Value Creation Advisory - Associate Director

Alternatively, Grant Thornton

At Grant Thornton we do things differently - looking to the future, driving ambitious growth and pioneering positive change in our industry. Providing audit, tax and advisory services, we empower clients through strategic insight, curiosity, and genuine partnership. And we empower our people with real opportunity, an inclusive culture and work life balance. A true alternative.

With over 5,000 people in the UK, and a presence in 150 global markets, we're on an ambitious journey, from great to exceptional, and we need the best people to help us achieve our potential. And with that comes the opportunity to help redefine what our industry looks like, and what you want from your career.

Job Description:

Associate Director, Integration and Value Creation

Alternatively, Grant Thornton

At Grant Thornton we do things differently, looking to the future, driving ambitious growth and pioneering positive change in our industry. Providing audit, tax and advisory services, we empower clients through strategic insight, curiosity and genuine partnership. And we empower our people with real opportunity, an inclusive culture and work life balance. A true alternative.

With over 5,000 people in the UK, and a presence in 150 global markets, we’re on an ambitious journey, from great to exceptional, with investor backing from our partner Cinven. We need the best people to help us achieve our potential. And with that comes the opportunity to help redefine what our industry looks like, and what you want from your career.

New ground won’t break itself.

Our Value Creation Advisory (VCA) team advises clients on how to increase the value from transactions, focused on business operations and working both pre-deal and post-deal. Integration is at the heart of what we do. We help clients plan and deliver merger integration that delivers sustainable value, from synergy assessment and operating model design, through to execution and benefits realisation. We pride ourselves on being highly practical, pragmatic and totally focused on what will make a difference for our clients. Every deal is different, and our approach and agility reflects that.

Our clients include public companies, privately held businesses and private equity investors. Alongside integration, we support clients undertaking carve-out transactions (both sellers and acquirers) and other initiatives that enhance EBITDA, including operating model changes that deliver cost efficiencies and support revenue growth. The goal is always to maximise transaction value at the point of investment, during ownership or on exit.

We work very closely with other Grant Thornton teams in the UK and internationally. These include specialists in technology, financial due diligence, corporate finance, tax, sale and purchase agreement advisory, financial modelling, financial reporting, restructuring and many more. Something which really sets us apart is how we combine the expertise at our disposal to form single client teams based on what our clients need, both in the UK and internationally.

A look into the role

As an Associate Director within the Value Creation Advisory team, you will:

• Lead smaller projects and play a key role on larger projects: integration, carve-out or other value creation engagements .

• Lead day-to-day client work for a range of project sizes, including devising and leading client meetings, undertaking analysis, preparing high-quality client deliverables and managing commercials and risk. You’ll work alone on some of our smaller projects and lead small teams on larger ones.

• Interpret and analyse a large volume of complex information, and identify and articulate the issues which are most important in the context of our work.

• Contribute to a positive team working environment, working effectively and enthusiastically with other Grant Thornton people, our clients and other parties. You’ll show leadership and always be prepared to get involved.

• Prepare sales proposals and pitches and support wider sales efforts, particularly working with Directors and Partners. You’ll have a track record of proactively building internal and external networks to generate opportunities through the qualification of leads, and will continue to do this at Grant Thornton.

• Support the wider team, particularly more junior colleagues, to learn and develop. You may also be a people manager for more junior colleagues.

• Assist the Directors and Partners with the day-to-day running of the VCA practice, leading internal initiatives and providing an appropriate level of delegation and support to other team members.

Knowing you’re right for us

Joining us as an Associate Director, the minimum criteria you’ll need to have are:

• Significant experience of delivering or leading post-merger integration, including synergy assessment, target operating model design and implementation including Integration Management Office (IMO), in an advisory context. In-house experience, in addition to advisory experience, would be beneficial, but is not essential.

• Experience in at least one other area of our work: carve-outs (including in a due diligence capacity) or wider value creation, such as defining and implementing revenue growth and cost reduction initiatives.

• Experience of leading small teams in complex, fast-paced environments.

• Extensive experience of preparing and reviewing high-quality written reports, Excel analysis and presentations. You will have very high attention to detail.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to tailor and adapt your style for different stakeholders and audiences.

• Project management and/or change management and/or transformation skills.

• Strong analytical skills.

• Excellent Microsoft Office skills, particularly PowerPoint and Excel.

• Flexibility to travel in the UK and internationally based on client requirements.

• Experience in the use of AI tools in the delivery of your work, while maintaining your judgement and the benefit of your extensive experience.

It would be great if you had some of the following skills, but don’t worry if you don’t tick every box. We’ll help you develop along the way.

• Foreign language skills.

• An accountancy or other finance qualification.

Knowing we’re right for you

Embracing uniqueness, the culture at Grant Thornton thrives on the contributions of all our people. We never settle for what is easy; we look beyond to deliver the right thing, for everyone. Building an inclusive culture, where we value difference and respect our colleagues, helps our people to perform at the best of their ability and realise their potential.

Our open and accessible culture means you’ll interact with leaders who are interested in you and everything you bring to our firm. The things that set you apart, we value them. That’s why we give you the freedom to bring your whole self to work and pursue your passions inside and outside of work.

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