Senior Associate, Financial Planning & Analysis

About the Role

Ares is looking for a Senior Associate to join the New York Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) team. The FP&A team works closely with business stakeholders across all lines of business and various corporate functions, primarily based in the New York office in partnership with teams in Los Angeles and London. As an alternative asset manager, Ares has a comprehensive asset mix heavily concentrated in bank debt and directly originated investments. The ideal candidate would have experience working with alternative credit or direct lending funds, extensive knowledge of fund waterfalls, and an aptitude for technological data and forecasting solutions. This role requires a dynamic, adaptive, and hands-on professional to ensure best practices in a fast-paced, rapidly growing environment.

Responsibilities

• Support the VP and broader FP&A team in partnering across the enterprise with fund accounting, corporate accounting, divisional CFOs, senior investment professionals, senior finance leadership, information technology resources, and programmers.
• Credit Segment reporting support across sub-segment Credit investment groups and business operations.
• Preparation of periodic financial reporting for internal stakeholders.
• Assets Under Management (AUM) and related metrics public reporting.
• Database creation and management in support of enterprise projects—finance and information technology.
• Financial modeling in support of enterprise-wide financial and strategic business decisions.
• Identify and understand business challenges; propose and help create solutions.
• Partner directly with the finance team to collaborate on metrics, goals, and business reviews.
• Dive deeply into specific financial data to provide anecdotal insights.
• Create presentations that provide insightful analysis, identify required action items, and effectively frame decisions to be made.
• Work closely with accounting to identify and research variances to forecast, budget, and prior-year expenses, proactively identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Develop and maintain effective relationships with business partners and cross-functional teams at all levels of the organization.
• Manage the optimization of consolidation and reporting, budgeting/forecasting, and dashboard/analytics software/technology systems to ensure the use of value-added financial tools; including selection of any new software/systems as needed.
• Lead, manage, motivate, and inspire the Operational Finance & FP&A team to effectively embrace and drive objectives, visions, and goals.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance or other business-related discipline; MBA preferred but not required.
• Minimum of 6+ years of experience in investment management firms with expertise in Investment Operations and Asset Servicing related functions.
• Basic understanding of Income Statements, Balance Sheets, and Cost Center functionality.
• Expert analytical, data management, and financial modeling skills (utilizing Excel and advanced technological solutions).
• Familiarity with financial planning applications (Oracle, Hyperion, OneStream, Power BI, Anaplan, etc.).
• Technically proficient with all MS Office applications, especially Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience building, maintaining, or working with relational, hierarchical, SQL, or Access databases strongly preferred.
• Hedge fund, Credit, or Private Equity fund experience and detailed understanding of fund waterfall calculations and mechanics.

Skills

• Ability to extract meaningful information from extensive research and analysis to effectively present facts and findings in a digestible format; keen attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills.
• Self-motivated and driven with the ability to multitask and work effectively in a dynamic environment.
• Genuine interest and passion for understanding the fundamentals of corporate finance and aptitude for embracing technological workflow enhancements.
• Team-oriented and collaborative with a strong sense of ownership.
• Self-directed with a can-do attitude, proactive in nature, and proven ability to resolve issues with minimal supervision.
• Outstanding communication (written and verbal), presentation, documentation, collaboration, and interpersonal skills.
• Hands-on approach and ability to synthesize business operation needs.
• Ability to successfully manage multiple priorities and competing demands.
• High accuracy and detail orientation.
• Good judgment in escalating issues vs. solving problems independently.
• Solutions-oriented, self-starter with the ability to see the big picture.
• Comfortable dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.
• Flexibility in working hours to coordinate with team members across various time zones.
• Analytical mind and passion/interest in bringing new ideas to increase efficiency of existing processes.
• Dependable, great attitude, highly motivated, and a team player.

Applications

• Power BI (Reporting Dashboard)
• Microsoft Excel
• OneStream (Financial Consolidation and Reporting Software)
• Alteryx
• Workiva

Pay

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $120,000 - $135,000. Total compensation may also include a discretionary performance-based bonus.

Benefits

• 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).
• Commuter Benefits plan for parking and transit.
• Access to a world-class medical advisory team.
• Mental health app that includes coaching, therapy, and psychiatry.
• 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.