Director, Business Transitions
About The Position
Mercer Advisors is seeking a Director to grow its Business Transitions practice across target markets. The practice serves business owners, founders, and executives navigating M&A transactions and major liquidity events, providing integrated, unconflicted planning alongside the client’s deal team. The Director helps clients understand how deal terms affect after-tax outcomes and ensures planning is integrated with deal execution before transaction leverage disappears. The role works alongside bankers, attorneys, accountants, and Mercer’s tax, estate, and financial planning teams. It supports live transactions, translates deal mechanics into actionable planning decisions, models after-tax proceeds as deal terms evolve, and facilitates a structured handoff to the client’s Mercer advisor at close. The Director also develops referral relationships and represents the practice externally. The position requires weekday availability during standard business hours, with occasional early or late hours. Work may take place in a professional office or a dedicated home office workspace.
Requirements
- 8 to 15 years of experience working directly on M&A transactions.
- Demonstrated understanding of and ability to communicate deal structure, valuation, and transaction mechanics credibly to a client’s deal team.
- Direct experience working with or advising privately held business owners, founders, or executives; experience exclusively with institutional or large-cap corporate counterparties does not meet this requirement.
- Ability to work as a generalist across deal dynamics, tax implications, and planning strategy.
- Strong relationship-building skills, including building trust quickly and maintaining relationships over long cycles.
- Comfort with ambiguity, deal complexity, and situations that do not go according to plan.
- Series 65 required, or ability to obtain it within 90 days of hire.
- Bachelor’s degree.
- Ability to travel within the market and periodically across the country.
- Availability during Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with occasional early or late hours to meet business needs.
Nice To Haves
- Relevant experience in lower middle market investment banking, M&A advisory, corporate development at private-equity-backed or founder-led companies, M&A or transaction law, M&A tax or deal accounting, wealth advisory serving business-owner clients with a transactional background, or RIA-focused M&A and corporate development.
- CFP, CFA, CPA, or JD.
- MBA, JD, or another advanced degree.
Responsibilities
- Work on live transactions alongside Mercer’s integrated advisory team as the deal-side subject matter expert.
- Interface with clients’ bankers, attorneys, and accountants to assess deal structure and translate transaction mechanics into actionable planning decisions.
- Model after-tax proceeds as deal terms evolve, including structure, earnouts, rollover equity, and tax treatment.
- Support internal prospect deal teams when a Mercer client or prospect is approaching a transaction.
- Engage business owners before, during, and immediately after a transaction so planning strategy is integrated with deal execution.
- Coordinate a structured handoff to the client’s dedicated Mercer advisor at close.
- Build and own a center-of-influence referral network in the market, including investment bankers, M&A attorneys, QoE firms, and deal accountants.
- Develop referral relationships through consistent outreach, personal engagement, and long-cycle business development.
- Represent the Business Transitions practice at industry events and through speaking opportunities and panel discussions.
- Collaborate with regional advisory teams to identify clients approaching liquidity events and coordinate internal resources.
- Support business-owner prospects from existing growth channels as a deal-credible resource who advances and closes relationships.
Benefits
- Company-paid basic life and AD&D insurance.
- Company-paid short-term and long-term disability insurance.
- Supplemental life and AD&D, short-term disability, accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity insurance.
- Three Cigna medical plan options, including two high-deductible health plans and a traditional co-pay plan; Kaiser medical plans are available in California.
- Health Savings Account with company contributions for employees enrolled in either high-deductible health plan.
- Two dental plans.
- Vision insurance.
- Dependent Care Savings Account.
- 14 company-paid holidays, including a full week off at Thanksgiving.
- Paid time off for vacation and sick days.
- Employee Assistance Plan.
- Family Medical Leave.
- Paid parental leave of 8 weeks.
- Maternity benefits through company-paid short-term disability, supplemental short-term disability, and parental leave.
- Adoption assistance reimbursement program.
- Company-paid concierge services for caregiving and other life needs.
- 401(k) retirement plan with Traditional and Roth options, per-pay-period company match, and an after-tax option.
- Pet insurance.
- Personalized financial planning and guidance from Mercer Advisors professionals at preferred employee pricing.
- Incentive compensation eligibility.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
