Job Description

Benchmark International is now looking for an experienced and driven associate to serve as an Investment Banking Deal Associate. The Investment Banking Deal Associate will support their manager, the Senior  Associate (SA) or Transaction Director (TD), in closing mergers and acquisitions transactions and servicing the team’s portfolio of businesses for sale. Over time, the successful Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Associate should become the relationship holder with a select group of clients and assume direct responsibility for those clients, handling their sale process from the date of going on market through to the successful closing of their transaction. As a result, this is a heavily sales-oriented position requiring tested negotiating skills, empathy, client, portfolio, and personnel management expertise, and an understanding of mergers and acquisitions.

A significant portion of the workday will be spent communicating directly with potential acquirers and seller-clients. This is a frontline M&A role that requires speaking to multiple clients and potential buyers every day.

In addition to the TD, Senior Deal Associates (SDA’s) and Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Associate, the team consists of analysts who are supervised by the SDA’s, and a deal-preparation team that will handle the pre-market phases of clients’ engagements and be available to provide technical support to the TD and SDA’s as required later in the sale process.

The transaction teams are also supported by the members of the office’s Managing Partner and the company’s Central Support Team. The firm’s Executive Chairman, CEO, Quality Control Director, IT Director, and Marketing Director, among others, are on hand and regularly lend expertise to the teams.
Client origination, general firm marketing, and similar operational distractions are taken off the teams’ plates, keeping to Benchmark International’s model. This allows a more focused approach to operations and portfolio management. The teams’ obligations regarding each client commence with a signed engagement letter and detailed file, prepared by the separate Deal Origination Department, and continue through every aspect of the transaction (other than legal and accounting services) to the closing and collection of the resulting success fee.

Job Responsibilities

Success in this role will include a well-balanced approach to contributions in four distinct areas.

1. Manage a portfolio of businesses for sale.

• Work directly with business owners looking to exit their business or take on a strategic partner, at times serving as Benchmark International’s primary relationship manager with these clients.
• Ensure your team remains responsive to all client requirements including adequately prompt call-backs, perfectly-crafted correspondence, and compliance with our engagement letters.
• Maintain a detailed understanding of each assigned client.
• Take primary responsibility for the movement of assigned clients through the marketing phase up to the receipt of letters of intent from potential acquirers.
• Handle all client matters delegated by the Senior Associate or Transaction Director.

2. Close Transactions.

• After some time and demonstration of capabilities, directly handle the negotiations of assigned clients through to closing.
• After some time and demonstration of capabilities, handle discussions with assigned client concerning Benchmark International’s success fee and ensure timely collection of the same.

3. Manage and develop the team.

• Supervise analysts in their acquirer outreach efforts, NDA negotiations, and follow up efforts.
• Work with Senior Associate or Transaction Director to interview and hire replace analysts when necessary.
• Ensure your team operates in a respectful, professional, and nurturing environment.
• Distribute workload appropriately among your analysts.
• Allocate tasks to provide your analysts with new challenges, to maintain their engagement level, and to achieve high retention rates.

4. Contribute to corporate growth.

• Provide frontline input to process improvement efforts.
• Remain available on a short-term basis for discipline-specific projects, occasional major transaction engagements, and conference attendance.
• Participate in brand recognition events in the region and throughout the financial community.
• Contribute to office-wide and company-wide training efforts.

Job Requirements

As a leader in our organization, you must be an energetic and passionate individual with a positive and highly motivated can-do attitude. You must have the strong desire and ambition to succeed in this rewarding industry. It is also vital for your role as a Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Associate that you possess excellent analytical, mathematical, interpersonal, written and verbal communication, and negotiating skills, as well as presentation abilities.
The Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Associate is a client-facing role that must be able to convey bad news and deal with clients’ unique sensitivities, while keeping each client moving through the company sales process at a steady pace.
As each team member’s compensation is tied to the closings your team will generate, the team will look to you not only for leadership but also for their financial well-being.
Relevant experience will include two to five years working as an M&A professional (e.g., broker, investment banker, accountant, attorney) or a similar period of experience in roles centered on sales and/or direct client management.

The successful applicant must:

• Be able to work in the office 100% of the time as this is not a remote or hybrid position (professional business attire required)
• Understand the sequence of events in the company sale process.
• Have a firm understanding of financial statements, working capital analysis, and Adjusted EBITDA calculations, and the process of identifying and defending appropriate addbacks.
• Have a general knowledge of the legal parameters involved in M&A transactions.
• Possess the ability to learn the financial and market dynamics of new industries in relatively short periods.
• Communicate well verbally and in writing.
• Handle setbacks, having difficult conversations with business owners, negotiating against veteran professional acquirers, taking responsibility for process breakdowns even when not responsible, and fostering cooperation with client’s attorneys and accountants.
• Consistently present themselves in a professional manner in keeping with Benchmark International’s image (as shown, for example, on the company’s web site).
• Work outside normal business hours at times, whether early or late, as required by client schedules and expectations.
• Be available to travel for occasional overnight trips on short notice (rarely, if ever, longer than two days)
• Be able to obtain a real estate sales associate license within a designated time frame.
• Have no unfavorable history with FINRA, the SEC, or any state regulatory agency

Salary

The Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Associate's on-target compensation is set to exceed $100,000 in the first year. This consists of an annual salary in the range of $55,000 to $70,000 plus commissions equal to a percentage of company revenue obtained from closing transactions with an additional bonus for achieving the team's annual target.  On target earnings in the range of $83,000 to $130,000.

Benefits

All Benchmark International positions offer paid time off, standard holidays, birthday holiday, and community service days. Employees are eligible for highly competitive company-subsidized medical, dental, vision, and AD&D insurance; 401k with company matching; flexible spending and health savings accounts (FSA & HSA); and flexible dependent care assistance accounts.

Social Responsibility

Benchmark International is an active, contributing member of the communities in which we work. The company participates in significant charitable giving opportunities throughout the year. Many of the recipient charities have been identified by our individual employees as a result of their personal passion for supporting particular needs. In addition, each employee is encouraged to use two paid workdays per year to provide their labor and skills to the community.

About Benchmark International

Benchmark International is a global mergers and acquisitions firm dedicated to delivering creative, value-maximizing solutions for business owners seeking to grow or exit their companies. Recognized as the #1 Sell-side Privately Owned M&A Advisor in the World by PitchBook and Refinitiv and named Investment Banking Firm of the Year by both The M&A Advisor and the Global M&A Network, we are known for our award-winning process and world-class service.

Specializing in the sale of mid-market companies, our transaction teams operate from offices across the globe, representing clients in a wide variety of industries. Our unique, technology-driven approach connects sellers with the right acquirers—whether local or international—through a combination of proprietary databases, deep market insight, and strategic outreach.

We offer an exciting opportunity to be part of a high-performance team with global reach. Our culture is rooted in collaboration, innovation, and continuous growth. We believe in promoting from within and are actively looking for ambitious professionals ready to shape the next chapter of our success story.

Join us—and be part of the next generation of leaders redefining M&A excellence.

Unfortunately, Benchmark International is not in a position to sponsor work visas for candidates at this time.

Benchmark International provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other protected classification. Equal employment opportunity includes, but is not limited to, hiring, training, promotion, demotion, transfer, leaves of absence, and termination. The company takes allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation seriously, and will promptly investigate when such behavior is reported.

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