Lead Specialist, Corporate Development

Job Title: Lead Specialist (Sr. Associate / Manager), Corporate Development

Direct Reports: None

Location: London, UK; expected to be in the office 1-2x week

Company

Learning is the most powerful force for change in the world. More than 20,000 Pearson employees deliver our products and services in nearly 200 countries, all working towards a common purpose – to help everyone achieve their potential through learning. We combine world-class educational content and assessment, powered by services and technology, to enable more effective teaching and personalized learning at scale. We believe that wherever learning flourishes so do people.

The Department

Group Strategy and Corporate Development is a small, high-profile team reporting to the Chief Strategy Officer based across Pearson’s London and Hoboken, NJ offices. This team works hand-in-hand to drive all group strategy, strategic partnership, and M&A activity across the Pearson group. Within the department, our team – Corporate Development – is responsible for i) setting the M&A strategy and managing all acquisitions, disposals and corporate joint ventures (end-to-end) and ii) supporting on corporate finance matters (e.g. shareholder returns, defence & activism). We have a significant amount of exposure to the Pearson CEO, CFO and other Board directors, and we work very closely with the Pearson Executive team and senior management in all our business units, together with a small central Deal Operations team who drive integration and separation activities resulting from our transactions.

Main activities / responsibilities of role

This is an opportunity for you to work in a fast-paced environment and gain experience across a variety of transaction types and corporate finance projects. You are a self-starter and able to drive your tasks autonomously, however also a willing team player – working closely with our businesses to achieve shared goals. You will bring your existing transaction experience to the role – to solve deal problems and be accountable to drive projects to their conclusion.

• Working with the business units in evaluating potential acquisitions, disposals and corporate joint ventures – this includes reviewing the business case against Pearson’s strategy, building and reviewing valuation models and preparing the documentation to take the business case for approval at CEO/CFO level and eventually Board level (if required);

• Supporting on all elements of transaction execution, which include:

  • Leading on valuation and financial modelling;

  • Helping to manage the internal Pearson team and our advisors during a transaction process;

  • Writing approval papers for the Pearson Board and senior management;

  • Overseeing the due diligence process;

  • Interacting with a seller and their advisors or with a potential buyer and their advisors;

  • Providing support on reviewing and negotiating contracts and legal agreements; and

  • Representing Pearson in meetings with external stakeholders.

• Provide assistance on specific strategic analysis for the Board, CEO, CSO and CFO, for example, defence & activism planning, balance sheet strategy, including dividend and share buy-backs;

• Work closely with the wider Group Strategy and Corporate Development team ensuring Corporate Development input into our various strategic themes and projects.

Qualifications and experience required for the role:

• Candidates must have previous substantial (minimum 4-5 years) relevant experience gained working in an investment bank or M&A advisory firm, the corporate finance or strategy division of a large accounting or consulting firm, or within the M&A / strategy function of a multinational corporate organisation;

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant field, ideally in business, finance or accounting. Relevant advanced qualification (e.g. MBA, CFA) a plus;

• Deal transaction experience a must. Experience leading transactions from start to finish a plus;

• Able decision maker with strong commercial, analytical and business problem solving skills;

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (including strong writing skills);

• Ability to distil complicated information and detail into simple conclusions;

• Good understanding & experience with contracts law;

• Strong Project Management skills. Ability to handle a high volume of work in a short period of time as well as multiple priorities simultaneously is important;

• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint; and

• Prior experience in the education industry is helpful but not required.