Private Equity Associate

Source acquisition opportunities directly through owner outreach, Onni's operating and industry network, trades contacts, supplier networks, and portfolio company management

Build and maintain relationships with brokers, advisors, lenders, and intermediaries in target sectors

Screen inbound and sourced opportunities against investment criteria and write the screening memo with a clear recommendation to pursue or pass

Develop sector theses and build target lists for roll up strategies across construction services, building products, industrial services, mechanical, HVAC, and adjacent trades

Own the operating and returns model on live transactions, including LBO structures, debt schedules, returns waterfalls, sensitivity analysis, and downside cases

Run due diligence across financial, commercial, operational, tax, and legal workstreams, and manage external advisors to scope, budget, and deadline

Lead the quality of earnings review with advisors, including EBITDA normalisation, working capital analysis, and net debt calculation

Structure transactions and financing, including consideration mix, earnouts, founder rollover, and lender terms

Draft and present investment committee memos and lender presentations, and defend the recommendation to ownership

Manage transaction execution, including the data room, issue tracking, legal documentation review, and coordination with counterparties through to close

Own the first hundred days, including integration planning, reporting setup, banking, and management alignment

Track portfolio company performance against the acquisition thesis, including monthly performance, budget versus actual, covenant compliance, and integration milestones

Identify and quantify value creation opportunities across pricing, procurement, overhead, working capital, and add on acquisitions, then work with operators to execute them

Work with the Controller on purchase accounting, opening balance sheets, and post close true ups

Support add on acquisitions into existing platforms

Direct the private equity analysts on execution, review their work, and hold the quality standard

Build and maintain the deal flow tracker, pipeline reporting, and diligence templates so the process is repeatable rather than reinvented each time

Document processes, models, decisions, and operating standards so successful approaches can be repeated across the team

Contribute to internal investment discussions, portfolio reviews, and Onni Capital events

Three to six years in private equity, investment banking, corporate development, transaction advisory, or a comparable transaction environment, with live deals you can walk through in detail

Demonstrated ownership of a transaction, not only support. You have run workstreams, managed advisors, and been in the room when terms were negotiated

Strong modelling capability built from scratch rather than from templates, with real command of LBO mechanics, debt structures, and returns analysis

Sound accounting judgment, including EBITDA normalisation, quality of earnings, and working capital bridges

Genuine comfort in front of owners and management teams. Much of this job is a conversation with a person who built a business over thirty years and is deciding whether to trust you

Commercial judgment that connects operating detail to valuation, structure, and returns

Demonstrated ability to use modern AI tools to research, analyse, model, automate, and produce high quality work

Strong written communication, with the ability to compress a complex situation into a one page recommendation

Willingness to travel across North America, including Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Phoenix

A bias toward action and comfort making progress with incomplete information

The confidence to state a view and defend it while remaining open to evidence and feedback

Comfort working in a small, fast moving team where responsibilities change as deals develop

High personal standards for accuracy, quality, ownership, and follow through

Experience in construction services, industrial services, manufacturing, building products, or trades businesses

Experience with buy and build or roll up strategies, including add on acquisition programmes

Experience with founder led businesses and owner operator transactions

Direct operating experience inside a portfolio company

CFA or CPA designation

Debt financing experience, including working directly with lenders and credit committees

Cross border transaction experience between Canada and the United States

Familiarity with tools such as Claude, Linear, Slack, or similar platforms

Success in this role is not measured by deals looked at, models built, or memos written. It is measured by whether good businesses get bought at prices that work, and whether they perform afterwards.

You have direct relationships with owners, brokers, and advisors in at least one target sector, built rather than inherited

You are running live diligence workstreams and managing external advisors without supervision

The deal flow tracker and screening process are yours, and leadership can see the true state of the pipeline at any time

You have formed and defended a view on at least one live opportunity, including a recommendation to pass

Proprietary opportunities are reaching us because of relationships you built, not only through brokers

You have taken at least one transaction from first contact through to close, owning the model, the diligence, and the recommendation

Owners and management teams take your calls and treat you as a credible counterparty rather than as a junior representative of the buyer

Diligence you ran caught something material, whether that led to a repriced deal or a decision to walk away

Businesses acquired during the year are reporting properly, integrated on plan, and tracking against the thesis you underwrote

At least one value creation initiative you identified has been executed by an operator and shows measurable results

The analysts you direct are producing work that needs less correction each quarter

Screening, diligence, and integration are running off documented process rather than being reinvented on every deal

Ownership treats your recommendation as the starting point for the decision rather than as one input among several

You will own a transaction from first contact through to whether the thesis actually held. On a single deal, you may be involved in:

Cold calling an owner who has never spoken to a buyer before

Building the model that determines what we are willing to pay

Sitting in the room while price and structure are negotiated

Running diligence and telling us to walk away

Testing commercial assumptions against businesses Onni already owns

Presenting the recommendation directly to ownership

Standing in the business the week after close, sorting out reporting and integration

Measuring, a year later, whether the numbers you put forward were right

The expectation is high ownership. You will be accountable for the deals you bring forward and for what happens to them afterwards.

Onni Capital is creating a new headquarters in downtown Vancouver designed for builders, founders, investors, product teams, and portfolio companies, not traditional corporate administration. The space is intended to become a home for company creation, collaboration, product demonstrations, investment discussions, founder events, and the broader Onni Capital community.

Team members will receive:

Direct exposure to senior Onni executives, investors, operators, developers, and founders

The opportunity to help launch products and businesses from the ground up

Access to Onni's operating businesses, technology resources, real estate portfolio, and investment platform

Competitive compensation and a discretionary performance bonus

A comprehensive company paid benefits package

An annual education and professional development allowance

Regular product demonstrations, founder sessions, investment discussions, and team events

Free access to a fully equipped gym

Friends and family rates across participating hospitality brands

Employee discounts at participating restaurants, retailers, fitness providers, and other businesses

A generous employee referral program

Salary Range:

$85,000

Onni

For over half a century, Onni has been building communities for people to live, work, and play. Our success reflects our commitment to our employees and partners, and our dedication to quality construction, innovation, sustainability, and customer satisfaction. Our expertise expands across North America, with offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix, and Chicago.

This role may involve the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support research, analysis, content development, design, reporting, or operational efficiency. Employees are expected to use AI responsibly and in compliance with company policies, data privacy requirements, confidentiality obligations, and applicable laws.

All AI-generated or AI-assisted outputs must be reviewed for accuracy, quality, and appropriateness before use. Employees are also expected to disclose when AI tools have been used in the creation of work and must not present AI-generated content as solely their own original work.