
Confidentiality terms are in writing, and a mutual NDA can be signed before any sensitive details are shared. Vibrant Blue also follows a written data security policy, and a client-facing security summary is available on request. AI tools are opt-in only for anything beyond everyday email and calendar tools, client material is deleted from AI tools at the close of each engagement, and any client can keep its email out of AI tools entirely. The full commitments are in How I Use AI.
Get in touch
Talk through what you're facing.
Whether there's a specific challenge in mind or the question is whether outside leadership makes sense at all, a 30-minute conversation is a good place to start.
Book a free 30-minute callCalls are on Microsoft Teams. Prefer to write? Send a message instead.