Skill Check · General Management

Head of M&A / Corp Dev: skills & capabilities the market requires

Based on 310 real Head of M&A / Corp Dev job postings, here is what companies actually require for this role today — the capabilities that define it, the hard skills named most often, the scope expected, typical experience and pay. The market leans hardest on Strategic Leadership (71%) and Financial Acumen (60%).

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Core capabilities for a Head of M&A / Corp Dev
Strategic Leadership71%
Financial Acumen60%
Go-to-Market & Sales51%
Operational Excellence48%
Executive Communication46%
Cross-functional Leadership41%
Stakeholder Management40%
Share of Head of M&A / Corp Dev postings that call for each capability.
Most-required hard skills for a Head of M&A / Corp Dev
Financial ModelingDue DiligenceFinancial AnalysisDeal StructuringValuation AnalysisStrategic PlanningValuation
Leadership & soft skills
Strategic ThinkingLeadershipStakeholder ManagementCross-Functional Collaboration
Scope, experience & pay

Head of M&A / Corp Dev roles expect deal / M&A experience in 86% of postings, IPO or capital-markets experience in 12%, and transformation experience in 16%. Typical stated experience is around 10 years. The pay signal from postings (base, where stated) runs $217K–$280K.

Full pay benchmark in Comp Check →
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Percentages are the share of postings that mention a signal, not a measure of importance. Baseline pilot. Quarter-over-quarter movement begins from the next collection. Levels covered: Director and above. Mid-level is not in this data. Real executive job postings, parsed for required skills, scope, credentials and compensation.