M&A Director - Pre-Deal Carve-Out & ODD in City of London

The Opportunity

Our client is a growing Deal Advisory business supporting Private Equity funds, corporate acquirers and portfolio companies on complex transactions. They are seeking an experienced Pre-Deal Carve-Out & Operational Due Diligence professional to advise clients on carve-out transactions, separation complexity assessments and standalone viability during the transaction lifecycle. The successful candidate will lead operational diligence engagements, helping investors and corporate clients understand the risks, opportunities, costs and execution challenges associated with carve-outs, divestitures and standalone businesses before a transaction is completed. This role sits firmly within the pre-deal advisory environment, providing strategic and operational insight to support investment decisions, valuation discussions and transaction structuring.

Key Responsibilities

• Operational Due Diligence
  • Lead operational due diligence workstreams across carve-out and separation transactions.
  • Assess operating model effectiveness, organisational structures and operational performance.
  • Evaluate management capability, operational resilience and scalability.
  • Identify key operational risks, value creation opportunities and execution considerations.
  • Develop operational diligence reports for investors, lenders and corporate stakeholders.
• Carve-Out Readiness Assessment
  • Assess the feasibility of proposed carve-outs and business separations.
  • Determine standalone viability of target businesses.
  • Identify operational dependencies across shared functions, systems and infrastructure.
  • Evaluate separation complexity across people, process, technology, facilities and governance.
  • Assess potential stranded costs, dis-synergies and separation risks.
• Transaction Support
  • Support clients in understanding how carve-out considerations impact valuation and deal structure.
  • Provide input into investment committee papers and acquisition recommendations.
  • Assess TSA requirements and dependency risks from a buyer and seller perspective.
  • Support management presentations and diligence discussions.
• Value Creation Assessment
  • Identify operational improvement opportunities pre-acquisition.
  • Assess operating model optimisation opportunities.
  • Evaluate procurement, supply chain, organisational effectiveness and cost-reduction initiatives.
  • Support development of investment theses and value creation plans.
• Client Leadership
  • Lead management interviews and operational workstreams.
  • Present findings to Private Equity investors, Boards and executive teams.
  • Manage junior team members and coordinate cross-functional diligence activities.
  • Support business development, proposals and thought leadership initiatives.

Candidate Profile

Experience
We are particularly interested in individuals from:

• Big Four Deals / Transaction Services practices
• Strategy Consulting firms with ODD capability
• Alvarez & Marsal
• FTI Consulting
• Kearney
• EY-Parthenon
• LEK Consulting
• Bain & Company
• Strategy&
• Operational Due Diligence boutiques
• Corporate M&A / Corporate Development environments

Requirements
7–15+ years of experience within M&A, Operational Due Diligence or Deal Advisory. Demonstrable experience supporting carve-out, divestment or separation transactions. Strong understanding of standalone business assessments. Experience evaluating separation complexity and operational dependencies. Knowledge of TSA requirements and carve-out considerations. Experience working with Private Equity investors and deal teams. Strong financial and commercial acumen. Ability to present complex operational findings to senior stakeholders.

What They Are Looking For
This is not an integration or post-deal execution role. The ideal candidate will be capable of answering critical pre-deal questions including:

• Can this business operate successfully as a standalone entity?
• What will the buyer need to replicate or replace?
• What operational dependencies exist on the parent organisation?
• What are the likely separation costs and risks?
• How complex will the carve-out be?
• Which operational issues could impact valuation or deal structure?
• Where are the key value creation opportunities post-acquisition?

Ideal Candidate
A commercially minded M&A professional who combines strong operational diligence capability with practical carve-out experience. You will have advised Private Equity investors or corporate clients on transactions where understanding standalone viability, separation complexity and operational risk were critical to the investment decision, rather than being primarily focused on post-deal integration or execution.