Associate, Legal Transformation & 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

About the Role

Ares is seeking an Associate, Legal Transformation & Operations to help drive strategic, operational and technology initiatives across the Legal Strategy and Innovation (“LSI”) function.

Working closely with the Head of Legal Transformation & Operations, the Associate will own and advance discrete workstreams spanning operational transformation, workflow modernization, legal technology, data and analytics, AI enablement, vendor management and other department-wide initiatives.

The role is designed for a highly resourceful and analytical individual who combines structured problem solving with strong execution. The successful candidate will be comfortable taking ambiguous problems, developing a path forward, coordinating across stakeholders and driving work through implementation.

Success requires strong judgment, ownership, attention to detail, intellectual curiosity and the ability to learn new tools, systems and subject matter quickly.

Key Responsibilities

Transformation Execution & Project Management

Own and drive discrete workstreams within strategic and operational initiatives across LSI and the broader Legal department.

Develop and manage project plans, milestones, dependencies, risks, decisions and follow-up activities across multiple concurrent initiatives.

Structure ambiguous business problems, conduct analysis, synthesize findings and help develop practical recommendations and implementation approaches.

Prepare decision-ready presentations, briefing materials, executive updates, meeting materials and project documentation.

Coordinate stakeholders, working sessions, testing, training, change management and implementation activities to keep initiatives moving forward.

Identify execution risks and obstacles, escalate issues appropriately and drive issues through resolution.

Process, Data & Technology Enablement

Analyze existing workflows and operating processes and identify opportunities to simplify, standardize, automate, or redesign them.

Help design and implement scalable intake mechanisms, routing models, approval workflows, service delivery processes and other operational infrastructure.

Document processes, operating procedures, decision frameworks, templates and other reusable resources.

Collect, organize, validate and analyze data from internal systems, vendors and business processes.

Develop dashboards, KPI reporting, management analyses and executive-level insights that support decision-making and performance management.

Support data quality, data governance and reporting initiatives that improve the reliability and usability of Legal department information.

Support the implementation, testing, administration and adoption of legal technology and other enterprise platforms.

Identify practical opportunities to apply automation and generative AI to workflows, operational processes, analysis and knowledge-intensive work.

Develop user guides, training materials and adoption resources that help translate new tools and processes into sustained ways of working.

Department Operations & General Counsel Support

Support the General Counsel to build and maintain a scalable operating infrastructure for the Legal department, including onboarding materials, organizational charts, distribution lists, intranet content, departmental overview materials for investors, reference materials and other internal communications.

Coordinate department-wide meetings, offsites, training programs and other initiatives that support organizational alignment and employee experience.

Qualifications

Required Skills and Experience

3–6 years of experience in management consulting, strategy or business operations, transformation, project or program management, technology implementation, legal operations, professional services, or a similarly rigorous operating environment.

Demonstrated ability to independently own workstreams and manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.

Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills, including the ability to turn incomplete or ambiguous information into actionable recommendations.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex information into clear, decision-ready materials.

Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.

Demonstrated fluency using generative AI tools to improve research, analysis, drafting, productivity, or workflow execution.

Strong organizational skills and attention to detail while maintaining focus on broader business objectives.

Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment and operate effectively in a fast-paced environment with significant ambiguity.

Ability and willingness to independently learn new technologies, systems, business processes and subject matter quickly.

Proven track record of taking ownership, exercising initiative and following through on commitments.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with technology-enabled transformation initiatives, including system implementations, workflow redesign, user adoption, training and change management.

Experience with program or project management tools and methodologies.

Experience with systems of record or operational platforms supporting data intake, workflow orchestration, process automation, or knowledge management.

Experience with data visualization, reporting, or automation tools such as Power BI, Power Automate, or similar platforms.

Experience supporting budgeting, forecasting, resource planning, vendor management, or financial analysis.

Experience using vibe-coding or generative AI coding tools.

Candidate Profile

Prior legal experience is helpful but not required. More important are intellectual curiosity, analytical ability, operational rigor, strong communication skills and a demonstrated ability to move from problem definition through execution.

The strongest candidates will be comfortable quickly shifting between ideation and execution: structuring an ambiguous problem, developing an analysis or recommendation and then doing the detailed work required to implement the solution successfully.

What Success Looks Like

Strategic and operational workstreams advance with increasing independence, strong organization and disciplined follow-through.

The Head of Legal Transformation & Operations gains meaningful leverage because the Associate can take ownership of execution and drive initiatives forward.

Analyses, presentations, reporting and project materials are consistently accurate, insightful, timely and decision-ready.

Processes and operating infrastructure become more standardized, scalable, measurable and efficient.

Technology, AI and workflow initiatives translate into practical improvements that are successfully implemented and adopted.

Stakeholders view the Associate as a resourceful, dependable, analytically strong partner who can solve problems and get things done.

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 spec