M&A Integration Manager - Remote

Summit School Services companies share a strong commitment to provide the highest level of transportation safety, quality transportation, outstanding customer service and positive employee relations. Our corporate headquarters, located in Warrenville, Illinois, houses the administrative and corporate support functions for the organization. Our 250+ local customer service centers (CSCs) are supported by regional operations teams located throughout North America.

The Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Operations Integration Manager is responsible for leading the operational integration of acquired businesses from pre-close planning through post-close stabilization and full integration. This role serves as a critical link between Corporate Development, business leadership, functional teams, and acquired-company management to ensure acquisitions are integrated efficiently while maintaining business continuity, customer service, employee engagement, and operational performance.

The M&A Operations Integration Manager develops and executes integration plans, establishes governance and accountability, identifies operational risks and synergies, and ensures that integration commitments are delivered on time and with measurable business results.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead operational integration planning and execution for mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic transactions from pre-close preparation through post-close integration.
• Develop comprehensive integration plans, including milestones, dependencies, owners, timelines, risks, and performance measures.
• Partner with Corporate Development and functional leaders to translate the transaction plans and diligence findings into actionable integration priorities.
• Coordinate cross-functional integration activities across Operations, Finance, Human Resources, IT, Maint/Procurement, Legal, Compliance, Commercial/ BD/ Facilities, and other functions.
• Develop and manage Day 1, first 30/60/90-day, and longer-term integration plans.
• Identify operational risks, business continuity concerns, interdependencies, and potential integration barriers; develop mitigation and contingency plans.
• Track synergy commitments, cost savings, productivity improvements, operational efficiencies, and other transaction-related value-creation initiatives.
• Assess acquired-company processes, systems, organizational structures, policies, and operating practices and develop recommendations for alignment with the acquiring organization.
• Facilitate decisions regarding process standardization, technology migration, organizational alignment, vendor consolidation, facilities, and operating-model changes.
• Maintain focus on customers and day-to-day operations throughout the integration process to minimize disruption.
• Partner with Human Resources to support effective employee communications, organizational transitions, and adoption of new processes and systems.
• Develop integration dashboards and KPIs to provide leadership with visibility into progress, risks, decisions, financial impact, and overall integration health.
• Facilitate cross-functional meetings, resolve competing priorities, and escalate critical decisions or risks to executive leadership.
• Conduct post-integration reviews and capture lessons learned to continuously improve the organization's M&A integration methodology, playbooks, and tools.
• Support the development of repeatable integration standards and capabilities that enable the organization to successfully execute multiple acquisitions.

Qualifications

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Operations, Finance, Engineering, Supply Chain, or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience in operations, program/project management, business transformation, consulting, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives involving multiple business functions and senior stakeholders.
• Strong project and program management skills, including planning, dependency management, risk management, and executive reporting.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with the ability to translate complex business issues into actionable plans.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced environments characterized by ambiguity, changing priorities, and tight deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders without direct authority.
• Must have ability to travel minimally 75%.

Preferred:

• Direct experience with mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, integrations, or large-scale business transformations.
• Experience establishing or operating an Integration Management Office (IMO) or Transformation Management Office.
• Experience identifying and tracking acquisition synergies and value-creation initiatives.
• PMP, Lean Six Sigma, Change-management certification, or similar advanced qualification.
• Experience integrating operational processes, systems, facilities, supply chains, or geographically dispersed organizations.

Key Competencies

Successful candidates will demonstrate strong leadership and executive presence, operational and financial acumen, strategic thinking combined with hands-on execution, disciplined program management, change leadership, relationship building, and an ability to make sound decisions with incomplete information.

The individual must be comfortable moving between high-level transaction objectives and detailed operational execution, while maintaining accountability for timelines, business continuity, integration outcomes, and value realization.

Measures of Success

Success in this role will be measured by achievement of integration milestones and Day 1 readiness; minimal disruption to customers and ongoing operations; timely resolution of integration risks and issues; achievement of targeted synergies and operational improvements; successful adoption of integrated processes, systems, and organizational structures; stakeholder and executive satisfaction; and continued improvement of the organization's M&A integration capabilities.

Summit School Services has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with its policies and values, including sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. Summit School Services is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children and passengers.

We offer medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance coverage, holiday pay, and PTO accrual. Additionally, employees are able to enroll in a retirement savings plan.

At Summit School Services our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Summit School Services LLC’s independent subsidiaries and affiliates are an equal employment opportunity (EEO) employer

The pay rate range, along with most all of the other terms and conditions of employment, vary between different sites, geographical markets, customer/ contractual terms and positions.