Corporate Development Specialist

Harris Computer (‘’Harris’’) is an operating group of the second largest software company in Canada – Constellation Software – with over $80 billion market cap listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:CSU). We acquire, manage, and build mission-critical vertical market software (VMS) companies that are located all over the world. We have acquired over 800 companies across multiple industries including software used in healthcare, public safety, utilities and many more. We acquire small, medium and large sized companies from owner/operators as well as institutional and corporate shareholders and hold them forever, applying the best practices we have learned as seasoned acquirers of niche software companies.We are actively investing in the Australian and New Zealand markets and have an open position for a Corporate Development Specialist to join our growing team.The Corporate Development Specialist will work closely with our leadership team in Australia and New Zealand to grow our M&A activity in the region The successful candidate will play a key M&A origination role, which involves identifying and sourcing acquisition targets that align with Harris’ M&A mandate.The ideal candidate thrives in deal origination and targeted business development, with experience in pipeline and deal flow management. Our ideal candidate has a natural ability to build relationships with stakeholders of all seniority, including Founders and leaders at C-Suite levels. You have strong commercial acumen and your high degree of empathy enables you to truly understand a business owner’s exit drivers and motivations.These skills ensure you’re comfortable evaluating and presenting acquisition opportunities on behalf of Harris.This role can be based anywhere in Australia and is full time.About the Role:The Corporate Development Specialist will proactively reach out to business owners and management teams of vertical market software companies to build and manage relationships for our M&A team. This is a great opportunity to apply your corporate development skills towards capital deployment in an entrepreneurial environment. We are looking for deal origination driven individuals that are interested in software, M&A and are excited at the prospect of contributing to our growth through capital deployment.Initiate outbound prospecting calls and emails to connect with target companiesDevelop and build relationships with management teams and shareholdersTrack personalized outreach activities weekly and maintain meticulous record keeping in our CRMManage and grow our M&A CRM database by identifying small, medium, and large sized software companies that meet our acquisition criteriaAbout You:You have an interest in building a career in corporate development and M&A and have strong communication skills and a knack for building rapport with stakeholders. You are proactive, persistent, intelligent, and efficient. You enjoy finding ways to reach out to prospects and find it rewarding to connect with them to learn more about their businesses. You have the following attributes:Strong Work Ethic: Demonstrated ability to develop and manage a pipeline. Understanding that M&A prospecting is a balance between volume and precision that requires consistent effort.Entrepreneurial Attitude: Ability to work independently and connect the dots when speaking to business owners. Positive personality with a strong drive to succeed.Maturity: Ability to develop relationships with founders and senior executives that builds trust in our company and investment modelArticulate & Persuasive: Ability to think on your feet and pivot the conversation when necessary. Communicates in a professional, confident, and convincing mannerTechnical Financial Acumen: You have a basic understanding of corporate finance, valuations and accounting principles and can use your skills to assess investment opportunities.