Senior Associate - Financial Planning & Analysis

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

Ares Management is seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented Senior Associate to join the Credit Financial Planning & Analysis team. The Credit Financial Planning & Analysis team currently consists of five members in Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Mumbai and works in a very team-oriented environment as a part of the firm’s larger Finance organization. The team is responsible for various projection models, fund forecasting and other corporate finance functions, and works closely with numerous groups across the organization, including Credit investment professionals and senior management as well as investor relations, fund accounting, business operations, portfolio management and technology teams.

The ideal candidate would have a fundamental understanding of alternative investing and/or private credit and would demonstrate an aptitude in financial modeling and forecasting solutions. The candidate would also partner closely with our technology team to support automation, AI integration and data analytics initiatives and would display capability and passion for automation and technological data. The role requires a dynamic, adaptive, experienced hands-on professional to ensure best practices in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment.

Primary functions and essential responsibilities

The Senior Associate will support a VP and the broader FP&A team in partnering across our enterprise to provide accurate projections for senior management. Responsibilities include:

• Building and maintaining fund projection models for public and non-private regulated funds such as Business Development Companies and Interval Funds
• Preparing and assisting with various scenario and/or sensitivity analyses and ad hoc business requests before presentation of this data to senior management to assist in corporate strategy
• Managing various automation initiatives of forecast projection models with a focus on Anaplan or similar enterprise modeling software while incorporating best practices around AI and data technology
• Supporting the implementation of new systems and processes, including data collection, testing, analysis, presentation and supporting the roll out
• Coordinating with other teams such as fund accounting, investor relations, Credit investment professionals, portfolio management and/or business operations to gather and update key inputs for fund models on a timely basis
• Organizing presentations and other data requests for lenders, investors and rating agencies while assisting with fund capital formation and balance sheet management
• Assisting in reporting to internal stakeholders by creating presentations or data-driven dashboards that provide thoughtful analysis and identify required action items

The Senior Associate will also provide a fresh mindset and an ability to lead, manage, motivate, and inspire the FP&A team to effectively embrace and drive objectives, visions, and goals.

Qualifications

Education/Certification:

• Bachelor's Degree in a Business-related field such as Finance, Accounting, Financial Engineering, Data Science or Economics from a top academic institution
• MBA or Graduate Degree a plus, but not required
• CFA and/or CPA license a plus, but not required

Experience Required:

• Minimum of 4-6 years of relevant work experience in Finance and/or FP&A with strong interest or experience in data science, automation and/or technology
• Background in financial services, alternative investing and/or private credit a plus
• Experience may include time spent at an alternative investment manager, financial institution or bank, rating agency, accounting or advisory firm
• Strong Excel skills in financial modeling with a willingness to learn new systems to continuously improve and increase automation
• Prior experience with Anaplan or similar modeling software tools a plus
• Proficiency in Power BI and/or other analytical tools a plus
• Experience and passion for using AI tools (Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude at minimum) to drive efficiencies a plus

General Requirements:

• General understanding of fund financial statements and projection models
• Interest in designing, building, and maintaining complex, dynamic models that drive decision-making
• Exceptional problem solving and analytical skills with an ability to translate business requirements and ad-hoc requests into scalable, efficient modeling solutions that provide actionable insights
• Strong ability to communicate, both through written communication and/or presentations and then verbally during meetings to relay this information to leadership
• Ability to develop and maintain relationships across various parts of the organization with stakeholders across all levels, both internally and externally
• Attention to detail, accuracy and deadlines; must be organized and able to successfully manage multiple priorities and competing demands
• Experience building, maintaining, or working with relationship, hierarchical, SQL or databases a plus
• A self-directed individual with a can-do attitude, willing to work in an energetic, collaborative, and fast-paced environment, proactive in nature, and a proven ability to resolve issues with minimal supervision
• A solutions-oriented individual that will take pride in their work and connect it to the bigger picture

Reporting Relationships

Compensation

$135,000 - $165,000

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.