FM&A Lead

Overview

This role involves end-to-end ownership of strategic initiatives at a high-growth education content and campus solutions organization. The position focuses on M&A transactions, capital raises, commercial partnerships, operational transformation, and synthesizing complex datasets into clear recommendations for executive leadership and board directors.

The role is based in London, UK, with regular overlap with US hours. This is a full-time, permanent position.

Responsibilities

Strategic transactions

• Lead buy-side and sell-side M&A activity and growth investments, coordinating execution with external investment banking, legal, and accounting partners.
• Own execution roadmaps, including workstream tracking, diligence request management, weekly working groups, and driving cross-functional accountability.
• Manage counterparty interactions from initial outreach through NDA execution (with Legal), maintaining detailed logs of engagement history and information flow.
• Architect and manage virtual data rooms, structuring information release strategically while maintaining strict confidentiality protocols.

Materials and storytelling

• Create high-impact company teasers, investor presentations, management decks, and comprehensive diligence responses for executive and board audiences.
• Coordinate product and engineering deep dives with functional leaders, including agenda design, deck preparation, dry runs, and post-session deliverables.

Due diligence and advisers

• Evaluate, select, and manage third-party advisors across financial, commercial, tax, and operational diligence streams.
• Partner with Finance to build business unit models, financial projections, and detailed headcount analyses.

Operating-model projects

• Drive cross-department operational initiatives with Legal and Finance, including entity rationalization, contract mapping, and shared services integration.
• Lead vendor selection for outsourced operations by sourcing partners, benchmarking commercial proposals, preparing information packages, and facilitating vendor diligence.

Commercial analysis and research

• Review enterprise client agreements and procurement documents (including assignment, duration, control, and fulfillment terms) in partnership with Legal, using AI tools where appropriate.
• Conduct market intelligence and target assessments, synthesizing sector trends into actionable strategic briefings for executive leadership.

Requirements

Must have

• 3+ years of experience in corporate development, transaction advisory, private equity, or strategic management consulting.
• Demonstrated track record supporting strategic M&A, equity raises, or deal diligence alongside investment banking and professional advisers.
• Strong financial acumen, including deep experience analyzing P&L statements and building complex financial models.
• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to drive cross-functional alignment across multiple fast-moving workstreams.
• Proven narrative structuring and deck-building expertise for executive leadership and board audiences.
• High integrity and ability to handle highly sensitive institutional data with discretion.
• Proactive adoption of modern AI technologies to accelerate market research and analytical throughput.
• Proven ability to operate across distributed teams, with regular overlap between UK and US working hours.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior entrepreneurial background or hands-on operating experience in early-stage environments.
• Active involvement in early-stage venture funding or angel investing.
• Deep familiarity with edtech platforms, higher education, academic publishing, or course material supply chains.
• Experience negotiating complex vendor agreements, vendor outsourcing partnerships, or commercial contracts.
• Practical experience managing cross-border transactions and operational workstreams spanning US and UK jurisdictions.

Compensation & Benefits

Benefits are designed to support work-life balance and flexible working.

• 35 days holiday per year (excluding public holidays)
• Birthday day off
• 12 scheduled company wellness Fridays off per year
• Enhanced maternity & paternity allowance
• Flexible working hours (remote team across the US and UK)
• Work-from-home allowance to support home setup
• Cycle-to-work scheme (UK)
• Life insurance up to 4 x salary
• Private health insurance
• Annual eye test and up to £100 towards frames for glasses required for DSE work

Location

• London, UK
• Regular overlap with US hours

Hiring Note

This position will be filled directly by the organization, and external recruiters/recruitment agencies are asked not to submit candidates for this role.