Vice President, Fund Launch & Onboarding Process

Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.

Ares is seeking a Vice President to help lead a strategic initiative to develop, implement, and manage an operating plan for a Fund Launch, Onboarding and Wind-Down process and team (“FLOW”). The FLOW team will work with and assist stakeholders—including the Ares investor relations, legal, finance and accounting, operations, compliance, and tax teams, as well as certain third-party service providers—through the design and project management of a centralized fund pipeline, coordination process, and workflow. The individual will have ownership over the day-to-day operational oversight of FLOW and will be partnering with the Head of FLOW for the buildout of FLOW.

The role requires an individual who is a strategic thinker and able to collaborate with various cross-functional teams to understand the challenges and needs of stakeholders. This role will also be responsible for managing and continuously improving the data, reporting/insights, technology, and processes needed to deliver a seamless experience to our internal stakeholders and external investors. Ideally, the candidate will have experience with project management, building sophisticated operational processes, including the selection and rollout of new systems and technologies, and building and managing a team.

The candidate must be resourceful, innovative, forward thinking, collaborative, and committed. This is an entrepreneurial opportunity that will afford the candidate significant responsibility and the opportunity to help build and manage a successful team within a diversified platform.

Reporting relationships

Reports to: Head of FLOW

Supervises: Team of 4-6 individuals

Primary Functions & Responsibilities

• Create long- and short-term goals for FLOW, including planning an ideal end state of FLOW, designing interim workflows and tools, running pilot programs, and setting targets for milestones and adhering to deadlines
• Communicate with senior team members and executive leadership to provide progress updates and keep FLOW aligned with goals
• Serve as point of contact for a multi-disciplinary team and ensure all parties, including third-party service providers, remain coordinated
• Make effective decisions when presented with multiple options regarding how to progress FLOW, including the identification, assessment, and implementation of systems and technologies
• Build and manage a team, including through the recruiting and onboarding of new team members
• Act as a player-coach and manage and develop relationships
• Perform pilot programs and quality control with respect to FLOW to ensure targeted standards are achieved

Qualifications

Education:

• BS/BA with major in Accounting, Economics, Finance, General Business, or Management preferred, with outstanding academic record

Experience Required

• Proven track record in building and managing a team, working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment, and managing external relationships
• 8-10+ years of relevant work experience, including project management experience

Experience Preferred

• Experience with Microsoft SharePoint, Project, Lists, Visio, and Power Automate
• Experience with Intralinks or similar investor portal implementation
• Experience with the buildout of a fund launch and wind-down workflow and master data set
• Experience with Power BI, Tableau, or other business intelligence tools
• Experience with workflow and project management software
• Strong proficiency in Excel (e.g., complex formulas), PowerPoint, and Word (e.g., advanced formatting)

General Requirements

• Dependable, great attitude and energetic, excellent interpersonal skills, team-oriented with an effective ability to collaborate with others, strong work ethic, and strong client service orientation
• Highest degree of integrity, motivation, and intellectual curiosity
• Strong leadership and project management skills, including proven experience of overseeing team members in remote locations to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and an optimal level of supervision
• Good judgment in terms of escalating issues vs. solving problems independently
• Excellent time management skills, including the ability to successfully manage multiple priorities and competing demands, often under pressure to meet challenging deadlines
• An analytical mind and an entrepreneurial spirit, with a keen interest to learn, to problem solve, and to conceive and implement new ideas to increase efficiencies and improve processes
• Superior communication skills (verbal and written) and a demonstrated ability to analyze and summarize complex information to create content for a diverse audience
• A solutions-oriented self-starter with the ability to simultaneously see the big picture while maintaining attention to detail
• Comfort in dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty in a dynamic and fast-paced environment
• Outstanding organizational and data management skills
• A demonstrated ability to research and leverage resources to accomplish goals and produce results

Reporting Relationships

Counsel, Private Funds

Compensation

The anticipated range for this position is listed below. Total compensation may also include a discretionary performance-based bonus. Note, the range takes into account a broad spectrum of qualifications, including, but not limited to, years of relevant work experience, education, and other relevant qualifications specific to the role.

$150,000.00 - $200,000.00

The firm also offers robust Benefits offerings. Ares U.S. Core Benefits include Comprehensive Medical/Rx, Dental and Vision plans; 401(k) program with company match; Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA); Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSA) with company contribution; Basic and Voluntary Life Insurance; Long-Term Disability (LTD) and Short-Term Disability (STD) insurance; Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and Commuter Benefits plan for parking and transit.

Ares offers a number of additional benefits including access to a world-class medical advisory team, a mental health app that includes coaching, therapy and psychiatry, a mindfulness and wellbeing app, financial wellness benefit that includes access to a financial advisor, new parent leave, reproductive and adoption assistance, emergency backup care, matching gift program, education sponsorship program, and much more.