Vice President/Principal, Investment Operations

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Vice President/Principal, Investment OperationsApply locations Singapore time type Full time posted on Posted Yesterday job requisition id R6466Over 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

Summary:

The successful candidate will be a senior member within the Ares Asia Investment Operations team, joining the Investment Operations team in Singapore. As a pivotal member of the Investment Operations group, the candidate will oversee all aspects of investment support, collaborating closely with the Investment teams on private equity deals and potentially credit deals as well.

One of the primary middle office functions of the Investment Operations team in Asia is supporting the deal closing process. The team is composed of Project Managers (PMs), each of whom leads deals from an operational perspective. The successful candidate will in some cases act as a PM and in others guide the more junior PMs, ensuring seamless coordination with the deal leads from the Investment Team and other critical support functions such as Fund Accounting, Legal, Compliance, and Tax. Each PM manages a deal portfolio, actively engaging with team members to drive successful outcomes.

In addition to these responsibilities, the candidate will work closely with the reporting manager to lead some of the Asia-wide process improvement initiatives as well as be a key member of the team leading some of the integration efforts with the Global team. This role demands a strategic thinker and a proactive leader who can drive operational excellence and foster collaboration across various departments.

Furthermore, the candidate will provide inputs and help with optimizing overall business processes, including deal pipeline management, trade booking, deal closings, settlements, and ongoing operational support for his/her responsible strategy. They will leverage data-driven insights to make informed decision-making and ensure that the team is aligned with the overall strategic goals of the organization. The candidate will also play a crucial role in mentoring and developing team members, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and professional growth.

This leadership role requires a visionary who can anticipate challenges and opportunities, and who is adept at navigating complex environments. The successful candidate will play an instrumental part in shaping the future of the Investment Operations Team in Asia, ensuring that it remains at the forefront of industry's best practices and innovation.

Primary Functions and Essential Responsibilities:

• Core team member in setting out operational strategy and help refine the operating model for the Asia region, both from a regional perspective and for each specific business line. Provide strategic leadership to ensure alignment with firmwide organizational goals, leveraging technology and scaling the business around future acquisitions.
• Identify and address gaps between current and future state operating models through a combination of short-term tactical improvements and longer-term strategic initiatives. Take initiative in implementing these changes.
• Play an integral role in driving Asia-wide process improvement initiatives as well as integration initiatives with the Global operations team, guiding the team to implement changes that enhance efficiency and effectiveness, demonstrating flexibility and strategic vision. Inspire the team to embrace new challenges.
• Strategically oversee the deal pipeline, closing and ongoing management of investments for his/her responsible strategy / deals, ensuring robust operational controls and proactively addressing pertinent matters to maintain high standards of operational excellence.
• Lead the structuring of investments for his/her responsible strategy in the Asia region, focusing on operational perspectives to optimize outcomes, and providing strategic direction to the team to achieve these goals.
• Ensure operational readiness for the execution of transactions by monitoring the setup of investment subsidiaries, bank and/or custody accounts, timely funds remittances, and KYC processes for investee companies. Guide the team to ensure all infrastructure is in place and functioning efficiently.
• Drive the execution of acquisitions and realization processes for the investments for his/her responsible strategy/deals, ensuring alignment with strategic goals and leading the team to achieve successful outcomes.
• Oversee ongoing operational monitoring of fund investments for the responsible strategy / deals, providing guidance to the team and ensuring compliance with established protocols and controls. Foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Represent the team at relevant trade approval committee meetings, ensuring that matters raised are adequately addressed and that the team's interests are well-represented.
• Maintain comprehensive operational records and control files of each investment, ensuring that the team adheres to best practices in record-keeping and data management.
• Develop relationships and SLAs with the group's custodians and administrators, fostering collaboration and ensuring service excellence. Lead the team in maintaining strong, productive relationships with external partners.
• Mentor and develop team members, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and professional growth, and ensuring that the team is equipped to meet future challenges.

Education:

• 15+ years of relevant experience in Investment Operations
• Seasoned leader with significant experience supervising teams
• Bachelor's degree in business, Finance or Accounting with exceptional academic credentials. A master's degree is preferred.
• Strong knowledge of Private Equity and/or Credit

Skills and Abilities Required:

• Excellent command of written and spoken English.
• This role requires a dynamic, adaptive, and experienced professional who can build and maintain strong business partner relationships.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to analyze complex situations and articulate ideas and strategies, both verbally and in writing, thereby driving decision-making
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills. On-the-job adaptability translating into nimbleness is critical
• High level of integrity, enabling the candidate to become a trusted partner to clients and peers.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively, making informed decisions under pressure.
• A desire to work within a diverse, collaborative, driven professional and client-facing environment

About Ares Asia

With a pan-Asian presence, Ares Asia is one of the largest alternative asset managers in Asia-Pacific with approximately US$14.8 billion in assets under management. Led by a highly experienced management team that has delivered attractive investment performance across various market cycles, transaction types and Asian countries, Ares Asia leverages its broad geographical footprint and extensive infrastructure in the region to make credit, private equity, and special situations investments on behalf of its institutional client base.

Ares Asia's team has been consistently recognized for industry accolades, including Private Debt Investor's Distressed Debt Investor of the Year, Asia-Pacific in each of the last six years. Ares Asia was founded in 2009 as SSG Capital and was renamed after the acquisition in July 2020 by Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES).

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation ("Ares" or the "Firm") is a publicly traded (NYSE: ARES), leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $464 billion of assets under management ("AUM") and over 3,140 employees. We seek to deliver attractive performance to our investor base across our investment groups and strategies, including credit, real assets, private equity, and secondaries. The Firm is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices across the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Ares Management LLC (together with its related operating and administrative subsidiaries, "Ares Management") is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, ethnicity, creed, sex, age, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, partnership status, sexual orientation, status regarding public assistance, military or veteran status, domestic violence victim status, gender identity and expression, transgender status, genetic information, status as unemployed, political affiliation or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

Ares Management will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

Reporting Relationships

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.

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