Senior Manager, M&A Transactions

Role Summary

Senior Manager, M&A Transactions will be fully responsible for end-to-end execution of small (<$200 million MAL value) scale acquisitions and divestments at Novartis and supporting more senior M&A Transaction leads on larger scale deals. The role plays a key part in the assessment and execution of acquisition opportunities to secure external innovation and drive future revenue growth by leading cross-functional teams to inform material capital allocation decisions. Location options include Cambridge, MA; East Hanover, NJ; or Basel, Switzerland. If based in Europe please apply via REQ-10072103.

Responsibilities

• Deal strategy and execution
  • Once an opportunity has been identified and triage is completed by S&E (Search & Evaluation), outline a deal strategy (game plan), including a timeline to signing, governance planning, gating diligence items, bidding strategy, and an engagement plan with the target company.
  • Shape and secure non-binding offer and ultimately binding offer terms in collaboration with M&A Finance, DD (Due Diligence), M&A Legal, M&A Tax, and other relevant line functions within Biomedical Research (BR), Development, TAS, US and International as needed.
  • Build and manage high-performing teams on a deal-by-deal basis, ensuring appropriate level of seniority and cross-functional representation to enable consistently high-quality decision-making at the ECN (Executive Committee) and BoD (Board of Directors) level.
• Risk and value assessment
  • In collaboration with DD head, launch and govern a VDR (Virtual Data Room) based diligence, ensuring target company is disclosing all relevant information and Novartis internal experts are reviewing all relevant information.
  • Coordinate relevant business case inputs and ensure appropriate review from relevant TAL (Therapy Area Leadership) members and ECN members.
  • Incorporate findings from diligence into the risk and value assessment and solicit support from third parties in the diligence process as needed to inform the assessment and recommendation.
• Review and negotiation of definitive documentation
  • Primary counterpart to M&A legal to solicit business input on transaction documents.
  • Soliciting input across functions and ensuring transaction documents secure Novartis interests while balancing risk and reward for the partner.
• Governance orchestration
  • Prepare decision-making framework for ECN DC and BoD, ensuring consistent approach to risk and value assessment of an opportunity.
  • Choreograph compressed / ad-hoc governance calendars to secure approvals in competitive processes and maintain pre-read hygiene.
  • Integrate PSB, R&D LT, and Commercial Review session outputs into ECN DC and BoD materials.
• Approval-to-closing diligence process
  • Review of all new information shared by the counterparty or as it relates to the target asset(s) profile from approval until signing and again from signing until closing.
  • Ensure all new information is adequately reviewed by relevant line functions with escalation to C&BD management and relevant ECN members as appropriate.
  • Key partner to integration function post-signing to ensure knowledge transfer and strategic value drivers of the deal are prioritized in the integration planning process.

A Senior Manager M&A Transactions is a key contributor to supporting portfolio-shaping transactions, ensuring compliance and risk mitigation, orchestrating cross-functional execution, and enabling organizational readiness for integration or separation.

Qualifications

• Required: 2+ years’ experience in leading end-to-end M&A deals across a variety of deal types, including acquisitions, divestments, joint ventures, licensing, and partnerships across multiple geographies.
• Required: Thorough understanding of corporate strategy with ability to align deals with enterprise growth objectives and portfolio priorities.
• Required: Strong financial background with a solid understanding of financial modelling, scenario planning and synergy assessment.
• Required: Skilled in identifying and mitigating strategic, financial and operational risks.
• Required: Understanding of legal frameworks for licensing and acquisition deals, and a thorough understanding of antitrust and regulatory processes as it relates to document creation and competition law.
• Required: Ability to lead cross-functional teams with influence and drive large multi-disciplinary teams to achieve common objectives and goal.
• Required: Ability to work under pressure and tight timelines while maintaining a collaborative spirit and high communication skills.

Education

• Bachelor's degree required, ideally with a business, finance, or life-science focus. Master’s degree or equivalent preferrable.