Strategy Associate - Corporate Development

at  carwow

THE CARWOW GROUP

Carwow Group is driven by a passion for getting people into cars. But not just any car, the right car. That’s why we are building the go-to destination for car-changing. Designed to reach drivers everywhere with our trail-blazing portfolio of personality rich automotive brands; Carwow, Auto Express, evo, Driving Electric and Car Buyer.
What started as a simple reviews site, is now one of the largest online car-changing destinations in Europe - over 10m customers have used Carwow to help them buy and sell cars since its inception. Last year we grew over 50% with nearly £3bn worth of cars bought on site, while £1.8bn of cars were listed for sale through our Sell My Car service.
In 2024 we went big and acquired Autovia, doubling our audience overnight. Together we now have one of the biggest YouTube channels in the world with over 1.1 billion annual views, sell 1.2 million print copies of our magazines and have an annual web content reach over 350million.

THE ROLE

As a Corporate Development Strategy Associate, you will play a pivotal role in driving carwow’s long-term, sustainable, and profitable growth. Reporting into the Head of Group Strategy & Corporate Development, you will work closely with the Executive team and senior leaders to develop and implement winning strategies.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Corporate Development / M&A Strategy:
• Develop and refine the corporate development and M&A strategy
• Conduct target screening and build financial models for business cases
• Lead commercial due diligence, assessing market dynamics and growth potential
• Coordinate the M&A process, both pre-deal and post-deal integration
• Capital Allocation Framework:
• Support the implementation and refinement of the new capital allocation framework by collaborating with finance and business units to assess investment opportunities
• Monitor and report on capital allocation decisions
• Execution of Group Strategy:
• Translate corporate strategy into actionable quarterly objectives
• Coach teams on developing high-quality, aligned OKRs
• Identify and map dependencies across teams and initiatives
• Monitor OKR progress, identify risks, and propose adjustments
• Board Decks and Investor Materials:
• Assist in preparing comprehensive board decks and investor materials
• Ensure accuracy and relevance of information through thorough research and analysis
• Coordinate inputs from various teams to consolidate data effectively
• Strategic Analysis and Insights:
• Conduct strategic analysis and market research to identify trends and opportunities
• Provide insights and recommendations based on industry data and financial performance
• Present findings and updates to key senior stakeholders
• Continuous Improvement and Best Practices:
• Stay informed about industry best practices in corporate development and strategic planning
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives within the strategy team
• Enhance corporate development processes, frameworks, and tools

Led by the Director of Strategy (ex-BCG), the team’s role expands across five key areas:

• Strategy Development & Business Partnering - Working closely with the Exec team and leadership across business lines, markets and capabilities to develop strategy
• Strategy Execution - Connecting where we invest our capital and what teams do with our strategy by operating and continually improving our strategy planning process and OKRs across Carwow
• Go-to-Market Delivery - Getting new business lines or propositions from zero to one
• Investor Relations & Corporate Development - Supporting the Exec team with fundraising and M&A activityESG - Leading carwow’s Environment, Social & Governance policy and deliver