Associate, Corporate Development

Vela Software; West of England; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Vela Software seeks a top-performing business development professional to join the M&A deal origination team in the United Kingdom. You will source, qualify, nurture and manage a pipeline of acquisition opportunities across the EMEA region, balancing salesmanship with financial acumen to coordinate critical aspects of the transaction lifecycle in a C-level facing role.

The ideal candidate has a proven track record of beating targets in deal sourcing, with strong leadership and independent

Qualifications

• 1-2 years of relevant experience in enterprise or mid-market SaaS sales, corporate development, M&A sourcing, or business development.
• Proficiency in deal sourcing and cold outreach (cold-calling, e-mail, and other relevant outreach channels).
• Exceptional business sense, autonomous work style and independent thinking in a high-performance environment.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication with strong relationship-building skills.

Responsibilities

• Identify, engage, and qualify potential M&A targets aligning with strategic and financial criteria.
• Build and maintain relationships with CEOs, business owners, executives, brokers, PE & VC funds to nurture opportunities.
• Find new prospects in proprietary database.
• Track activities and maintain information in CRM.
• Review pre-diligence materials as needed.
• Assess target industry and competitive landscape to identify trends and opportunities.

Skills

Deal sourcing

Cold outreach

Relationship building

Communication

Independent thinker

Leadership

Job description

With over one hundred transactions in 2025, we’re looking for a top-performingbusiness development professional to join Vela’s M&A deal origination team.

This individual will be responsible for sourcing, qualifying, nurturing, and managing a pipeline of acquisition opportunities in the EMEA region.

The ideal candidate will balance salesmanship and drive for business development with the financial acumen to co-ordinate and facilitate critical aspects of the transaction lifecycle in a C-level facing role. They should have a record of surpassing targets in a deal sourcing environment with an entrepreneurial spirit and an independent thinker with strong leadership skills.

Core Responsibilities

• Identify, engage, and qualify potential M&A company targets and opportunities aligning with the group’s strategic and financial criteria.
• Establish, build, and maintain meaningful relationships with CEOs, business owners, senior executives, brokers, PE & VC funds, and other stakeholders to nurture M&A opportunities and help progress these through the deal pipeline.
• Find new prospects in our proprietary database.
• Track activities and maintain relevant information in CRM.

• Review pre-diligence materials on an as needed basis.
• Conduct assessments of target industry and competitive landscape, identifying key industry trends, emerging players, and associated opportunities for growth.

Qualifications

• 1-2 years of relevant experience in enterprise or mid-market SaaS sales, corporate development, M&A sourcing, or business development.
• Proficiency in deal sourcing and cold outreach (cold-calling, e-mail, and other relevant outreach channels).
• Exceptional business sense, inherent drive to work autonomously and think independently in a high-performance environment.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills with exemplary relationship and rapport building skills.
• Ability to speak additional languages (highly considered).
• Self-starter with an ability to takes ownership and initiative to drive projects to completion and a high degree of intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Solid understanding of company financial information and analysis of historical performance.
• Advanced time management, attention to detail, organizational, strategic thinking, and analytical skills.
• Adaptable and flexible, able to respond to changing work priorities, pressure, and demands.
• Experience in mining or industrial sector is considered an asset.
• Able to travel on an as needed basis.

Vela Software welcomes and encourages applications from people of all backgrounds. Please let us know what accommodation we can provide so that you can participate in all aspects of the interview process.