Corporate Development Director

Upwork Inc.’s (Nasdaq: UPWK) family of companies connects businesses with global, AI-enabled talent across every contingent work type including freelance, fractional, and payrolled. This portfolio includes the Upwork Marketplace, which connects businesses with on-demand access to highly skilled talent across the globe, and Lifted, which provides a purpose-built solution for enterprise organizations to source, contract, manage, and pay talent across the full spectrum of contingent work. From Fortune 100 enterprises to entrepreneurs, businesses rely on Upwork Inc. to find and hire expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive business transformation. With access to professionals spanning more than 10,000 skills across AI & machine learning, software development, sales & marketing, customer support, finance & accounting, and more, the Upwork family of companies enables businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and transform their workforces for the age of AI and beyond.

Since its founding, Upwork Inc. has facilitated more than $30 billion in total transactions and services as it fulfills its purpose to create opportunity in every era of work. Learn more about the Upwork Marketplace at upwork.com and follow on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X; and learn more about Lifted at go-lifted.com and follow on LinkedIn.

We are seeking a Senior Director of Corporate Development who is passionate about M&A, investments and shaping the long-term strategy of a category-defining company. This senior role will help set, influence and implement inorganic growth opportunities through creative idea generation and disciplined execution, lead and manage the full deal lifecycle—identifying, evaluating and structuring M&A and investments as well as integrating acquisitions—and partner closely with the executive team to ensure each transaction can unlock innovation, accelerate growth and drive long-term shareholder value.

This role reports to the VP of Strategy, Corporate Development & Partnerships and offers a high degree of executive visibility, partnering closely with leaders across the company.

Responsibilities:

• Lead End-to-End M&A and Investments Execution: Support Upwork’s growth strategy through identification, assessment and execution of potential mergers, acquisitions, investments, and joint ventures including sourcing, valuation, due diligence, commercial and legal document negotiations, and post-merger integration.
• Financial Modeling & Business Case Development: Build and oversee detailed evaluation exercises (Build/Buy/Partner), valuation models, ROI frameworks, and scenario analyses to evaluate deal economics and to prepare acquisition and investment business cases.
• Executive & Board Engagement: Translate complex market insights into actionable recommendations and prepare investment / M&A memos and presentations for leadership and the Board of Directors to secure buy-in on major initiatives.
• Integration Leadership: Drive post-deal integration in partnership with cross-functional leaders to maximize value capture and ensure acquired capabilities are successfully scaled within Upwork’s platform by setting KPIs and milestones to measure integration success and drive value realization.
• Competitive & Market Intelligence: Partner with Corporate Strategy team to build and advance a disciplined approach to market, competitive, and ecosystem intelligence to identify white spaces, disruptive trends, emerging opportunities and prospective companies to partner with, invest in or acquire.
• Team Leadership & Development: Provide strategic direction and mentorship to a high-performing Corporate Development team, driving a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning. Oversee workload prioritization, professional growth, and performance management to ensure the team consistently delivers at the highest standard across all phases of M&A and investment execution.
• Ecosystem Relationships: Cultivate relationships with bankers, VCs, advisors, and entrepreneurs to ensure strong deal and information flow.

What it takes to catch our eye:

• 12+ years in corporate development, investment banking, management consulting, or private equity with a consistent track record of leading and evaluating end-to-end transactions and deep exposure to technology and innovation ecosystems.
• Strong strategic vision and business acumen with an understanding of key business drivers and the ability to connect M&A and investment opportunities to product and long-term market trends, translating insights into actionable strategies.
• Significant experience in managing people and leading cross-functional teams to execute all aspects of a deal, from idea generation to due diligence and negotiations, with strong negotiation experience and a reputation for closing complex, high-value deals.
• Exceptional analytical, financial modeling, valuation and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate analysis into clear recommendations.
• Executive presence and communication skills with experience influencing and presenting to GMs, product leaders, C-suite and Board level executives on product strategy, go-to-market decisions, and long-range planning in addition to M&A execution.
• Familiarity with marketplaces, AI or HR/labor tech strongly preferred.
• Excellent judgement with the ability to think creatively and conceptually, while thriving in a highly dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Exceptional strategic thinking and executive communication skills, with the ability to influence across all levels of an organization
• A bias for action, growth mindset, and ability to navigate ambiguity and complexity with clarity and purpose