Principal, Mergers & Acquisitions

World Education Services•New York, NY

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 Principal works closely 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 advances from strategic and business development evaluation into an active deal process. The role advises senior management on valuation, deal economics, financial projections, transaction risks, structuring alternatives, financial implications, strategic rationale, synergies, and strategic fit. In partnership with internal stakeholders and external advisors, the Principal supports an effective transition from transaction execution through post-close integration. World Education Services (WES) is a nonprofit social enterprise supporting the educational, economic, and social inclusion of immigrants, refugees, and international students. Its work includes international academic credential evaluation, policy, program design, and philanthropic funding. The position is remote in the United States; travel and in-person collaboration may be required based on business and transaction needs. It is a fixed-term position for 18 months.

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, with 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 continued interest in 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 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 for executive leadership and relevant Board committees.
Maintain and prioritize a pipeline of potential transaction opportunities and 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, and establish valuation ranges, transaction thresholds, and financial return criteria.
Lead and coordinate financial, operational, commercial, legal, technology, HR, tax, and other due diligence activities; establish diligence scope, workstreams, timelines, responsibilities, and decision criteria.
Identify and quantify material transaction risks, liabilities, opportunities, and potential synergies; synthesize diligence findings and communicate implications and recommendations to executive leadership.
Develop transaction structures and negotiation strategies; lead or play a central role in negotiations with sellers, buyers, investors, management teams, advisors, and other stakeholders.
Partner with Legal, Finance, Tax, and external advisors on letters of intent, purchase agreements, transition agreements, and other transaction documents.
Evaluate trade-offs involving valuation, structure, representations and warranties, indemnification, earn-outs, working capital, and other transaction terms; explore financing structures at deal and portfolio levels.
Manage the end-to-end transaction process from initial evaluation and indication of interest through signing and closing.
Develop and manage transaction workplans, timelines, decision points, and executive approvals; coordinate internal 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 evaluate performance against the original deal thesis and capture lessons for future transactions.
Serve as a trusted M&A advisor to executive leadership and present 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 alignment among stakeholders.
Represent WES professionally and credibly with acquisition targets, investors, advisors, and other external parties.