Director, Turnaround & Restructuring And Performance Improvement

Meet the Company:

We are MERU. A values-driven, impact-oriented team dedicated to fixing companies. We provide advisory services and data analytics support to middle-market companies ($50M - $2B in annual sales), and our clients include private equity firms, credit funds, investment banks, and law firms. We bring deep turnaround experience, a group of veteran operators, and an incentive-aligned approach to any situation. MERU was founded by professionals from Alvarez & Marsal and McKinsey and has seen rapid growth in the five-plus years since its founding.

The MERU Way & Valuing Our Team:

We're Partners, not consultants. When you join MERU, you will help our clients solve their most pressing problems, supported by a team of people who will challenge you, support you, and inspire you.

In order to be Partners, we don't silo people into just one functional area of the business, instead advancing our team's capabilities by providing training for every service that MERU offers. Additionally, we don't just focus on technical skills but also leadership style and soft skills, so MERU team members not only know what it means to manage a client engagement but to lead a team to success. In training team members to be well-rounded individuals, we can deliver an overall higher impact to clients, allowing each individual the ability to gain experience in diligence, turnarounds, interim management, data science, and more.

To aid this career advancement and development, MERU provides an internal Coach to each team member in order to guide and maintain their professional development plan goals. Unlike most Firms, we actually focus on the achievement of those goals for each individual team member, providing opportunities that would not usually be offered.

Finally, MERU values personal time, only traveling when necessary, in order to celebrate and respect your personal life. We believe that by encouraging and mandating balance, it will lead to happier and longer-tenured team members.

When you come to MERU, you come to further your career and maintain your entrepreneurial spirit, never losing sight of the desire to provide meaningful impact, solutions, and value to clients. Learn more about our colleagues’ core characteristics and culture here: https://wearemeru.com/meru-way/

Responsibilities for a MERU Director:

• Leads the development of complex analyses and performance improvement implementation plans
• Works collaboratively with MERU’s subject matter experts to identify and quantify performance improvement opportunities
• Mentors 1-2 junior colleagues
• Oversees multiple workstreams, helping to establish priorities, drives timely completion of deliverables, and leads problem-solving sessions
• Supports Partners and attends pitches as required
• Authors presentations of final deliverables, including Board decks, Lender decks, and MERU summary of findings
• Supervises the development of a 13-week cash flow forecast and 3-statement financial models (income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement)
• Assists in managing the development of Firm Contribution areas, such as Recruiting, Professional Development, Marketing, etc.
• Develops strong relationships with clients (executive, senior, and mid-level personnel) and act as their day-to-day resource on engagements

Role Qualifications for a MERU Director:

• 5-7 years of experience in a directly relevant role with an MBA, or 6–10 years of experience with no MBA
• Experience must include at least 1 year of managing teams through projects in a role similar to titles such as Engagement Manager / Director / Project Leader
• Confident and efficient speaker, presenter, and business writer
• Deep finance/accounting background, including prior experience in public accounting or transaction advisory
• Highly proficient in Microsoft Office (specifically Excel and PowerPoint)
• Ability to travel (<20-50%) based on client and business needs
• Ability to work full time in an office and remote environment; physically able to sit/stand at a computer and work in front of a computer screen for significant portions of the workday
• A collaborative team player who can excel in a fast-paced, challenging work environment
• Commitment to living MERU’s values and core characteristics
• Demonstrated history of anticipating problems before they occur and flagging potential issues
• Bachelor’s degree from a top undergraduate business program; MBA, CFA, or CPA preferred but not required
• Authorization to work in the United States
• Must possess a “roll up your sleeves” mentality and willingness to complete VP and/or Associate tasks if needed
• Deep, relevant experience in turning around underperforming or distressed businesses with a turnaround consulting firm, management consulting firm, or private equity firm

Overview of MERU Service Offerings:

Performance Improvement:

Help companies identify and achieve their full potential by leveraging a value-focused approach to driving sustainable margin expansion impact. Services include MERU 360° Assessment, Transformation Plan Development, Chief Transformation Officer placement, Cash Cycle and Working Capital Optimization, and Implementation Performance Management.

Turnaround & Restructuring:

Partner with clients during uncertain times to help stabilize operations and rapidly triage the causes of financial distress, charting a path back to long-term sustainability. Services include Interim Management, Turnaround Plan Development and Execution, Liquidity Management, Stakeholder Negotiations, Strategic Alternatives Assessment, Bankruptcy, Insolvency, and Case Management.

Transaction Services:

Partner with private equity firms across the investment lifecycle, from due diligence to portfolio value creation and exit planning. Services include Due Diligence, Pre-Close Planning, Post-Close Implementation, and Exit Planning.

Data Insights:

Work with companies at all stages of their digital transformation journey to automate reporting processes, build scalable data platforms, and leverage predictive analytics to transform data from a liability into an asset. Services include Data Discovery and Analysis, Data Prep and Integration, Self-Service Analytics, Data Visualization and Reporting, Data Science and Advanced Analytics, and Strategy Enablement.

Salary Range:

$150,000 – $210,000. In addition to benefits, MERU also offers an extremely competitive bonus program that is based on firm contribution efforts, adherence to our core values, and performance.

Voluntary Inclusion:

It is MERU’s policy to provide and promote equal opportunity in employment, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment without discrimination because of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, family medical history or genetic information, political affiliation, military service, pregnancy, marital status, family status, religion, national origin, age or disability or any other non-merit based factor in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.

Unsolicited Resumes from Third-Party Recruiters:

Please note that we do not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters unless such recruiters are engaged to provide candidates for a specified opening. Any employment agency, person, or entity that submits an unsolicited resume does so with the understanding that MERU will have the right to hire that applicant at its discretion without any fee owed to the submitting employment agency, person, or entity.