Principal, Mergers & Acquisitions

World Education Services

3d•Remote

About The Position

The Principal, Mergers & Acquisitions is a senior, hands-on transaction leader responsible for managing and executing WES’s near-term acquisition activity. Reporting to the Chief Strategy, Planning and Learning Officer, the role works with executive leadership and cross-functional teams to lead financial evaluation, modeling, transaction planning, due diligence, structuring, negotiation, and closing for potential acquisitions and, as needed, divestitures. The Principal serves as the primary transaction lead once an opportunity moves from strategic and business development evaluation into an active deal process. The role provides senior management with rigorous financial and transaction advice, including assessments of valuation, deal economics, financial projections, transaction risks, structuring alternatives, and financial implications. As a strategic and financial advisor, the Principal provides objective analysis of deal rationale, valuation, risks, synergies, financial implications, and strategic fit. Working with internal stakeholders and external advisors, the role also supports an effective transition from transaction execution through post-close integration. This is an 18-month fixed-term position based remotely in Canada. Candidates must be based in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, or Nova Scotia, or be willing to relocate. Travel and in-person collaboration may be required based on business and transaction needs. The compensation range is CAD $135,000–$170,000.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related discipline, or an equivalent level of work experience.
Significant experience in progressively senior roles focused on mergers and acquisitions, corporate development, investment banking, private equity, transaction advisory, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience executing transactions across multiple stages of the M&A lifecycle.
Experience leading financial analysis, valuation, due diligence, deal structuring, and negotiations.
Advanced financial modeling, valuation, and analytical capabilities.
Strong understanding of financial statements, corporate finance, transaction structures, and deal economics.
Strong commercial and strategic judgment, including the ability to connect financial analysis to business strategy.
Demonstrated negotiation and influencing skills.
Experience managing complex cross-functional projects involving senior executives and external advisors.
Strong project and transaction management capabilities.
Executive-level written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
Ability to synthesize large amounts of complex information into clear recommendations.
Exceptional strategic thinking, judgment, and problem-solving skills, with the maturity and flexibility to work effectively with internal and external stakeholders across disciplines.
Ability to thrive in an environment that values transparency, accountability, collaboration, and results.
Intellectual curiosity, openness to diverse ideas and perspectives, and interest in continued learning, professional growth, and development.
Strong alignment with WES’s mission and values.

Nice To Haves

MBA or equivalent level of experience.
Senior leadership experience across private, nonprofit, or social enterprise sectors.
Experience with post-merger integration; strongly preferred.
Experience in education or workforce development.

Responsibilities

Partner with executive leadership to develop and execute WES’s M&A and portfolio strategy.
Identify, evaluate, and prioritize potential acquisitions, mergers, divestitures, strategic investments, and other corporate development opportunities.
Assess strategic rationale, market attractiveness, competitive positioning, operational fit, and value-creation potential.
Develop investment theses and recommendations with senior leadership for presentation to executive leadership and relevant Board committees.
Maintain and prioritize a pipeline of potential transaction opportunities; evaluate divestitures, carve-outs, and portfolio optimization opportunities as needed.
Lead financial modeling and valuation, including DCF, comparable company, precedent transaction, accretion/dilution, and return analyses.
Evaluate financial projections, business plans, capital requirements, synergies, transaction economics, and financial, accounting, tax, and capital structure implications.
Develop scenario and sensitivity analyses; establish valuation ranges, transaction thresholds, and financial return criteria.
Lead and coordinate financial, operational, commercial, legal, technology, HR, tax, and other due diligence activities.
Set diligence scope, workstreams, timelines, responsibilities, and decision criteria; identify and quantify transaction risks, liabilities, opportunities, and potential synergies.
Coordinate internal functional leaders and external advisors during diligence, and communicate findings and recommendations to executive leadership.
Develop transaction structures and negotiation strategies to maximize value and mitigate risk; lead or play a central role in negotiations with relevant parties.
Partner with Legal, Finance, Tax, and external advisors on letters of intent, purchase agreements, transition agreements, and other transaction documents.
Evaluate trade-offs among valuation, structure, representations and warranties, indemnification, earn-outs, working capital, and other transaction terms.
Maintain deal momentum while protecting WES’s strategic and financial interests; propose financing structures at the deal and portfolio levels.
Manage transactions end-to-end, from initial evaluation and indication of interest through signing and closing.
Develop and manage transaction workplans, timelines, decision points, and executive approvals; coordinate stakeholders and external advisors.
Prepare transaction materials and recommendations for executive leadership, the Board of Directors, and other governance bodies as appropriate.
Ensure transaction requirements, approvals, documentation, and closing conditions are completed accurately and on schedule.
Translate transaction assumptions and identified synergies into actionable post-close plans; monitor revenue, cost, operational, and strategic synergies against the approved investment case.
Conduct post-transaction reviews to assess performance against the original deal thesis and capture lessons for future transactions.
Advise executive leadership on M&A opportunities, analyses, risks, and recommendations in a concise, decision-oriented manner.
Build relationships across Finance, Operations, Legal, Tax, HR, IT, Sales, and other functional areas; challenge assumptions and build stakeholder alignment.
Represent WES professionally and credibly with acquisition targets, investors, advisors, and other external parties.