Corporate Development Associate

In the Corporate Development Associate role, on the highly visible Corporate Development team, you will work as part of a project team and partner with senior leaders to identify, develop, evaluate, prioritize, and deliver strategic transactions across the organization, as well as solve complex problems and develop the long-range plans for Guardian.

The group is responsible for working with the businesses to develop inorganic strategic theses, and identify, source, assess, develop, and implement M&A, venture and other enterprise and business partnerships, as well as manage and optimize these transactions and relationships.

You will have the opportunity to work on a range of high-priority projects spanning across strategy, M&A transactions, venture capital, and strategic execution, with a focus on supporting transaction, venture capital and other partnership opportunities.

Venture, partnership, and M&A transactions : Manage the execution of venture, acquisition, disposition, and partnership transactions on behalf of Guardian, including industry research, profiling of targets, assessment of specific opportunities, supporting due diligence, performing financial analysis / evaluation, and preparing PowerPoint decks for internal executives.

Emphasis will be on transaction support of a variety of M&A, venture capital and other partnership efforts, including identifying, investing, and operationalizing early-stage technology companies with strategic relevance to Guardian’s businesses.

Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to support transactions and post-closing deal integration. Oversee proof-of-concept initiatives with portfolio companies and help scale those initiatives working directly with various businesses to maximize impact.

• Innovation / new initiative incubation : In collaboration with business areas, assess and develop business cases for new ideas driving innovation, partnerships, and other areas of investment outside of BAU and incubate initial development and execution of innovation initiatives.
• Execution of cross-cutting strategic initiatives : Identify, frame and implement specific cross-cutting strategic initiatives that are critical to the success of Guardian’s overall strategy.

Support in managing the business performance of executed initiatives e.g. implement and management processes to monitor business performance, develop and monitor metrics and goals for business areas aligned with strategic plan, and support decision framework to allocate and re-prioritize resources as required to achieve vision & strategy.

To successfully deliver the projects and / or workstreams, you will :

• Research, identify, and source new deal flow based on investment mandates.
• Work collaboratively and cross-functionally to identify and analyze possible acquisitions and divestitures to drive recommendations and to project financial impact on the company's portfolio and capabilities, including drafting comprehensive investment memorandums to recommend transactions and concise documents and communications for senior management.
• Provide support to deal origination efforts, including market research, competitive analysis, and financial modeling, including modeling pro forma scenarios associated with potential acquisitions and divestitures, including cash flow and return analysis.
• Participate in the reporting of current and / or prospective strategic investments, including but not limited to, meeting with management teams and industry experts to source new ideas and developing a detailed understanding of early-stage company financial performance (e.

g., navigating financial documents, assessing early trends, determining product / market fit, analyzing cash flows, etc.).

Engage with partners across the organization including business, finance, legal, tax and accounting teams to ensure transaction opportunity assessments and pre-close efforts are comprehensive and align to transaction standard methodologies.

You are

• Proactive, resourceful, impact oriented, and an excellent problem solver who can identify issues and perform analysis.
• Strong interpersonal skills, maturity, and judgment with the ability to navigate relationships up and down the organization.
• An effective communicator (both oral and written) and work well in cross-functional teams.
• A self-starter who can work independently and prioritize across multiple tasks.
• Organized with strong attention to detail and able to coordinate and lead complex workstreams.
• Passionate about innovation in financial services, insurance, and / or technology.

You have

• Bachelor’s Degree from a top institution with strong academic performance and demonstrated leadership ability required. MBA preferred.
• 5 + years’ experience working in M&A, venture capital, private equity, investment banking, or an internal corporate development function.
• Experience with financial services, a plus but not required.
• Proven deal experience.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and strong Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint skills.
• Knowledge of and experience with venture investment, M&A practices, and processes, including venture capital, M&A, private equity, due diligence, post-closing deal integration, transaction structuring, restructuring, strategy formulation.
• Strong financial modeling skill : proven ability to build models from scratch and modify models crafted by others.
• Ability to influence while building trust and consensus among multiple collaborators / cross functional teams with competing interests.
• Experience handling ambiguity with high visibility enterprise initiatives and an ability to build a framework / path to craft the direction of initiatives.
• Familiarity with the financial services industry, including banks, insurance carriers and distributors, asset and wealth managers, broker-dealers and financial technology companies.
• Experience managing complex projects and / or timelines.
• Ability to collaborate and develop positive relationships across multiple functions and businesses.

You will

• Be exposed to and influence the agendas of Guardian senior executives.
• Develop expertise in a variety of functions and businesses.
• Gain exposure to other roles and lines of business in the company.
• Be mentored and coached by experienced leaders on strategy, transactions, problem solving, analytical, communications and leadership skills.

Location

This is a hybrid position requiring 3 days a week in Guardian’s Hudson Yards, NY office.

Salary Range

$114,080.00 - $187,415.00

The salary range reflected above is a good faith estimate of base pay for the primary location of the position. The salary for this position ultimately will be determined based on the education, experience, knowledge, and abilities of the successful candidate.

In addition to salary, this role may also be eligible for annual, sales, or other incentive compensation.

Our Promise

At Guardian, you’ll have the support and flexibility to achieve your professional and personal goals. Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.

Inspire Well-Being

As part of Guardian’s Purpose to inspire well-being we are committed to offering contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources to our colleagues.

Health Care

Choice of high deductible / copay medical plans* with prescription drugs, including coverage for fertility and transgender inclusive benefits

Dental plan

Vision plan

Health care accounts flexible spending, health reimbursement, and health savings accounts

Critical illness insurance

Life and Disability Insurance

Company-paid Life and Disability insurance plus voluntary supplemental coverage

Accident insurance

Retirement and Financial

401(k) retirement plan with a company match, plus an annual age / service-based Company contribution and an annual profit-sharing contribution, if applicable

Complimentary 1 : 1 financial guidance with a licensed Fidelity representative

Time Off and Remote Work

Flexible work arrangements (part in-person / part remote)

Unlimited paid time off for most roles plus time off for volunteering, jury duty, voting, and bereavement

Personal holidays for colleagues to use in recognition of religious, cultural, or civic days

Paid parental leave and paid family and medical leave policies

Emotional Well-being and Work-Life

Emotional well-being, mental health, and work / life resources powered by Spring Health

Wellness programs, including fitness program and equipment reimbursement

Child, adult, and elder back-up care support through Bright Horizons

Adoption assistance

College planning

Tuition reimbursement

Student loan assistance

Commuter benefits in select metropolitan areas

Benefits apply to full-time eligible employees. Interns are not eligible for most Company benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Accommodations

Guardian is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities.

Guardian also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants (and employees) to accommodate the individual's known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship.

If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and / or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact .