Corporate Development Lead

Ajaia | AI Consultancy; Fort Lauderdale (FL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base salary + incentives

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

LaunchEd, an education-focused incubator and accelerator, seeks a Corporate Development Lead to drive financial evaluation and execution of strategic transactions across its portfolio. You will build models, structure investments, conduct due diligence, and guide deals from opportunity through closing.

This high-impact role requires leading negotiations with founders, investors, and counsel, plus coordinating cross-functional diligence and deal terms in a growing education ecosystem.

Qualifications

• 5-10 years of experience in investment banking, private equity, venture capital, corporate development, or a similar transaction-focused role.
• Strong financial modeling and valuation skills with experience analyzing complex business transactions.
• Experience supporting or leading acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, or other strategic transactions.
• Ability to translate complex financial structures into clear explanations for non-financial stakeholders.
• Experience working with legal and financial advisors during transaction execution.

Responsibilities

• Lead financial evaluation of investment opportunities incubator and accelerator participants.
• Build and maintain financial models to evaluate investments, acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships.
• Support decision-making with valuation frameworks and scenario analyses.
• Structure transactions including minority investments, majority acquisitions, recapitalizations, and joint ventures.
• Analyze complex financial arrangements and help leadership understand the risks, economics, and potential outcomes of proposed deals.
• Manage the end-to-end execution of transactions from initial evaluation to closing.
• Coordinate financial, operational, and market diligence for prospective investments or acquisitions.
• Work closely with legal counsel to help translate business terms into investment agreements and transaction documents.
• Participate in negotiations with founders, investors, and counterparties.
• Support the structuring and execution of special situations such as investor buyouts, recapitalizations, or strategic mergers.
• Evaluate strategic opportunities connected to the organization’s ecosystem, including potential acquisitions or partnerships that could strengthen the platform.
• Assist leadership in analyzing proprietary opportunities that arise within the education sector.
• Support the development of repeatable approaches for structuring investments as LaunchEd expands its portfolio.

Skills

Financial modeling

Valuation

Investment banking

Private equity

Corporate development

Due diligence

Negotiation

Stakeholder communication

Job description

Position Overview

LaunchEd is an education-focused incubator and accelerator created by RDI to identify, support, and scale innovative companies serving the PK-12 market. As our portfolio grows, we are expanding our investment capability to evaluate, structure, and execute investments, partnerships, and acquisitions that strengthen the education ecosystem.

As the Corporate Development Lead, you will lead the financial evaluation and execution of strategic transactions across LaunchEd’s portfolio. Working closely with the Founder/CEO and senior leadership, you will build financial models, structure investments and acquisitions, conduct due diligence, and guide transactions from initial opportunity through closing.

This is a high-impact role for an investment professional who enjoys combining analytical rigor with entrepreneurial thinking to help build and grow innovative education companies.

Key Responsibilities

Deal Structuring & Financial Analysis

• Lead financial evaluation of investment opportunities incubator and accelerator participants
• Build and maintain financial models to evaluate investments, acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships
• Support decision-making with valuation frameworks and scenario analyses
• Structure transactions including minority investments, majority acquisitions, recapitalizations, and joint ventures
• Analyze complex financial arrangements and help leadership understand the risks, economics, and potential outcomes of proposed deals

Transaction Leadership

• Manage the end-to-end execution of transactions from initial evaluation to closing
• Coordinate financial, operational, and market diligence for prospective investments or acquisitions
• Work closely with legal counsel to help translate business terms into investment agreements and transaction documents
• Participate in negotiations with founders, investors, and counterparties
• Support the structuring and execution of special situations such as investor buyouts, recapitalizations, or strategic mergers

Strategic Investment Support

• Evaluate strategic opportunities connected to the organization’s ecosystem, including potential acquisitions or partnerships that could strengthen the platform
• Assist RDI leadership and the founder/CEO in analyzing proprietary opportunities that arise within the education sector
• Support the development of repeatable approaches for structuring investments as LaunchEd continues to expand its portfolio of companies

Requirements

• 5-10 years of experience in investment banking, private equity, venture capital, corporate development, or a similar transaction-focused role
• Strong financial modeling and valuation skills with experience analyzing complex business transactions
• Experience supporting or leading acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, or other strategic transactions
• Ability to translate complex financial structures into clear explanations for non-financial stakeholders
• Experience working with legal and financial advisors during transaction execution

Personal Attributes

• Entrepreneurial mindset with interest in building a growing investment capability inside an innovation platform
• Strong analytical thinker with practical deal judgment
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity while structuring new types of transactions
• Collaborative and able to work closely with senior leadership on complex strategic decisions

Benefits

• Competitive base salary + performance incentives
• Professional development opportunities