Assistant Manager - Mergers and Acquisition

The role’s purpose is to lead and support the identification, evaluation, and execution of mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and strategic investments across the Services portfolio. The role will play a key part in unlocking value, expanding capabilities, and accelerating growth across transport, academies, and adjacent service lines. This is a hands-on role requiring strong commercial acumen, financial modelling capability, and the ability to operate across both strategic and operational environments. Key responsibilities include identifying and developing M&A pipelines aligned with growth strategy, conducting market mapping across UAE, GCC, EU, and UK, and defining investment themes. Lead end-to-end deal execution—from screening, valuation, and due diligence to negotiation and coordination with stakeholders. Build financial models, assess synergy potential, and manage risk and capital allocation. Support post-acquisition integration and value realization, tracking performance against targets. Act as a key liaison between leadership, advisors, and target companies, fostering strong partnerships and supporting negotiations with a collaborative approach.

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Education, Management, or related field • Master’s degree or postgraduate qualification is desirable • PMP, PRINCE2, MSP or equivalent certification desirable • 3-5 years’ experience in M&A, corporate finance, private equity, or investment banking. • Strong financial modelling and valuation expertise. • Experience in services-based industries (transport, education, facilities, consumer services) is highly advantageous. • Proven ability to manage multiple transactions or workstreams simultaneously • Commercially astute with the ability to assess operational realities, not just financials • Strong communication and presentation skills, including Board-level materials • Advanced governance and risk management capability • Highly analytical, structured and detail-oriented • Proficiency in reporting tools and Microsoft Office suite