Sr Specialist M&A

The Lead, People M&A Integration is a senior individual contributor who helps shape and execute People Enablement strategy across the M&A lifecycle. The role translates transaction objectives into integrated plans, decision frameworks, governance routines, and coordinated execution across due diligence, integration planning, Day 1 readiness, change management, and post-close transition.

This role serves as a trusted advisor and subject matter expert to business and People Enablement leaders. It independently brings structure to complex work, identifies and escalates risks, drives cross-functional follow-through, and balances strategic guidance with hands-on delivery. The Lead partners across People Enablement, Finance, IT, Legal, Operations, Payroll, and FP&A, and works with HR business partners to support the transition of acquired employees and the post-integration handoff.

Success requires deep M&A or integration experience, strong business acumen, exceptional stakeholder management, disciplined program management, and the judgment to operate effectively in a fast-moving and confidential environment.

Key Responsibilities
M&A strategy, advisory, and lifecycle leadership

• Act as a strategic advisor to leaders, connecting people-related integration decisions to transaction objectives, business priorities, employee outcomes, and organizational risk.

• Provide subject matter expertise and practical guidance across due diligence, integration planning, Day 1 readiness, stabilization, and post-integration transition.

• Anticipate business and stakeholder needs, develop proactive recommendations, and frame tradeoffs and decisions for senior leaders.

• Help build and scale the People M&A capability through repeatable standards, policies, playbooks, and operating practices.

Due diligence and integration assessment

• Lead or coordinate people, organizational, cultural, operational, and HR functional due diligence activities.

• Synthesize qualitative and quantitative information to identify risks, opportunities, dependencies, costs, and integration considerations.

• Translate diligence findings into decision-ready insights, mitigation actions, integration requirements, and readiness plans.

• Maintain confidentiality and apply sound judgment when handling sensitive transaction and employee information.

Integration planning, governance, and execution

• Develop and maintain integrated workplans, milestone trackers, decision logs, dependency maps, risk registers, and governance materials.

• Drive critical initiatives from concept through completion, coordinating multiple workstreams and deadlines without unnecessary process.

• Facilitate governance and working sessions, document decisions, clarify ownership, and hold stakeholders accountable for follow-through.

• Prepare executive summaries, status reports, dashboards, and recommendations that provide clear visibility into progress, decisions, risks, and outcomes.

Cross-functional stakeholder leadership

• Serve as a bridge across People Enablement and enterprise partners, including the central M&A team, Legal, Finance, IT, Operations, Payroll, and FP&A.

• Build trusted relationships, navigate competing priorities, resolve issues constructively, and escalate barriers when timing or outcomes are at risk.

• Partner with HR business partners and functional owners to align integration activities and enable an effective transition and post-integration handoff.

• Communicate complex topics clearly with senior leaders, project teams, and partners at all levels.

Employee experience and change management

• Assess organizational and employee impacts and shape practical change, communication, onboarding, and transition strategies.

• Champion a people-first experience while aligning acquired teams with company culture, values, policies, processes, and business objectives.

• Develop or coordinate employee-facing communications, leader materials, FAQs, readiness activities, and adoption plans.

• Use empathy, resilience, and conflict-resolution skills to support stakeholders through ambiguity and change.

Data, risk, compliance, and continuous improvement

• Use data and insights to identify risk areas, support decisions, monitor outcomes, and improve execution quality.

• Build compliance into integration planning by maintaining working knowledge of applicable company policies, processes, and legal requirements.

• Create and improve dashboards, templates, decision frameworks, analytics, automation, and AI-enabled tools that strengthen efficiency and visibility.

• Capture lessons learned and convert transaction experience into scalable playbooks and best practices.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Human Resources, Organizational Development, Finance, or a related field.

• 4-7+ years of relevant experience, including direct experience in HR M&A, integration management, human capital consulting, HR transformation, or M&A program management.

• Demonstrated success independently leading complex, cross-functional initiatives with multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, and time-sensitive deliverables.

• Strong program and project management capability, including development of integrated plans, governance routines, decision frameworks, risk mitigation, and executive reporting.

• Ability to operate with limited supervision, exercise judgment, solve difficult problems, and move effectively between strategic priorities and detailed execution.

• Exceptional stakeholder management, written communication, executive presentation, meeting facilitation, analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.

• Strong business acumen and the ability to communicate effectively with senior leaders and translate business needs into practical people solutions.

• Integrity and discretion in handling confidential information and sensitive employee or transaction matters.

Preferred qualifications

• Deep working knowledge of HR M&A and integration across talent, payroll, compensation, benefits, employee relations, people operations, HR systems, employee communications, culture, and organizational design workstreams.

• Experience in an Integration Management Office, Program Management Office, consulting environment, corporate strategy function, or a dedicated M&A integration team.

• Experience partnering with HR business partners and functional leaders to support employee transitions and post-integration handoffs.

• Familiarity with change management methodologies, integration frameworks, compliance considerations, and risk mitigation practices.

• Experience creating executive-level presentations, dashboards, governance materials, and decision-ready recommendations.

• Ability to leverage analytics, automation, and AI-enabled tools to improve decision-making, efficiency, and execution quality.

Anywhere Real Estate Inc. (NYSE: HOUS) is moving real estate to what's next. Home to some of the most recognized brands in real estate Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate, Century 21®, Coldwell Banker®, Coldwell Banker Commercial®, Corcoran®, ERA®, and Sotheby's International Realty® , we fulfill our purpose to empower everyone's next move through our leading integrated services, which include franchise, brokerage, relocation, and title and settlement businesses, as well as mortgage and title insurance underwriter minority owned joint ventures.  Anywhere supports nearly 1 million home sale transactions annually and our portfolio of industry-leading brands turns houses into homes in more than 118 countries and territories across the world.

At Anywhere, we are empowering everyone’s next move – your career included. What differentiates us is our scale, expertise, network, and unique business model that positions us as a trusted advisor throughout every stage of the real estate transaction. We pursue talent – strategic thinkers who are eager to always find a better way, relentlessly focus on talent, obsess about growth, and achieve exceptional results. We value our people-first culture, which thrives on empowerment, innovation, and cross-company collaboration as we keep moving the world forward, together.  Read more about our company culture and values in our annual Impact Report.  

We are proud of our award-winning culture and are consistently recognized as an employer of choice by various organizations including:

• Great Place to Work
• Forbes World's Best Employers
• Newsweek World's Most Trustworthy Companies
• Ethisphere World's Most Ethical Companies