HR Business Development Consultant

IBM; Armonk (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

International Business Machines Corporation seeks an HR Business Development Consultant to support global transactions—acquisitions, divestitures, outsourcing, and joint ventures. You will participate in deal teams and translate HR insights into actionable recommendations.

You will develop an understanding of IBM's portfolio strategy, work with Finance, Tax, Legal, and HR partners, and help drive integration planning and retention initiatives post-close.

Responsibilities

• Own or support defined HR workstreams for global transactions, coordinating deliverables, timelines, dependencies, decisions, and stakeholder inputs.
• Develop an understanding of IBM's business and growth strategy and the role acquisitions, divestitures, and other strategic transactions play in shaping IBM's portfolio.
• Build financial and business acumen and apply that understanding to workforce considerations, transaction analyses, business cases, and recommendations.
• Develop knowledge of IBM's Software, Consulting, and Sales businesses and consider their different business models, priorities, and workforce needs when supporting transactions.
• Analyze HR, workforce, financial, and transaction information to identify gaps, risks, trends, issues, and opportunities and develop recommendations.
• Partner across Corporate Development, Finance, Tax, Legal, Business Development, and HR to evaluate transaction considerations and support deal planning, negotiations, approvals, and execution.
• Support negotiations through analysis, scenario development, issue identification, preparation of materials, and assessment of potential alternatives.
• Conduct country- and employee-level analysis of compensation, benefits, employment terms and conditions, and other workforce considerations.
• Support compensation and equity analysis, including data validation, modeling, and implementation of approved treatment for acquisitions.
• Collect, validate, and consolidate HR costs, risks, assumptions, and resource requirements for deal business cases and HR integration budgets.
• Conduct retention analyses and support the design, approval, implementation, and administration of transaction-specific retention programs.
• Participate in due diligence by reviewing data, documenting findings, identifying potential HR risks, and coordinating follow-up actions.
• Develop analyses and materials for stakeholder discussions, negotiations, client engagements, and leadership reviews.
• Translate complex workforce, financial, and transaction data into clear insights and executive-ready recommendations.
• Coordinate with compensation, benefits, mobility, employee relations, labor relations, immigration, payroll, learning, and other HR subject-matter experts.
• Apply a global perspective and consider local cultural, labor-relations, regulatory, and employment-practice differences when developing recommendations.
• Develop and manage project plans for assigned HR integration or transition workstreams, including milestones, dependencies, risks, decisions, and actions.
• Support the development and execution of employee transition and communication plans in collaboration with the acquired organization, business HR, and transaction leadership.
• Track approved retention awards, expenditures, payment milestones, employee status, and program outcomes.
• Consolidate updates across HR functional areas for integration reviews and leadership reporting.
• Apply analytics, automation, and AI-enabled tools to improve transaction analysis, scenario modeling, reporting, project execution, and decision support.
• Contribute to the development and adoption of new analytics, automation, and AI-enabled solutions within HR Business Development, helping evolve how the organization manages and derives insights from transactions.
• Identify opportunities to simplify and improve HR Business Development processes, data quality, analytics, and employee experience.

Job description

The HR Business Development Consultant will support global business transactions, including acquisitions, divestitures, strategic outsourcing, outbound outsourcing, and joint ventures, as part of the HR Business Development organization.

This role offers the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of how M&A and other strategic transactions contribute to IBM's growth and portfolio strategy, while gaining exposure to the business, financial, people, and execution considerations that shape successful transactions.

Working as a member of cross-functional deal teams and under the guidance of experienced HR Business Development leaders, the consultant will independently manage assigned projects and HR workstreams. The role will combine business and financial acumen, analytics, problem solving, project management, negotiation support, and stakeholder management to address complex business and HR challenges.

The consultant will build an understanding of IBM's businesses, along with the external party's business, financial, and HR objectives, IBM's transaction objectives, and the proposed deal structure. This context will be used to evaluate HR implications, identify risks and opportunities, assess alternative approaches, and develop practical recommendations.

As part of the broader deal team, the consultant will collaborate with IBM business leaders, Corporate Development, Business Development, Finance, Tax, Legal, HR functions, external advisers, and other transaction stakeholders.

Following deal closure, the consultant may support employee communications, HR integration or transition activities, retention programs, and coordination across HR functional areas.

Responsibilities May Include

• Own or support defined HR workstreams for global transactions, coordinating deliverables, timelines, dependencies, decisions, and stakeholder inputs.
• Develop an understanding of IBM's business and growth strategy and the role acquisitions, divestitures, and other strategic transactions play in shaping IBM's portfolio.
• Build financial and business acumen and apply that understanding to workforce considerations, transaction analyses, business cases, and recommendations.
• Develop knowledge of IBM's Software, Consulting, and Sales businesses and consider their different business models, priorities, and workforce needs when supporting transactions.
• Analyze HR, workforce, financial, and transaction information to identify gaps, risks, trends, issues, and opportunities and develop recommendations.
• Partner across Corporate Development, Finance, Tax, Legal, Business Development, and HR to evaluate transaction considerations and support deal planning, negotiations, approvals, and execution.
• Support negotiations through analysis, scenario development, issue identification, preparation of materials, and assessment of potential alternatives.
• Conduct country- and employee-level analysis of compensation, benefits, employment terms and conditions, and other workforce considerations.
• Support compensation and equity analysis, including data validation, modeling, and implementation of approved treatment for acquisitions.
• Collect, validate, and consolidate HR costs, risks, assumptions, and resource requirements for deal business cases and HR integration budgets.
• Conduct retention analyses and support the design, approval, implementation, and administration of transaction-specific retention programs.
• Participate in due diligence by reviewing data, documenting findings, identifying potential HR risks, and coordinating follow-up actions.
• Develop analyses and materials for stakeholder discussions, negotiations, client engagements, and leadership reviews.
• Translate complex workforce, financial, and transaction data into clear insights and executive-ready recommendations.
• Coordinate with compensation, benefits, mobility, employee relations, labor relations, immigration, payroll, learning, and other HR subject-matter experts.
• Apply a global perspective and consider local cultural, labor-relations, regulatory, and employment-practice differences when developing recommendations.
• Develop and manage project plans for assigned HR integration or transition workstreams, including milestones, dependencies, risks, decisions, and actions.
• Support the development and execution of employee transition and communication plans in collaboration with the acquired organization, business HR, and transaction leadership.
• Track approved retention awards, expenditures, payment milestones, employee status, and program outcomes.
• Consolidate updates across HR functional areas for integration reviews and leadership reporting.
• Apply analytics, automation, and AI-enabled tools to improve transaction analysis, scenario modeling, reporting, project execution, and decision support.
• Contribute to the development and adoption of new analytics, automation, and AI-enabled solutions within HR Business Development, helping evolve how the organization manages and derives insights from transactions.
• Identify opportunities to simplify and improve HR Business Development processes, data quality, analytics, and employee experience.