Manager of Strategic Growth, Business Development & M&A Origination

We are looking for a self-motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment to help accelerate Heartland Dental’s growth through strategic acquisitions. The Manager of Strategic Growth & M&A Origination will lead and manage activities associated with sourcing, evaluating, and executing acquisition opportunities for the largest dental support organization in the country.

At Heartland Dental, we provide non-clinical administrative support services to more than 3,000 supported doctors across 39 states and the District of Columbia in over 1,800 dental offices. Each Heartland Dental supported office is unique to the community and the patients they serve. Supported doctors are the leaders of their practice and retain clinical autonomy. All Heartland Dental supported doctors are united by a common goal: delivering the highest quality dental care and experiences to the communities they serve.

Help Heartland Dental grow by identifying and affiliating with successful dental practices and owners through strategic deal origination and execution. This individual will be responsible for sourcing and evaluating acquisition opportunities, conducting financial analysis, and partnering with leadership to negotiate and close transactions. In addition to building relationships with practice owners and brokers, this individual will work closely with our Affiliations and Business Development teams to ensure seamless integration and long-term success.

Dental practice acquisitions are at the core of Heartland’s growth strategy and have been the foundation upon which Heartland has achieved its success for more than 25 years. By affiliating with the nation’s highest quality dental practices, Heartland grows its mission to support dentists and their teams while gaining valuable clinical expertise from doctors and hygienists to help support and mentor others across its community.

Below is an overview of the duties and responsibilities you would take on in this role:

• Identify and qualify high-quality acquisition targets by leveraging market intelligence, industry relationships, and data-driven analysis to ensure alignment with Heartland’s strategic growth objectives.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive engagement strategy for high-priority, proprietary targets, incorporating personalized outreach, relationship-building tactics, and multi-channel communication plans to maximize conversion potential.
• Design, implement, and monitor proprietary deal sourcing KPIs to measure pipeline health, engagement effectiveness, and origination success, ensuring continuous improvement and accountability across all sourcing activities.
• Partner with executive leadership and private equity sponsors to structure and negotiate deals
• Build and maintain relationships with practice owners, brokers, and industry stakeholders
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Affiliations, Business Development, and Integration teams to ensure smooth onboarding of acquired entities
• Represent the company at industry events, trade shows, and conferences to increase visibility and generate qualified opportunities
• Maintain and report on KPIs including deal pipeline, conversion rates, and ROI
• Drive continuous improvement in sourcing and acquisition processes, tools, and team capabilities
• Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations and internal policies in all acquisition activities
• Lead, coach, and mentor a small team to achieve individual and collective goals, fostering professional growth, collaboration, and a high-performance culture.
• Other projects as assigned

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field required
• 5+ years of experience in private equity, investment banking, or corporate development with a strong track record of sourcing M&A transactions
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills
• Willingness to travel as needed (10%)
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, results-driven environment with cross-functional collaboration

Desirable Qualifications:

• Advanced degree or certifications in finance, business, or analytics
• Experience in healthcare, dental or multi-site roll-up transactions
• Strong data analysis and reporting skills
• Experience in financial modeling, valuation, and deal structuring a plus
• Technical experience with CRM systems and deal management tools

Physical Requirements

• Ability to perform essential duties satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties of the position.
• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times

We put our people first at Heartland Dental, and that shows in our generous benefits package.

Company retains the sole discretion to change the duties of the position at any time.

We provide all employees and applicants for employment the protections of federal, state, and local laws affording equal opportunity in employment.