Associate, Legal Transformation & Operations
Description
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 qualifi