Director Finance

Ascend Learning; Burlington (MA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible PTO

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) matching

Parental leave

Wellness resources

Charitable matching program

On-site workout facilities

Job summary

Ascend Learning seeks a seasoned Director Finance M&A to lead financial analysis, planning, and execution of M&A and business development transactions. You will partner with the CFO, M&A Leader, CEO and senior leaders, and coordinate with FP&A and legal during deal execution in a private equity context.

The role offers hybrid work from our Burlington, MA office with significant interaction across Ascend's leadership and shareholders.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of public accounting, corporate finance, corporate development, or related experience.
• Degree in Accounting or Finance;Masters preferred.
• Strong quantitative skills, financial modeling, and accounting comprehension.
• Proven ability to participate in and lead M&A due diligence activities.
• Regular interaction with senior executives and leaders; communicates complex metrics clearly.
• Advanced expertise with Excel and PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate and quantify value of M&A, investment, and business development opportunities.
• Build financial models and identify risks, opportunities, and synergies.
• Perform scenario and sensitivity analyses for transaction outcomes.
• Lead negotiations and provide quantitative analysis for deal execution (LBO, DCF, accretion/dilution).
• Collaborate with corporate development and legal during deal execution.
• Oversee due diligence with FP&A and controllers; develop exec-level presentations.
• Provide proactive insights into business drivers and forecasts; build domain knowledge.
• Support cross-functional teams in evaluation, execution, and integration of targets.

Skills

Public accounting

Corporate finance

M&A due diligence

Financial modeling

Excel

PowerPoint

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor's in Accounting or Finance

Masters preferred

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

We Impact Lives Through Purpose-Driven Work in A People First Culture

Ascend Learning is the connection between a powerful portfolio of brands serving students, educators, and employers with outcomes-based, data driven solutions across the lifecycle of learning.

Our values-driven culture unifies our teams and inspires a mindset of action, innovation, and collaboration, with a relentless focus on customers.

We're always looking for talented, passionate professionals to join us in our mission to help change lives. If this sounds like an environment where you'd thrive, read on to learn more.

Ascend Learning leads the way in innovation and solution creation to improve outcomes and deliver results for students, educators, and healthcare workers in the ever-changing field of healthcare. We offer advanced resources that drive nursing success, empower front-line certified allied health workers, help physicians pass boards and stay current, and provide education management tools for medical education programs.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

As a Director Finance M&A, you will lead the financial analysis, planning, and execution of M&A and business development transactions and participate in key strategic planning activities. You will develop strong partnerships with the CFO, M&A Leader, CEO and other key SLT members in addition to integrating with the Controller and Corporate FP&A leader to support the acquisitions process. You will also have significant exposure to business leaders across Ascend. This role offers a unique opportunity to work in a private equity setting and have significant interaction with key shareholders at Blackstone and The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board. The ideal candidate will have significant M&A transaction analysis and integration experience and be interested in transactions as well as key strategic projects.

WHERE YOU'LL WORK

This position will work a hybrid schedule from our Burlington MA office.

HOW YOU'LL SPEND YOUR TIME

• Evaluate, assess and quantify the value of M&A, investment and business development opportunities
• Work cross-functionally to create financial models and identify key risks and opportunities including any relevant synergies
• Perform scenario and sensitivity analysis to evaluate various outcomes of a transaction based on identified risks and opportunities
• Identify and evaluate the key drivers of transaction/partnership success - assess risk, advise structure, present alternatives across financial and non-financial parameters
• Provide robust quantitative analysis in support of negotiations and deal execution - LBO returns, discounted cash flow, accretion/dilution analysis, comparable company, and precedent acquisition analyses
• Work closely with corporate development and legal during deal execution including negotiations and document review
• Lead financial due diligence efforts in partnership with Controller, FP&A leader and other key finance team members.
• Develop executive-level materials for CFO, Corporate Development and other senior executives
• Lead quantitative analysis to provide proactive insight into business drivers and financial forecasts and results
• Build strong knowledge of Ascend's business through constant communication with partners across finance and corporate strategy
• Support internal cross-functional deals team towards successful evaluation, analysis, execution, and integration of targets and partners

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• 10+ years of previous public accounting, corporate finance, corporate development, or other relevant business experience
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance, Masters preferred
• Strong quantitative skills, financial acumen, financial modeling, and accounting comprehension
• Demonstrated ability to participate in and lead partner and M&A due diligence activities
• Demonstrated ability to interface with multi-disciplinary teams and senior leadership - this position will have regular interaction with senior executives and functional leaders
• Outstanding ability to analyze and articulate complex sets of metrics into a clear written analysis
• Advanced expertise with Excel and PowerPoint

BENEFITS

• Flexible and generous paid time off
• Competitive medical, dental, vision and life insurance
• 401(k) employer matching program
• Parental leave
• Wellness resources
• Charitable matching programOn-site workout facilities (Leawood, Gilbert, Burlington)
• Community outreach groups

Fostering A Sense of Belonging

We seek out and celebrate all people and perspectives and cultivate an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive, feel valued and be their authentic selves. Our culture is firmly rooted in the belief that by embracing our differences and drawing on diverse perspectives, we are a stronger, more innovative, and more successful organization where employees experience a sense of belonging.

About Ascend Learning

As a tech-enabled services company, Ascend Learning is a national leader in developing and delivering data-driven online educational content, software, assessments, analytics, and simulations serving institutions, students and employers across healthcare, fitness and wellness, public and workplace safety, skilled trades, insurance, financial services, cybersecurity, and higher education. We're committed to accelerating the learning pathways that can move people into careers where they have the knowledge and skills to have an impact and help change lives in the communities they serve. Headquartered in Burlington, MA with additional office locations and hybrid and remote workers in cities across the U.S., Ascend Learning was recognized by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group as one of America's 2023 Greatest Workplaces for Diversity.

Ascend Learning, LLC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer (M/F/Vets/Disabled). No agency or search firm submissions will be accepted. Applications for U.S. based positions with Ascend Learning, LLC must be legally authorized to work in the United States and verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.