Build and manage relationships with investment bankers, M&A advisors, brokers, founders, and corporate development teams to generate acquisition opportunities. Represent the company at frequent US conferences and events, conduct initial seller and advisor screenings, maintain the CRM pipeline, report on activity and conversion, and qualify opportunities for the investment team. The role requires independent territory management, strong networking, finance fundamentals, disciplined follow-up, and frequent travel.
The Role
The Business Development Associate is PartnerOne's face in the US market: you will build and maintain the relationships that bring acquisition opportunities to us. That means being on the road at industry conferences and investment banking events, staying close to intermediaries, founders and corporate development teams, and turning those relationships into a steady flow of qualified deals for the investment team.
You will run your own calendar and territory from day one and grow into owning a meaningful share of P1's origination. You will report to the senior deal team and work closely with them on screening and first conversations with targets.
Title: Business Development Associate
Location: United States, remote; frequent travel
Reports to: Senior deal team / Managing Partner
Employment type: Full-time
Key Responsibilities:
Conferences and events
- Represent P1 at software, M&A and industry conferences across the US (roughly 1–3 events per month)
- Plan each event in advance: target list of attendees, pre-booked meetings, follow-up plan
Relationship management
- Build and maintain relationships with investment bankers, M&A advisors, brokers and business owners in P1's target verticals
- Keep intermediaries current on P1's investment criteria so we see the right deals early
- Stay in regular contact with founders and corporate development teams of companies on our watch list, including those not yet for sale
- Nurture relationships over months and years, not just when a process is live
Deal origination
- Generate a steady flow of qualified acquisition opportunities: proprietary deals, carve-outs and banker-led processes
- Run first-screen conversations with sellers and advisors and gather the information the deal team needs to decide quickly
- Hand off qualified opportunities to the investment team and stay involved in early seller interactions
Pipeline and reporting
- Own the CRM: every contact, conversation and opportunity logged and current
- Report weekly on pipeline, conversion and relationship activity
- Help refine P1's outreach messaging, target lists and intermediary coverage based on what you learn in the market
Requirements
Qualifications:
Experience
- 2–5 years of professional experience in sales, business development, investment banking, private equity, corporate development or a related finance role
- A track record of building relationships that produced revenue or deal flow, and of hitting activity or pipeline targets
- Comfortable with the basics of finance: you can read a P&L, understand recurring revenue metrics and talk credibly about valuation with a banker or a founder
- Bachelor's degree in finance, economics, business or a related field, or equivalent experience
Skills
- Confident and credible in a room of bankers, founders and executives
- Clear, concise written communication; disciplined follow-up
- Organized: able to run a multi-event travel calendar and a CRM pipeline without being chased
- Able to qualify an opportunity quickly and explain to the deal team why it does or does not fit
Attributes
- Self-starter who is comfortable working independently and remotely, with a small team spread across time zones
- Genuinely enjoys networking and long-cycle relationship building
- Resilient: most conversations will not become deals, and that is fine
- Willing and able to travel frequently within the US
Nice to Have
- Existing network of software bankers, advisors or brokers
- Prior exposure to M&A: sell-side or buy-side processes
- Experience selling to or working in enterprise software or SaaS
- Experience with corporate carve-outs or divestiture processes
Benefits
Compensation
Salary between the range of $65,000 - $85,000 plus a performance bonus tied to qualified deal flow and closed transactions.
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