Vice President, Corporate Compliance (Code of Ethics)

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

The Ares Legal and Compliance Department oversees and manages Ares’ global Legal, Regulatory and Compliance functions and programs.  Under the leadership of the Global Chief Compliance Officer, the Compliance and Regulatory functions are comprised of teams that operate collaboratively with a global focus, including Regulatory, which oversees all global regulatory matters including the Advisers Act, Investment Company Act and FINRA; European and Asia Pacific Compliance, which oversees region-specific compliance and regulatory matters; Investment Adviser Compliance (including Code of Ethics), which administers global policies and central compliance and oversight functions; and Financial Crime Prevention, which oversees Ares’ adherence to financial crimes-related rules and regulations. 

Ares is seeking a Vice President to join our Compliance team to serve as a member of the Firm’s Code of Ethics program.  The ideal candidate will bring a balance of strong management skills and experience managing a team with a demonstrated knowledge of and experience with compliance with a global Code of Ethics program, including a forensic testing and training program. This role will particularly focus on enhancement of policies, procedures and technology of the Firm’s Global Code of Ethics program in coordination with the Heads of Compliance for EMEA and APAC.

Primary Functions and Essential Responsibilities

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Administer, along with other team members, the Firm's Global Code of Ethics Program including policies governing personal trading, gifts and entertainment, outside business activity, political contributions, and conflicts of interest

• Assist in the review for other policy requests related to political contributions, gifts and entertainment, outside business activity, etc.

• Lead the global training program for the Legal and Compliance Department and assist with the development of compliance training materials

• Assess initial disclosure information for potential conflicts of interest

• Act as administrator and systems expert for the system Ares uses to administer the Code of Ethics and other global policies

• Coordinate the team’s work with brokers for addition of new brokerage accounts or to code new broker feeds into compliance system

• Assist with the Firm’s lobbyist registrations and GMETL requisitions related to government officials in coordination with the Firm’s Head of Financial Crime Prevention

• Generate relevant metrics for management regarding Code of Ethics supervisory activities

• Identify, investigate, and properly address potential or actual violations

• Supervise certain tasks performed by third party compliance support providers and help provide continuous training to improve the process

• Facilitate quarterly, annual, and ad hoc policy certifications

• Act as one of the primary contacts for responding to policy questions, mostly related to the Code of Ethics

• Identify, present recommendations, and ultimately implement solutions for improving processes within the program to build efficiencies and improve workflows

• Maintain strong working knowledge of the firm's compliance policies and procedures

• Appropriately escalate material compliance issues

• Identify and inform of any changes to regulatory requirements relating to Code of Ethics matters

Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree required, preferably from a top university with strong academic achievement

• Advanced Degree preferred

Experience Required:  

• 10-12 years of Finance industry experience in Compliance, with experience at a global asset management firm a plus

• 10+ years of Code of Ethics related work

• A strong understanding of SEC regulations, with a particular focus on the Investment Advisers Act of 1940

• Experience with non-U.S. regulatory requirements for investment managers

• Proven people leader – hiring, developing, and fostering talent; building high-performing and well-coordinated teams; driving change across scaled and global teams

• Ability to effectively partner with global staff inside and outside of the department

• Proven ability to develop long-term strategy, reflecting multiple dimensions (business compliance/controls, people, and culture) and supporting multiple objectives

• Exceptional critical thinker

• Strong business judgment

• Ability to manage up and communicate efficiently and effectively

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)

General Requirements:

• Strong management skills, including proven experience of managing and/or collaborating with teams in remote locations to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and high level of supervisory oversight

• Strong sense of ownership and accountability

• Ability to manage up and instinctively know when to escalate risks, concerns, issues and/or various messages

• Expertise with SEC regulatory review and interpretation of regulations

• Ability to manage challenging workflow in-fast paced, dynamic organization, managing multiple assignments in a deadline driven environment

• Ability to successfully manage multiple priorities and competing demands; result oriented

• High accuracy and detail orientation

• Organizational skills, demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities and lead large scale projects to completion

• Excellent communication and client service skills; capability of interacting with key stakeholders to direct prioritization of program related activity

• Strong written, verbal and interpersonal skills

• An analytical mind and a passion/interest in bringing new ideas to increase efficiency of existing processes

• Experience and ability to proactively and continuously identify and analyze problem situations to develop an effective and improve course of action for resolution

• Ability to be flexible in terms of hours in order to coordinate with team members across time zones

• Comfort in dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty in a dynamic environment

• Dependable, great attitude, highly motivated and a team player

• Ability to handle confidential information appropriately

Reporting Relationships

Compensation

$185,000-$225,000

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.