Director, Corporate Development

Upwork ($UPWK) is the world's work marketplace. We serve everyone from one-person startups to over 30% of the Fortune 100 with a powerful, trust-driven platform that enables companies and talent to work together in new ways that unlock their potential.
Last year, more than $3.3 billion of work was done through Upwork by skilled professionals who are gaining more control by finding work they are passionate about and innovating their careers.
As the Director, Corporate Development, you will play a critical role in contributing to the long-term growth at Upwork. Reporting into the Corporate Strategy organization, you will work closely with the Vice President, Corporate Strategy and the Leadership team on the company's most important initiatives. You will provide valuable insight and analysis which will be used to assess the strategic direction of the company and will help execute on this strategic vision. This will be a highly impactful position that will offer the opportunity to drive long-term value creation for the company.
Your Responsibilities:

• Develop competitive landscapes and drive ongoing assessment of market changes (provide insights to company)
• Research adjacent and new market opportunities, including opportunity/TAM sizing
• Own or assist with gap analysis
• Work closely with FP&A to align corporate strategy with our long range plans
• Ability to jump into C-level strategic initiatives and take on individual workstreams (either as individual contributor or as a driver with cross-functional teams)
• Key stakeholder in the incubation and ongoing vetting of the M&A pipeline, including ownership of the M&A tracker
• Project lead on running deeper diligence with potential targets to assess acquisition fit and alignment with investment thesis
• Core member on the Deal team as opportunities move to the execution and integration phases
• Assist in development of quantitative modeling, analyses, and presentation materials as required to support the M&A process

What it takes to catch our eye:

• 7 to 12 years of work experience, preferably in the Technology-related industry
• Quantitative undergraduate degree (Engineering, Math, Sciences, Business Administration) plus full-time MBA from Top Tier institutions
• Demonstrated track record of increasing levels of responsibility and scope of work in the career
• Prior roles that leveraged critical thinking (e.g., analyst, strategy consultant, design engineer, product management). Experience with financial analysis and modeling a plus.
• Must be a doer, not just an idea person
• Critical thinking, the ability to dissect a problem into a set of structured thinking workstreams
• Analytical, must be able to work quantitatively, with required acumen
• Highly inquisitive, ability to think out of the box when needed
• Highly collaborative
• Strong project management and cross-functional skills
• Strong initiative and accountability
• Able to work independently, self-starter
• Operationally minded
• Willingness to roll up sleeves and get dirty
• Strong verbal communication, especially across a dynamic hybrid work environment where virtual meetings are the norm. Ability to communicate effectively with cross-functional peers and to switch gears appropriately when presenting initiatives to the Executive team.
• Ability to succinctly summarize the issues, strong PowerPoint and Memo-style skills required
• Prior strategy or corporate development work in a tech company or coming from the traditional Analyst/Associate career path in management consulting or investment banking
• M&A transaction experience a plus (sourcing, pipeline development, assessment, execution)
• Technology Marketplace experience
• Familiarity with the Human capital management industry
• Domain familiarity in emerging technology segments (like FinTech, AI, Metaverse)

Come change how the world works.
At Upwork, you'll shape talent solutions for how the world works today. We are a remote-first organization working together to create exciting remote work opportunities for a global community of professionals. While we have physical offices in San Francisco and Chicago, currently we also support hiring of corporate full-time employees in 19 states in the United States. Please speak with a member of our recruitment team to determine whether you are located in a state in which we are hiring corporate full-time employees.
Our vibrant culture is built on shared values and our mission to create economic opportunities so that people have better lives. We foster amazing teams, put our community first, and have a bias toward action. We encourage everyone to bring their whole selves to work and grow together through development opportunities, mentorship, and employee resource groups. And oh yeah, we've also got amazing benefits - including medical insurance for you and your family, unlimited PTO, 401(k) with matching, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, and a generous Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Check out our Life at Upwork page to learn more about our benefits and the employee experience.
Check out our Life at Upwork page to learn more about the employee experience.
Upwork is proudly committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we never discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.
#LI-remote