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

Vice President, Head of Legal Transformation

Compensation

$105,000-$130,000

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.