Director of M&A and Corporate Development

• Location: Remote (United States). Approximately 10% to 15% travel for practice visits, seller meetings and closings
• Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
• Direct reports: Partnerships Manager and Partnerships Analyst

Employment type: Full-time, exempt.

Position Summary

Associated Veterinary Partners is in growth mode. We are a founder-led, well-funded acquirer of veterinary hospitals with close to ten practices under LOI today and a deep pipeline behind them. We were built by a former Carlyle Group investment professional and an entrepreneurial veterinarian, and our model is highly differentiated: we partner with doctors (co-ownership), preserve clinical autonomy, and structure every deal for the long term.

Today, the founders lead M&A department with support from the Partnership Manager and Partnership Analyst. We are hiring one person to own the function end to end: pipeline management, initial diligence and underwriting, LOI, confirmatory diligence, and closing. You will be the most senior person on M&A after the founders. This is a builder's seat with real ownership and a pipeline waiting for you.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

• Own the pipeline of record and the weekly M&A cadence. Instill a sense of urgency and ensure transactions are moving forward.
• Work closely with and mentor Partnership Manager and Partnership Analyst.
• Review deal workbooks for every opportunity, apply AVP's transaction review framework, and put a clear recommendation on price, structure and risk in front of the CEO and COO.
• Draft IOIs and LOIs and negotiate business terms with sellers and their advisors, including seller notes, partner-doctor buy-ins, earnouts, and other (e.g. real estate leases).
• Run diligence across financial, tax, legal, HR, licensing, real estate and systems, and manage outside counsel, accountants and other stakeholders to a timeline and a budget.
• Support the CEO on definitive agreements (issues list, business points, disclosure schedules) and own the closing: checklist, funds flow, entity setup, lender deliverables and board consents.
• Partner with the COO on partner-doctor employment agreements and buy-ins. Run the post-closing reconciliation and hand a clean file to operations and finance.
• Own the M&A section of board materials and support the CEO on investor, lender and capital planning work.
• Build the playbooks and use AI tools proactively so deals move faster with a lean team.
• Core competencies
• Valuation and Deal Modeling. Builds and defends the practice acquisition model: normalized EBITDA, DVM production, working capital, lease terms.
• Deal Structuring and Negotiation. Recommends price and structure (seller notes, buy-ins, earnouts, put and call mechanics, ), drafts IOIs and LOIs, and negotiates business terms with sellers and their advisors.
• Diligence Leadership and Risk Judgment. Runs diligence across financial, tax, legal, HR, licensing, real estate and systems. Proactively tackles problems and tries to find solutions before escalating to CEO or COO. Think critically, and come up with decision trees based on the nature of the issue at hand:: walk away, reprice, restructure or fix post-close.
• Transaction Execution and Process Discipline. Runs LOI to close as a project: third parties, timeline, budget, funds flow, closing deliverables, post-closing reconciliation. Uses AI tools to compress cycle time and builds playbooks so deals move without the CEO.
• Legal and Documentation Fluency. Reads purchase agreements, leases, employment agreements and seller notes closely enough to catch inconsistencies with the LOI and the model. Owns the issues list and disclosure schedules.
• Seller and Practice-Owner Relationship Management. Earns the trust of veterinarians who have spent decades building their practice. Plain talk, patience, fast honest answers, follow-through. Converts relationships into signed LOIs and keeps sellers engaged through close.
• Pipeline and Team Leadership. Directs the Partnerships Manager and Analyst, owns the pipeline of record and the weekly M&A meeting, sets expectations, reviews the work and raises the bar.
• Executive Communication and Board Materials. Writes deal memos, board consents and the M&A section of board materials that a sophisticated investor can read in five minutes and approve. Brings a recommendation and the reasoning.
• Experience
• 6 to 10 years of transaction experience across investment banking, private equity and corporate development, including at least two years in investment banking or private equity deal execution. Corporate development at a multi-site consolidator is strongly preferred.
• A record of closing lower middle market deals end to end. Healthcare services or veterinary experience preferred; other owner-operated, multi-site roll-ups are relevant.
• Self-directed and accountable. Practice owners see patients during the day, so seller calls run in the evening and closings run to the wire. In this role, hours and intensity will fluctuate. This is a deal role with deal hours, built for someone who wants ownership.
• Bachelor's degree required. MBA, CFA or CPA useful but not required.
• How this role works with the founders
• You own full cycle of execution: lead to LOI and LOI to close, including diligence and everything that comes with it. The CEO keeps final approval on price and structure and leads negotiation of definitive agreements with counsel. The COO owns partner-doctor relationships.