The Role
To be an effective Director within our People in M&A team applicants will be expected to:
• Take a senior leadership role with the team, with clients and in the broader industry
• Have existing client relationships, particularly with the UK/European Private Equity and M&A community, which reinforce the team’s credibility and generate project opportunities – extensive experience of M&A related projects will be critical, e.g. global separation and / or integration, M&A Strategy etc
• Take responsibility for client relationships and act as a key contact point for those clients
• Have the ability to anticipate, understand and articulate client requirements – in advance of and during projects
• Demonstrate excellent communications skills – in written, slide and other reporting formats as well as verbal communications in informal and more formal situations
• Lead the presentation of findings to senior clients and be comfortable in challenging the thinking of both clients and more senior KPMG colleagues
• Design and run large, complex projects, delivering to client requirements whilst acting as primary client liaison and be an 'ambassador' for the firm
• With limited input, guide the team to client-ready deliverables that exceed expectations and require minimal review
• Support and test/review the design and execute complex analyses to ensure these are credible and accurate
• Identify go-to-market, thought-leadership and marketing opportunities to lead on, and take responsibility for taking these to clients
• Actively seek out leadership opportunities, take responsibility for a selection of internal processes, and generally act as a leader in the People CoE and an inspiration to more junior team members
• Take overarching responsibility that the firm's risk management frameworks are adhered to, by identifying and reviewing any key judgements – but also consulting with other senior staff members as appropriate
The Person
• Substantial experience working in a leading strategy consulting business, Big 4 firm or strategy / Corporate Development team in industry
• Strong foundational understanding of the People in M&A value drivers across different sectors– and clear view on how these sectors are likely to evolve going forward.
• Experience of leading mid-sized and large projects: designing work plans, team structures and then managing these to (i) excellent client output and (ii) strong project economics
o This should include an extensive coverage of recent M&A transactions, e.g. HR Due Diligence, VDD and M&A Strategy Integration or Separation projects.
• Ability to independently generate sales opportunities and maintain strong client relationships
• Initiating marketing and sales efforts, proposals, scopes and pricing for mid-sized and large consulting assignments
• Acting as the source of new business development initiatives and taking these from idea, through design and execution all the way to clients
• Ability to work effectively and collaboratively with team members and broader (internal and external) stakeholders
• Strong track record of building followership among more junior staff members
• Non-client facing roles in taking on internal responsibilities on topics like team management, technical tool insight, liaison with service suppliers etc
Technical skills:
• Strong academic track record
• Evidence of strong problem-solving & analytical capabilities
• Structured thinking skills combined with creativity
• Ability to evaluate complex challenges and deliver insightful recommendations that can be practically executed
• Ability review and assess large volumes of technical data and distil the key strategic insights – and the ability to guide a team through this process to focus on most important issues
• Strong numerical capabilities combined with sound commercial acumen
• Ability to build complex financial models that support our recommendations to clients
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Other language skills would be a strong bonus