Associate, Corporate Development

About the role

You will lead due diligence across live transactions with cross-functional designated responsible individuals, organizing and meticulously maintaining the data rooms, scheduling diligence and debrief sessions, and drafting consolidated diligence reports. You will build initial operating models, trading comparables and precedent transactions, DCF and returns analyses, and accretion / dilution support to inform decision making. You will produce first-pass screening memos and company teardowns on inbound opportunities, synthesizing complex information into clear and concise narratives. You will support ownership of our venture investment portfolio, maintaining the deal-terms inventory covering ownership, instrument, pro-rata, information rights, and board or observer seats, while collecting quarterly portfolio-company KPI updates and tracking valuation marks with IRR and MOIC metrics. You will support the M&A cash obligations backbone with the rolling forecasts of deal-related cash outflows for consideration, holdbacks, and to earnouts, coordinating closely with FP&A and Treasury. You will prepare executive deal materials and Board pages, including supporting data analysis and visualizations for strategic review. Additional duties and responsibilities will be assigned as necessary to support the team and broader organization.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Lead due diligence across live transactions with cross-functional DRIs, organize and maintain the data rooms, schedule diligence and debrief sessions, and draft consolidated diligence reports.
• Build initial operating models, trading comparables and precedent transactions, DCF and returns analyses, and accretion / dilution support.
• Produce first-pass screening memos and company teardowns on inbound opportunities.
• Support ownership of our venture investment portfolio, maintaining the deal-terms inventory (ownership, instrument, pro-rata, information rights, board / observer seats), collecting quarterly portfolio-company KPI updates, and tracking valuation marks with IRR / MOIC per position.
• Support the M&A cash obligations backbone with the rolling forecasts of deal-related cash outflows (consideration, holdbacks, to earnouts) for FP&A and Treasury.
• Prepare executive deal materials, Board pages, to supporting data analysis.
• Liaise with legal, finance, and product teams to gather inputs, clarify assumptions, and ensure alignment on transaction hypotheses and strategic rationale.
• Conduct financial and commercial research to validate market size, customer behavior, and competitive dynamics in emerging sectors.
• Translate complex financial models and assumptions into clear narratives for internal and external stakeholders.
• Track deal flow metrics, pipeline health, and key milestones to support prioritization and resource allocation.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree (BA or BS) from a university in Business, Commerce, Finance, Actuarial Science, or a related field.
• 4+ years of experience at a leading investment bank, venture capital firm, private equity firm, management consultancy, or startup.
• Excellence in understanding and scrutinizing business models (financials, mechanics, quality) within a financial institution.
• Excellent financial modeling and valuation skills.
• Demonstrated problem solving skills, writing experience (deal memos), and storytelling skills on industry trends, implications, and pain points.
• Advanced Excel and experience with data analysis tools.
• Ability to work self-directed and fluidly across multiple live, high-priority transactions in parallel.
• Comfort with navigating incomplete information and making reasoned judgments in fast-paced environments.

Nice to have

• Proficiency with SQL.
• Strong network in crypto and/or traditional financial markets is a plus.
• Technical background or strong knowledge of industry software products and services.

Practical notes

There is no specified hours, travel, visa, or application deadline in the source job description. Applicants are permitted to redact or remove information on their resume that identifies age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution. We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. Payward is an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions, and unique perspectives, hiring based on merit, abilities, knowledge, and skills for the role.