Senior Associate, Investment Operations
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.
Job Description
At Ares, Investment Operations is a strategic partner to the investment business, ensuring the accuracy, integrity, and efficiency of our global investment platform. We are seeking a highly motivated Investment Operations Senior Associate to join our New York-based Operational Excellence team.
In this role, you will support the integrity of Ares' investment platform by partnering across Operations, Portfolio Management, Technology, Fund Administration, Finance, Treasury, and external banking partners to resolve complex operational challenges, strengthen controls, and enhance operational efficiency.
This position is ideal for an experienced investment operations professional who enjoys solving complex problems, leveraging data to identify trends, and improving operational processes. You'll gain broad exposure to sophisticated credit and alternative investment products while contributing to initiatives that improve scalability, enhance controls, and reduce operational risk across the firm.
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS & ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
As an Investment Operations Senior Associate in the Operational Excellence team, you will play a key role in supporting Ares' investment platform by:
Operational Excellence & Risk Management
- Develop a deep understanding of reconciliation and operational processes while serving as a resource on complex operational issues.
- Resolve complex operational exceptions through detailed investigation and root cause analysis.
- Recommend process improvements that strengthen controls and improve operational efficiency.
Cross-Functional Partnership
- Partner with Portfolio Management, Fund Administration, Treasury, Technology, Finance, and Operations to resolve complex operational issues and improve end-to-end workflows.
- Build trusted relationships with custodian banks, agent banks, and external service providers, driving timely issue resolution and process improvements.
- Review and challenge fund administrator processing, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and adherence to operational standards.
- Share knowledge and best practices with team members to support a collaborative environment.
Process Improvement & Innovation
- Contribute to initiatives that automate manual processes and improve operational efficiency.
- Support system enhancements, platform migrations, and new business implementations.
- Identify opportunities to streamline workflows and improve operational scalability.
- Assist in developing operational KPIs and reporting to identify trends and support continuous improvement.
- Participate in testing activities for new systems and process enhancements.
Strategic Projects
- Participate in cross-functional initiatives supporting enhancements to the Investment Operations platform.
- Contribute operational expertise to new business launches, platform migrations, and strategic process improvement initiatives.
- Support implementation of technology-enabled solutions that improve operational effectiveness.
- Represent the Operational Excellence team in project meetings, as appropriate
QUALIFICATIONS
Education
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
Experience Required
- 4–8 years of experience in Investment Operations, Middle Office, Fund Operations, or related financial services functions.
- Extensive experience supporting bank loan operations, private credit, syndicated loans, fixed income, structured products, or alternative investments.
- Demonstrated success leading operational improvement initiatives and business transformation projects.
- Strong experience managing complex operational risk and designing scalable control frameworks.
- Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive cross-functional initiatives without direct authority.
- Experience partnering closely with Technology on automation, system implementations, and platform enhancements.
- Strong understanding of investment operations, accounting principles, portfolio servicing, and operational controls.
- Experience working with custodian banks, agent banks, broker dealers, prime brokers, and fund administrators.
- Strong proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Power BI, and data analytics tools.
- Experience with Wall Street Office, Geneva, Python, SQL, Alteryx, Power Automate, or similar automation technologies is highly desirable.
- Experience within alternative investments, private credit, private equity, or hedge funds strongly preferred.
General Requirements
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to independently manage complex issues.
- Demonstrated ability to identify opportunities for operational improvement and drive execution.
- Highly organized with exceptional attention to detail and a strong control mindset.
- Comfortable managing competing priorities in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
- Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to influence stakeholders across multiple business functions.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present findings and recommendations.
- Proactive, accountable, and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
- Passion for continuous improvement, operational excellence, and delivering high-quality outcomes.
- Demonstrated ownership mentality with a focus on driving results.
Reporting Relationships
Compensation
The anticipated base salary 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.
$130,000 - $150,000
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.
There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.