Senior Associate, Financial Planning & Analysis at Ares Management in New York, NY

Job 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 Ares is seeking an experienced Associate to join its Global Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) team in New York and serve as the dedicated FP&A partner for the evergreen funds within the Infrastructure Equity strategy. The associate will own the fund-level financial models and provide integrated planning, forecasting, performance analysis, and decision support in close partnership with the Infrastructure Equity team and finance stakeholders. The ideal candidate combines advanced financial modeling skills and strong accounting and financial statement knowledge with the ability to translate complex fund and portfolio data into clear insights and recommendations. Primary functions and essential responsibilities Support the FP&A VP and build effective relationships across Infrastructure Equity investment team, fund and corporate accounting, tax, divisional CFO organization, and technology teams. Planning, Forecasting & Performance Analysis Support the annual budget, periodic forecast, and long-range planning processes for the evergreen funds within the Infrastructure Equity strategy. Integrate investment-level assumptions with fund-level forecasts, including investment performance, cash flows, liquidity, leverage, NAV, earnings, distributions, and investor returns. Analyze actual and forecasted performance, identify key business drivers and risks, and clearly explain variances against prior forecasts, budgets, underwriting cases, and realized results. Translate fund performance and model outputs into relevant management fee, incentive fee, and other earnings forecasts used in divisional and consolidated Ares planning and reporting. Prepare clear, concise analyses and materials for senior leadership, investment committees, and other internal stakeholders. Fund Model Ownership & Governance Own and maintain the fund-level financial models for the evergreen funds within the Infrastructure Equity strategy. Partner with investment, tax, accounting, and other stakeholders to incorporate new investments, fund developments, revised investment performance expectations, updated funding assumptions, and actual results. Manage the recurring fund-model input process across deal teams, including coordinating submission timelines, validating inputs, facilitating appropriate review, and escalating material changes or unresolved issues. Maintain model integrity through disciplined version control, documentation, reconciliation, and review procedures. Reconcile model outputs with investment reporting, accounting records, periodic valuations, and fund financial statements in partnership with fund and corporate accounting. Strategic Decision Support & Reporting Translate complex model outputs into insights and recommendations supporting capital allocation, portfolio construction, financing, liquidity management, and other fund-management decisions. Partner with investment and tax teams to maintain accurate forecasts of taxable income, earnings and profits, and other relevant fund-level tax attributes. Prepare and review analyses supporting reporting packages for investors, lenders, boards, and internal committees. Support ad hoc financial analysis and strategic initiatives for the Infrastructure Equity team and Global Corporate FP&A leadership. Process Improvement, Data & Technology Improve the efficiency, accuracy, and scalability of fund-level planning, fo