Operating Advisor - Data Analytics & Operating Tools

What It Is Like to Work at Lakeside Companies Lakeside Companies encompasses a collection of portfolio companies, a diverse investment portfolio, and charitable endeavors. Our investments target technological progression and shake-ups in conventional markets including commercial and residential construction, specialty manufacturing, agriculture, beauty, and more. Team members work across the portfolio on value-add projects in marketing, communications, operations, and more, directly with the leadership of portfolio companies and Lakeside. It is an ideal opportunity to gain knowledge and experience across a broad range of industries, projects, and teams.

Job Summary:

Lakeside Companies is hiring an Operating Advisor to lead the team that builds and deploys data, analytics, and operating tools across Lakeside's portfolio companies. This role owns the path from request to adoption. That means taking in needs from entity leadership, turning them into scoped and prioritized work, leading the engineers who build it, and making sure what ships gets used. The Operating Advisor is a technical project manager. They are strong enough in data and systems to check a scope against the actual data, judge an estimate, and review whether a build meets the requirement, but they lead through others rather than building. The role works across every entity in the portfolio, including homebuilding, land development, manufacturing, agriculture, hospitality, and senior living. Team Structure The Operating Advisor leads Lakeside's deployed engineering team. This includes engineers embedded with specific entities and the Operations Technology Analysts and Interns working across the portfolio. The Operating Advisor works as a peer to the Platform lead, who owns the infrastructure, data pipelines, security, and standards the team builds on. The Operating Advisor brings platform needs from the field to Platform and follows platform standards. Neither role directs the other. Duties/Responsibilities Intake and Prioritization

• Serve as the front door for technology and data requests from portfolio company leadership.
• Sequence work against priorities set by the Operating Director and keep a visible, current queue.
• Say no or not yet when a request doesn't fit priorities, and explain why.

Scoping and Requirements

• Turn requests into scoped work with clear requirements, data sources, and a definition of done before anything is built.
• Validate scope against the underlying data and systems, using SQL and AI-assisted tools where needed.
• Estimate effort with the engineers and flag risk, dependency, and platform needs early.

Delivery

• Run delivery across multiple concurrent projects and entities: timelines, status, follow-up, and unblocking.
• Review builds against requirements before they reach users.
• Keep status and decisions visible through Lakeside's established systems.

Adoption and Rollout

• Plan and lead launches with entity teams, including training, walkthroughs, and feedback in the first weeks of use.
• Track whether deployed tools are in use and act when they aren't.
• Build working relationships with entity leaders so the team understands how their businesses actually operate.

Team Leadership

• Assign work, coach, and set expectations for engineers, Analysts, and Interns.
• Conduct performance reviews and lead evaluation of Interns for conversion to full-time roles.
• Set team standards for scoping, documentation, and post-launch ownership.

Key Performance Indicators

• Delivery: projects shipped against committed dates, and accuracy of scope and estimates.
• Adoption and Entity Partnership: tools in active use 60 to 90 days after launch, and feedback from entity leadership on responsiveness and results.
• Team Development: Intern conversion rate, engineer growth and retention, and adherence to team standards.

Requirements

• Five or more years of experience in project or program management on software, data, or analytics work, including leading a small technical team.
• Working knowledge of SQL, data models, APIs, and integrations sufficient to scope and review technical work.
• Hands-on use of AI-assisted tools for prototyping, analysis, or documentation.
• Experience working directly with business leaders and non-technical users.
• Must live in or relocate to the Coeur d'Alene area. This role is in person.
• PMP, Agile, or Scrum certification preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent experience.