Director of M&A and Corporate Development

Associated Veterinary Partners

11h•Remote

About The Position

Associated Veterinary Partners is a founder-led, well-funded acquirer of veterinary hospitals. The company partners with doctors through co-ownership, preserves clinical autonomy, and structures deals for the long term. The Director of M&A and Corporate Development will own the M&A function’s end-to-end execution, including pipeline management, initial diligence and underwriting, LOIs, confirmatory diligence, and closings. This is the most senior M&A role after the founders, with a pipeline already in place and responsibility for building processes and playbooks. The position is remote in the United States and involves approximately 10% to 15% travel for practice visits, seller meetings, and closings. It reports to the Chief Executive Officer and directly manages the Partnerships Manager and Partnerships Analyst. The role is full-time and exempt. The Director will lead transaction analysis, valuation, deal structuring, negotiation of business terms, diligence, and closing execution, while coordinating internal leaders and external advisors. The CEO retains final approval on price and structure and leads negotiation of definitive agreements with counsel; the COO owns partner-doctor relationships. The Director will also own M&A board materials and support investor, lender, and capital-planning work. Hours and intensity will fluctuate, including evening seller calls and closings that run to the wire.

Requirements

6 to 10 years of transaction experience across investment banking, private equity, and corporate development.
At least two years of investment banking or private equity deal execution experience.
A record of closing lower middle market deals end to end.
Bachelor’s degree required.
Self-directed and accountable, with willingness to accommodate fluctuating hours, evening seller calls, and closings that may run to the wire.
Strong valuation and deal-modeling capability, including normalized EBITDA, DVM production, working capital, and lease terms.
Ability to recommend deal price and structure and negotiate business terms with sellers and their advisors.
Ability to lead cross-functional diligence and exercise risk judgment.
Strong transaction execution and process discipline, including timeline, budget, funds flow, closing deliverables, and post-closing reconciliation.
Ability to review transaction documentation, identify inconsistencies, and manage issues lists and disclosure schedules.
Strong seller and practice-owner relationship management, communication, follow-through, and negotiation skills.
Ability to lead a team, manage a transaction pipeline, and prepare executive and board materials.

Nice To Haves

Corporate development experience at a multi-site consolidator is strongly preferred.
Healthcare services or veterinary experience preferred; experience with other owner-operated, multi-site roll-ups is relevant.
MBA, CFA, or CPA is useful but not required.

Responsibilities

Own the M&A pipeline of record and weekly M&A cadence, creating urgency and ensuring transactions progress.
Work closely with and mentor the Partnerships Manager and Partnerships Analyst.
Review deal workbooks, apply the company’s transaction review framework, and present clear recommendations on price, structure, and risk to the CEO and COO.
Draft IOIs and LOIs and negotiate business terms with sellers and their advisors, including seller notes, partner-doctor buy-ins, earnouts, and real estate leases.
Lead financial, tax, legal, HR, licensing, real estate, and systems diligence; manage outside counsel, accountants, and other stakeholders to a timeline and budget.
Support the CEO on definitive agreements, including issues lists, business points, and disclosure schedules.
Own closing execution, including the checklist, funds flow, entity setup, lender deliverables, and board consents.
Partner with the COO on partner-doctor employment agreements and buy-ins.
Run post-closing reconciliation and provide a clean file to operations and finance.
Own the M&A section of board materials and support the CEO on investor, lender, and capital-planning work.
Build transaction playbooks and proactively use AI tools to accelerate deal execution with a lean team.
Build and defend practice acquisition models, including normalized EBITDA, DVM production, working capital, and lease terms.
Assess diligence issues and recommend whether to walk away, reprice, restructure, or address issues after closing.
Review purchase agreements, leases, employment agreements, and seller notes for consistency with the LOI and model.
Build trust with veterinary practice owners, maintain seller engagement, and convert relationships into signed LOIs through closing.
Direct the Partnerships Manager and Analyst, set expectations, review their work, and lead the weekly M&A meeting.
Prepare deal memos, board consents, and M&A board materials with clear recommendations and supporting rationale.