Principal, Operational Strategy

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 versatile and highly motivated Principal to join the Corporate Strategy Operational Strategy Group. Operational Strategy brings best-in-class execution discipline and program management rigor to the firm's most critical transformation initiatives, including M&A integration master planning, enterprise operating model evolution, corporate efficiency efforts, and governance support for senior leadership forums. Working across Ares' lines of business and business operations functions, the team advances high-priority strategic initiatives through disciplined solution design, enterprise coordination, strong delivery, and scalable execution.

The Operational Strategy Group supports the Executive Office and serves as the enterprise control tower and nerve center for the firm's highest-priority transformations bringing together strategy, execution oversight, assurance, and cross-functional delivery to ensure these initiatives move in a coordinated, disciplined, and value-focused way. The team manages complexity across the targeted transformation portfolio, keeps priority programs on track, surface dependencies and risks early, and drive clear decision-making at the executive level. Positioned close to the Executive Office, the team executes enterprise programs across all Ares' lines of business (Credit, Private Equity, Real Assets, and Secondaries) as well as technology, legal, compliance, finance, Sales/Marketing and other functional groups, ensuring that the firm's most operationally critical initiatives are aligned to enterprise priorities, sequenced effectively, and delivering measurable value.

This person will sit within Operational Strategy and be directly accountable for both the strategy and execution of several of the firm's key transformation programs, with a heavy focus on Technology, Investment, and Sales/Marketing workflows. They will own the end-to-end transformation agenda for their assigned programs, from defining the strategic objectives, target operating model, roadmap, success measures, and governance structure, through driving execution, managing dependencies, escalating risks, and ensuring measurable outcomes are delivered. To effectuate these goals, they will work across multiple PMOs, COOs, embedded project teams, and functional transformation resources that sit within the businesses and functions themselves, aligning those resources around a common strategy, execution plan, timeline, and set of outcomes. Operating across business, technology, investment, compliance, operations, and other functional stakeholders, this individual will serve as the senior execution lead responsible for translating strategic priorities into coordinated action across a highly matrixed environment. The role requires a strong problem-solver with knowledge of alternative investment asset classes, executive-level communication skills, fluency in technical system design, integrations and implementation, and experience leading large-scale changes where accountability, structure, influence, and delivery discipline are essential.

Primary functions & responsibilities

• Translate executive priorities into executable programs focusing on enterprise sequencing
• Lead cohesive solution and operating-model design
• Own program development, portfolio integration and execution planning
• Drive disciplined program management and delivery
• Change Management and Adoption
• Translate complex transformation concepts into clear, compelling business narratives
• Support governance and executive decision-making
• Track value realization and business impact
• Advance process improvement and continuous improvement discipline
• Bridge business strategy, technology, data, and controls
• Lead certain M&A integration transformation workstreams

Qualifications

Education:

• A Bachelor's degree is required, preferably with a major in Accounting, Economics, Political Science, Finance, General Business or Management, and outstanding academic achievement.

Experience Required:

• 15+ years of experience in large-scale transformation, strategy execution, business operations, process redesign, integration, or management consulting.
• Proven ability to translate strategic priorities into actionable programs, operating models, roadmaps, and execution plans.
• Experience analyzing and redesigning business processes, systems, workflows, controls, and requirements from current state through implementation.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional initiatives across business, Technology, Legal, Compliance, Finance, Operations, Investor Relations, Sales/Marketing, and external vendors.
• Strong knowledge of alternative investments, including Credit, Private Equity, Real Assets, and Secondaries, with familiarity across fund, investor, sales/marketing, and investment related lifecycles
• Structured problem solver with strong analytical skills, sound judgment, and the ability to simplify complex, ambiguous issues into clear recommendations and actions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to develop executive-ready materials and influence stakeholders at all levels of the firm.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and results-driven, with the ability to manage competing priorities, deadlines, risks, and dependencies in a fast-paced environment.
• Proactive self-starter with a bias for action, continuous improvement mindset, and ability to balance tactical execution with the firm's broader strategic direction.
• Demonstrated experience using program management tools and artifacts to manage highly complex, enterprise-wide programs with 10+ interconnected projects, including integrated master plans, dependency maps, RAID logs, milestone trackers, executive dashboards, and platforms such as Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Jira, Confluence, Asana, Monday.com, or equivalent; people management experience preferred.
• Familiarity with one or more relevant transformation domains is a plus, including client experience and investor transformation, deal pipeline management, allocation and investment workflow transformation, and treasury, banking, and liquidity operations transformation.

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.

$250,000 - $280,000 / annum

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.