Senior Associate, Operational Strategy

Ares Management Corporation•Los Angeles, CA

28d•$150,000 - $170,000

About The Position

Ares is seeking a versatile Senior Associate to work within our Corporate Strategy – Operational Strategy Group (“OSG”). Our OSG leads cross-functional projects to define and implement process and technology solutions across the entire Ares organization. Our team works closely with business stakeholders in our five lines of business (Credit, Private Equity, Real Estate, Secondary Markets and Strategic Initiatives) and across our business operations functions (Compliance, Finance and Accounting, Investment Operations, Investor Relations, Legal, Portfolio Management, Relationship Management, Tax, and Technology). We seek a candidate who can analyze business processes and technology, lead discussions with senior stakeholders, provide process improvement suggestions, and execute using their specific industry knowledge and problem-solving capabilities. This role requires a dynamic, adaptive, and experienced professional who can build and maintain strong business partner relationships. This position will require flexibility and rapid learning to become an expert in multiple functional areas and asset classes. The ideal candidate should have demonstrated an ability to manage large scale change programs. Successful collaboration across all business functions, strategies, and external vendors will be crucial. Given the broad nature of projects in our queue, knowledge of investor, fund, and deal lifecycles in alternative investment classes, will allow the candidate to make an immediate impact upon joining the firm. Strong knowledge of alternative investment asset classes is highly preferred.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a business, finance, or related discipline
6 - 8 years of experience in business process re-engineering, process design, operational transformation or consulting. With experience in the analysis and design of new business processes, requirements definition, and implementation.
Domain knowledge of Alternative Investments (Private Credit/Private Equity/Real Estate/Secondaries) and an understanding of Fund, Investor, and Trade lifecycles and systems
An analytical mind and a passion/interest in bringing new ideas to increase the efficiency of existing processes
Demonstrates a passion for continuous improvement and eagerness to identify and solve problems
Strong communication skills (written and oral to all levels of the firm) and team management; capability of interacting with key stakeholders to prioritize project activities or initiatives
Solutions orientated self-starter with the ability to see the big picture, balancing tactical solutions while being mindful of the strategic direction of the firm
Ability to multi-task and prioritize deadlines; result oriented
Strong technical skills with high proficiency in PowerPoint, Visio, and Excel
Good judgement and understanding when to solve issues independently versus what needs to be escalated
A demonstrated ability to research and leverage available resources to accomplish the task at hand
Comfort in dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty in a dynamic and fast-paced environment
Dependable, great attitude, highly motivated and a team player
Ability to handle confidential information appropriately

Responsibilities

Serve as an advisor to business stakeholders, corporate functions and third-party service providers during project lifecycle and be go-to point for details and status updates on the project or program
Deliver presentations to business partners at multiple levels, including process owners, senior managers, and executives, focusing on takeaways, answering questions clearly and at the appropriate level of detail
Drive change adoption and stakeholder alignment across the organization
Manage vendors and align on priorities
Drive project lifecycle with ability to “connect the dots” between upstream/downstream dependencies and planning needs, while multitasking across multiple deliverables
Identify best practices for operational processes and system optimizations
Define project scope, gather requirements and assist with implementation and integration activities associated with process improvement efforts or new products
Technically proficient communicator who can translate business language and requirements to technical teams and vice versa
Ability and willingness to be hands-on in all aspects of project management, including: Requirements gathering, documentation, use case development Process workflow documentation and diagrams Training/Acceptance plan development and execution Communications with business stakeholders relative to the status
Collaborate with business stakeholders to create business cases, project plans, steering committee presentations, business requirements, and other project or program documentation