Strategy & Operations Manager

Building the future of industrial training through strategic acquisition and organic growth About Us Steel River is an industrial services holding company weve acquired over 20 companies and sit above $100M in revenue in our core platform Cranetech, focused on industrial crane service. We have a long-term hold model, driving growth through investment in the best people in the industry. Were now building our next $100M platform in Industrial Training. We have acquired two brands and will continue to build organically and inorganically to build this platform. This role exists to make that happen; turning acquisitions into integrated, high-performing businesses while driving growth across the portfolio. What You'll Actually Do Diligence and Integration Leadership Manage deal diligence and see acquisitions through to completion Post-acquisition integration: You're the point of accountability for making newly acquired companies successful parts of our business. Drive integration efficiency that becomes a self-improving playbook. Build relationships with new teams, identify what to keep vs. change, manage cultural integration, ensure we don't lose key customers or employees during transitions Create playbooks so integration gets better and faster with each deal Operational Excellence Drive process improvements across quote-to-cash, customer onboarding, trainer scheduling, and other core workflows Build and refine operating systems as we scale Growth & Go-to-Market Own our growth initiatives: If we're underperforming in a market segment or need to launch a new training program, you figure out why and fix it Build and execute GTM strategies: work with sales, marketing, and ops to identify new customer segments, refine our messaging, and scale what's workingStrategic Projects Lead high-impact projects like curriculum modernization, new service development, operational improvements These are the things that will multiply our impact but won't happen unless someone owns them end-to-end You decide how to approach them, who needs to be involved, and what success looks likeWho Thrives in This Role Strong with people.Success means building trust and influencing outcomes with business owners transitioning out of their companies, experienced instructors, and prospective customers. Relationships and credibility drive results here. Owner mentality.Significant autonomy means making judgment calls about priorities and trade-offs. The focus is on what creates value for the business, even when that requires harder choices. Builders.This role requires someone energized by creating new systems and fixing what's broken rather than maintaining existing operations. Comfortable with ambiguity.Much of this work involves creating solutions where none exist yet; building integration processes, developing market strategies, solving problems with incomplete information. Intellectually honest.Willing to surface problems early, admit gaps in knowledge, and own mistakes quickly. This creates the trust needed to solve real issues.Background That Typically Works 2-4 years of professional experience owning outcomes, not just executing tasks Experience in operations, strategy, consulting, m&a, business development, or cross-functional project leadership Background in industrial, manufacturing, training, or education sectors is helpful but not necessary Track record of solving ambiguous problemsWhy This Role Matters In 3 years, we could be the dominant industrial training platform in the country. Or we could be a company that made a few acquisitions that never really took off. The difference will come down to execution; integrating well, growing intelligently, and building systems that scale. This role will be critical to the success of the business, and we expect this role to become a key leader in the Steel River family.Compensation & Growth Salary range: $90-100K Equity/ownership opportunity as we grow Reporting directly to CEO