Senior Associate, Investment Operations

Ares Operations•Los Angeles, NY

About The Position

Ares is seeking a Senior Associate to join its Investment Operations team, based in Los Angeles or New York. Reporting to the Investment Operations - Reconciliation Team, this role serves as a senior escalation point for complex cash, par, and non-custody reconciliation matters. The Senior Associate drives cross-functional resolution, analyzes trends and operational impact, and leads selected process, control, and technology improvements. The role also involves challenging administrator and custodian processing, supporting relationship management, guiding junior team members, and strengthening the reconciliation platform. The ideal candidate is an experienced self-starter with strong technical judgment, stakeholder influence, and a practical solutioning mindset. Ares describes its culture as guided by the values Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, and Trustworthy, and its purpose of being a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. The firm is committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where people of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related field.
6–10 years of relevant investment management operations experience, particularly in reconciliation, fund accounting, middle office, custody, or related functions.
Strong knowledge of reconciliation processes, the investment transaction lifecycle, operational controls, and escalation practices.
Experience resolving complex operational exceptions and influencing stakeholders across business, operations, technology, and external service providers.
Strong knowledge of credit and fixed income products, including bank debt.
Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel.
Experience identifying systemic issues and delivering process, control, data, automation, or technology improvements.
Experience working with custodian banks, paying agents, third-party administrators, and outsourced or offshore service providers.
Strong analytical judgment and ability to translate detailed findings into clear risks, decisions, and actions.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex issues to senior stakeholders.
Ability to guide junior team members and promote consistent execution without relying on formal authority.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with derivatives, foreign exchange, private credit, private equity, or other alternative investments.
Experience with Geneva, Wall Street Office, Power BI, Python, SQL, workflow tools, or reconciliation platforms.

Responsibilities

Serve as a senior escalation point for complex, aged, or recurring cash, par, and non-custody breaks across assigned funds, portfolios, and products.
Drive resolution through root-cause analysis, impact assessment, clear ownership, and cross-functional coordination.
Review and challenge processing by fund administrators, custodian banks, paying agents, and other service providers when results are incomplete, inconsistent, or unsupported.
Assess transaction, accounting, reference-data, and system issues; communicate operational risk, required actions, and expected resolution paths.
Prioritize high-risk exceptions and promptly escalate material concerns with complete supporting evidence.
Analyze daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly KPIs to identify trends across break volumes, aging, root causes, products, portfolios, and service providers.
Evaluate reconciliation processes and controls, identify systemic weaknesses, and recommend improvements to governance, accuracy, and operational resilience.
Lead selected remediation, automation, workflow redesign, data-quality, platform enhancement, testing, migration, and onboarding workstreams.
Partner with Technology and business stakeholders to define requirements, validate results, and support implementation of scalable solutions.
Provide reconciliation expertise for new funds, portfolios, products, administrators, custodians, and business initiatives.
Build relationships with Portfolio Management, Fund Administration, Treasury, Finance, Technology, Operations, custodians, agent banks, and other service providers.
Provide day-to-day guidance, quality review, and knowledge-sharing to Analysts and Associates, promoting accountability and consistent execution.
Support internal and external audits, risk assessments, regulatory inquiries, and governance reporting.