Principal, Mergers & Acquisitions

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Canada.

📋 Description

• Design and implement WES's M&A and portfolio strategies.

• Identify, assess, and prioritize opportunities for acquisitions, mergers, divestitures, strategic investments, and corporate development.

• Evaluate strategic rationale, market attractiveness, competitive positioning, operational compatibility, and potential for value creation.

• Create investment theses and recommendations for executive leadership and Board committees.

• Maintain and prioritize a pipeline of transaction opportunities.

• Lead financial modeling and valuation tasks, including DCF, comparable company analysis, precedent transactions, accretion/dilution, and return analyses.

• Analyze financial projections, business plans, capital requirements, synergies, and transaction economics.

• Develop scenario and sensitivity analyses.

• Evaluate implications related to financial, accounting, tax, and capital structure.

• Lead and coordinate due diligence across financial, operational, commercial, legal, technology, HR, tax, and other domains.

• Define diligence scope, workstreams, timelines, responsibilities, and decision criteria.

• Identify and quantify transaction risks, liabilities, opportunities, and synergies.

• Collaborate with internal functional leaders and external advisors.

• Compile diligence findings and communicate implications and recommendations to executive leadership.

• Develop transaction structures and negotiation strategies.

• Lead or actively participate in negotiations with sellers, buyers, investors, management teams, advisors, and stakeholders.

• Negotiate letters of intent, purchase agreements, transition agreements, and other transaction documents in collaboration with Legal, Finance, Tax, and external advisors.

• Assess valuation, structure, representations and warranties, indemnification, earn-outs, working capital, and other transaction terms.

• Explore optimal financing structures at both deal and portfolio levels.

• Oversee the complete transaction process from initial evaluation to signing and closing.

• Develop and manage transaction work plans, timelines, decision points, and executive approvals.

• Coordinate investment bankers, attorneys, accountants, consultants, financing partners, internal stakeholders, and external advisors.

• Prepare materials and recommendations for executive leadership, the Board of Directors, and governance bodies.

• Ensure transaction requirements, approvals, documentation, and closing conditions are executed accurately and on schedule.

• Convert transaction assumptions and synergies into actionable post-close plans.

• Monitor revenue, cost, operational, and strategic synergies against the approved investment case.

• Conduct post-transaction reviews and capture insights for future transactions.

• Serve as a trusted M&A advisor to executive leadership.

• Present transaction opportunities, analyses, risks, and recommendations.

• Build relationships across Finance, Operations, Legal, Tax, HR, IT, Sales, and other functions.

• Represent WES in interactions with acquisition targets, investors, advisors, and external parties.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.

• Extensive experience in progressively senior roles focused on mergers and acquisitions, corporate development, investment banking, private equity, transaction advisory, or a similar area.

• Proven experience executing transactions through various stages of the M&A lifecycle.

• Experience in leading financial analysis, valuation, due diligence, deal structuring, and negotiations.

• Advanced skills in financial modeling, valuation, and analytical methods.

• Strong grasp of financial statements, corporate finance, transaction structures, and deal economics.

• Excellent commercial and strategic judgment.

• Demonstrated negotiation and influencing abilities.

• Experience managing complex cross-functional projects involving senior executives and external advisors.

• Strong capabilities in project and transaction management.

• Executive-level written and verbal communication and presentation skills.

• Ability to distill complex information into clear recommendations.

• Exceptional strategic thinking, judgment, and problem-solving skills.

• Capacity to work effectively with internal and external stakeholders across various disciplines.

• Ability to excel in a transparent, accountable, collaborative, and results-oriented environment.

• Strong alignment with WES's mission and values.

• MBA or equivalent level of experience (preferred).

• Senior leadership experience in private, nonprofit, or social enterprise sectors (preferred).

• Experience with post-merger integration is highly preferred.

• Background in education or workforce development (preferred).

🏝️ Benefits

• Options for remote work.

• Time-off programs.

• Wellness initiatives.

• Competitive salary.

• Comprehensive benefits package.

• Recognition of achievements.

• Opportunities for learning.

• Personal and professional development opportunities.

• Inclusive, mission-driven culture.

• Flexible remote work arrangements.