Senior M&A Consultant

Marsh McLennan•New York, NY

10d•$104,400 - $208,800•Hybrid

About The Position

Mercer is seeking an experienced M&A consulting professional to join our HR M&A Advisory Services team as a Senior Associate. Based in New York City or Chicago (hybrid, minimum three days per week in-office). The Senior M&A Consultant supports the full deal lifecycle across all transaction types—including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, carve-outs, and joint ventures—for both corporate and private equity clients. You will manage workstreams, lead junior team members, and partner with senior consultants to deliver human capital M&A strategies across Mercer's business lines—Health, Wealth, Career, Global Benefits Management, Regional Market Development, and the broader Marsh McLennan enterprise. This is an opportunity to deepen your technical consulting expertise, build subject matter depth across M&A deal types and HR disciplines, and contribute to high-impact transactions that shape organizations.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required
4–7 years of professional experience, with a minimum of 2–3 years in a consulting role (or in-house strategy/M&A); prior exposure to HR M&A transactions strongly preferred
Solid understanding of the M&A deal lifecycle and fundamental deal mechanics, including experience supporting due diligence, integration planning, or separation activities across multiple transaction types (e.g., acquisitions, divestitures, carve-outs); developing depth in one or more deal phases
Working knowledge of core HR functions—total rewards, benefits, HR technology (e.g., Workday, SuccessFactors), talent, and HR operations—with developing expertise in one to two HR disciplines that are material in M&A contexts (e.g., compensation benchmarking, benefit plan design, workforce planning)
Working knowledge of business models, finance, and industry terminology
Familiarity with transaction-specific HR considerations across deal types, including carve-outs, divestitures, add-on acquisitions, and cross-border deals; awareness of relevant regulatory considerations (e.g., WARN Act, TUPE, change-in-control obligations, collective bargaining agreements) is a plus
Demonstrated project management capabilities, including the ability to manage competing priorities and time constraints
Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to translate complex data and analyses into clear, executive-level presentations and reports
Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel modeling, PowerPoint storyboarding); familiarity with data visualization or analytics tools; comfort with AI productivity tools in a consulting context
Ability to work with minimal direction; knows when to seek support or guidance; manages time effectively to meet deadlines with reliability and consistency
Willingness to travel to client sites as required by deal activity (travel volume is deal-dependent and varies)

Nice To Haves

Established credibility as a reliable workstream lead with growing subject matter expertise in HR M&A; recognized as a go-to resource by peers and junior colleagues
Proactive, confident, and calm under pressure in a fast-paced, changing environment with the ability to work at the pace required by client M&A activity
Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, including comfort with financial modeling and workforce data analysis
Intellectual curiosity about deal structures, transaction dynamics, and the evolving HR M&A landscape, including private equity deal models and cross-border transaction complexity
Prior experience supporting both corporate and private equity clients across transaction types, or strong desire to develop this breadth
Demonstrated collaboration and a team-oriented mindset, including being approachable and sought after by junior colleagues for guidance and support
Understanding of organizational goals and metrics, with growing commercial awareness of how Mercer's solutions connect across business lines and how M&A engagements generate broader client value
Relevant professional certifications are a differentiator (e.g., CCP, GRP, CEBS, PROSCI, PMP)

Responsibilities

Lead due diligence and transaction execution across deal types: Manage data requests, virtual data room (VDR) review, and quantitative analyses to identify human capital risks, liabilities (e.g., pension/SERP obligations, change-in-control triggers, equity compensation exposure), and integration cost estimates.
Drive project management and cross-workstream coordination: Own assigned workstreams across Mercer and client teams, managing scope, timeline, and budget.
Serve as a primary day-to-day client contact and workstream lead: Partner with the Engagement Manager, Market Leader, and cross-practice Mercer consultants to deliver client-ready analyses, reports, and presentations that require minimal revisions.
Develop workforce analytics and financial models: Build and interpret workforce cost models, headcount analyses, organizational design scenarios, and total rewards benchmarking to support due diligence findings and integration planning. Leverage HRIS platforms (e.g., Workday, SuccessFactors) and data tools to support people-data-driven insights and integration KPI tracking.
Support organizational design and culture assessment workstreams
Lead and develop junior team members
Contribute to business development: Draft proposal sections and RFP responses, support development of scopes of work (SOWs) and fee estimates, and participate in orals presentations and client meetings.
Escalate issues proactively: Surface risks and blockers to senior leadership with relevant context and proposed solutions, enabling timely decision-making.
Contribute to internal initiatives that support practice and team development and business growth.
Thrive and be motivated by an environment that embraces AI and technology-enabled tools.