Head of Corporate Development

Field Nation•Minnesota, MN

About The Position

The Head of Corporate Development will own Field Nation’s mergers and acquisitions function end to end. This hands-on individual-contributor role will build and prioritize acquisition and partnership opportunities, lead financial evaluation and deal execution, and drive post-close integration. The position works across company strategy, financial discipline, and operational execution, initially with the mandate to build a small function as deal volume warrants. The role partners with company leadership to turn strategic priorities into acquisition criteria, builds a target pipeline and external deal-sourcing relationships, evaluates opportunities through financial modeling and screening, and leads due diligence, negotiations, and transaction timelines. It also prepares and presents decision-ready materials to executives, investment committees, and the board, then partners with functional leaders to plan integrations and track acquired-business performance against the deal case.

Requirements

7–12+ years of experience in investment banking, private equity, or corporate development, with direct full-cycle deal experience from sourcing through integration.
Advanced financial modeling skills, including DCF, comparable transactions, precedent transactions, and returns/LBO-style analysis.
Track record of structuring and closing transactions, including direct ownership of diligence workstreams and deal terms.
Demonstrated ability to act as a trusted partner to C-suite executives and, ideally, a PE sponsor or board.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to distill complex financial analysis into clear board- and executive-ready materials.
Bachelor’s degree required.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience in a PE-backed or founder-led company, particularly one that has executed multiple bolt-on or platform acquisitions.
Experience in marketplace, SaaS, or services businesses.
MBA or equivalent advanced degree.
Experience building or scaling a corporate development function from an individual-contributor seat.

Responsibilities

Translate strategic priorities into acquisition criteria, including target segment, geography, capability gaps, and deal size.
Build and refresh a target database with strategic fit, estimated size, ownership structure, and readiness signals.
Develop relationships with investment bankers, M&A advisors, and industry contacts to generate proprietary deal flow.
Conduct market and competitive research to identify technology tuck-ins, provider-network expansion, complementary platforms, and geographic expansion opportunities.
Apply a consistent screening framework to sourced targets and inbound opportunities.
Build and maintain transaction financial models, including DCF, comparable company, precedent transaction, and returns/accretion analyses.
Develop preliminary valuation ranges and deal economics before committing significant diligence resources.
Stress-test assumptions related to synergies, retention, integration costs, and working capital, and identify reliance on optimistic assumptions.
Translate financial analysis into a defensible investment case for board- and sponsor-level scrutiny.
Own end-to-end financial, operational, legal, and commercial due diligence, coordinating external advisors and internal stakeholders.
Identify and quantify risks and potential deal-breakers early in the process.
Lead negotiation of transaction terms in partnership with Legal and Finance, including price, structure, representations and warranties, earn-outs, and indemnification.
Manage transaction timelines and workstream dependencies while maintaining diligence rigor.
Prepare decision-ready materials for the executive team, investment committee, and board, covering market landscape, deal rationale, financial case, risks, and recommendations.
Present and defend analyses to senior leadership and the board, responding to questions and challenges to assumptions.
Keep stakeholders informed during live deals and surface changes in risk, economics, or timeline as they emerge.
Build integration plans with milestones, owners, and success metrics before deal close.
Partner with Finance, Product, Engineering, People, and GTM leaders to execute integration plans and resolve issues.
Track acquired-business performance against the original underwritten case and proactively flag material variances.
Document transaction lessons learned to improve target criteria, deal structures, and diligence focus areas.