VP, Corporate Development

The VP of Corporate Development will serve as the internal and external point of contact for M&A related matters. This will involve leading the end-to-end processes of strategic acquisitions and divestitures, including identification, early analysis and screening, structuring, due diligence, contract negotiations, deal closing and continuing to be a guide and contact point during integration into MeridianLink. Furthermore, managing the portfolio strategy and M&A agenda of the company while acting as a key leader in the enterprise-wide strategic planning process in partnership with businesses and functional leaders. Strong leadership and interaction with executives and business function will be crucial in support of strategy and corporate development and M&A initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Build out the M&A pipeline consistent with the company's growth strategy, conduct due diligence on relevant companies, targets, and/ or potential partners, assess strategic fits and potential risks.

• Take the lead in transaction execution including target reviews, assessments, due diligence, identifying risks and developing integration plans, including for divestments.

• Lead and coordinate cross-functional teams – requiring effective collaboration and communication with internal stakeholders, including finance, product, sales, legal, HR, and the executive team.

• Develop and present business cases and financial models to be reviewed and by the CEO/CFO and Board.

• Identify and execute opportunities to refine and improve processes through collaborative efforts with business units that help identify and execute business development projects to drive growth.

• Build, grow, and nurture relationships with external parties such as investment banks, private investment firms, potential deal targets, and M&A advisors.

• Work with the Product team to explore new partnership opportunities.

• Expected to develop a robust M&A playbook covering deal sourcing, evaluation, prioritization of targets to pipeline management, due diligence, and integration planning.

• Handle communication by providing competitive intelligence and establishing relevant financial benchmarks such as growth rates, gross margins, EBITDA margins, leverage, commercial metrics, etc.

• Develop, modify, and execute MeridianLink policies that affect immediate operations and may also have a company-wide effect. Accountable for the department budget, and far-reaching impact on the business segment. Implementing policies, select methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria to achieve desired results.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree and 10+ years of experience in Strategy, Financing, Investment Banking, or relevant business role including 3-5 years of Corporate Development experience.

• SaaS experience required

• Establish operational objectives, policies, procedures, and work plans and delegate assignments to subordinates.

• Ability to work on issues where analysis of situations or data requires conceptual thinking and in-depth knowledge of organizational objectives.

• Interact regularly with all management levels on matters concerning functional areas, departments, and/or customers.

• Use knowledge and expertise to persuade other stakeholders to support and achieve the desired outcomes of the department.

• Financial knowledge including extensive experience with modeling and valuation analysis.

• Effectively manage relevant external vendors (e.g., bankers, lawyers, accountants).

• Clear history of transaction execution, successfully handling all stages of the deal including analysis, due diligence, company valuations, preparation of investment memorandums, deal structure, negotiations, closing, and integration.

• Experience developing an M&A playbook covering various stages such as deal sourcing, evaluation target prioritization, pipeline management, due diligence, integration planning, and communications.

• Collaborating with external financial advisors or investment banks

• Ability to navigate diverse stakeholders, including senior leadership and the board, both within and outside the company.

• Ability to assess market potential and business opportunities and translates those into actionable and prescriptive forward-thinking growth strategies.