Vice President, Senior Commercial Counsel

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 Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is seeking an experienced and strategic commercial attorney to join its Legal team. This role reports to the Managing Director, Associate General Counsel, Enterprise Legal. The position offers the opportunity to lead and continue developing Ares' vendor contracting function within a dynamic and fast-growing alternative investment management platform. The Senior Commercial Counsel will serve as the primary legal advisor and functional lead for Ares' vendor contracting program. The role will be responsible for overseeing a high-volume contract review function while remaining hands-on in reviewing, drafting and negotiating vendor and other commercial agreements. The Senior Commercial Counsel will supervise a team of contract professionals and will partner closely with business stakeholders and other members of the Legal team on vendor contracting matters. In addition to managing the existing contracting function, the Senior Commercial Counsel will be responsible for developing and implementing the future-state operating model for vendor contract review at Ares. This will include evaluating processes and workflows, external service providers, contract lifecycle management systems, and emerging artificial intelligence and other legal technologies. The ideal candidate will combine strong commercial contracting expertise with demonstrated experience leading a large-scale contract review function and an interest in using technology, process design and innovative service-delivery models to improve the quality, efficiency and scalability of legal services.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Review, draft and negotiate a broad range of vendor and other commercial agreements, including master services agreements, statements of work, software and SaaS agreements, technology agreements, professional services agreements, NDAs and other commercial arrangements.
• Serve as a senior escalation point for complex or higher-risk vendor contracts and provide practical, solutions-oriented advice regarding contractual and commercial risk.
• Ensure vendor contracts appropriately reflect Ares' contractual standards, policies and risk tolerances while facilitating the firm's commercial objectives.
• Partner with stakeholders across Procurement, Technology, Information Security, Privacy, Finance and other business functions on vendor contracting matters.
• Develop, maintain and improve contract templates, playbooks, fallback positions and escalation guidelines to promote consistency and efficiency across the contracting function.

Contract Review Team Leadership

• Lead and supervise a team of contract professionals responsible for the day-to-day review, drafting and negotiation of vendor contracts.
• Operate as a hands-on leader, maintaining responsibility for personally reviewing and negotiating contracts while effectively managing, developing and supporting the broader contract review team.
• Establish clear standards, workflows and escalation protocols and provide substantive guidance and coaching to members of the contract review team.
• Monitor contract volume, turnaround times, workload allocation and other relevant performance indicators to ensure the contracting function delivers timely, high-quality and consistent support to internal stakeholders.
• Build strong relationships with business stakeholders and serve as a primary point of contact within Legal for the vendor contract review process.

Contracting Strategy & Operating Model

• Develop and implement a scalable, efficient and technology-enabled operating model for Ares' vendor contracting function.
• Evaluate emerging artificial intelligence, contract review, workflow automation and other legal technology solutions to support the firm's evolving contracting needs.
• Partner with Legal Operations, Technology and other stakeholders to enhance and optimize CLM functionality, workflows and integrations and lead or support implementation of changes designed to improve the quality, efficiency and scalability of the contracting function.
• Evaluate and, where appropriate, oversee alternative legal service providers, law firms or other external resources supporting vendor contract review, including establishing service expectations, escalation procedures, quality standards and performance metrics.
• Identify opportunities to streamline contract review, reduce unnecessary friction and improve the experience of internal stakeholders while appropriately managing legal and commercial risk.
• Develop and use appropriate metrics and reporting to assess the effectiveness of the contracting function and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Stay current on developments in CLM technology, AI-assisted contract review and evolving approaches to legal service delivery and apply relevant developments to Ares' contracting function.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school
• Bachelor's degree required
• Admission and good standing in at least one U.S. state bar

Required Skills & Experience

• 8-10+ years of legal experience, with significant experience reviewing, drafting and negotiating vendor and other commercial agreements
• Demonstrated experience leading or materially overseeing a large-scale, high-volume commercial or vendor contract review program, preferably with annual contract volume exceeding approximately 5,000 contracts
• Significant hands-on experience negotiating complex technology, software, SaaS, professional services and other vendor agreements
• Experience supervising and developing attorneys, paralegals, contract administrators or other contract professionals
• Demonstrated experience designing, scaling or materially improving commercial contracting processes and operating models
• Strong understanding of contract lifecycle management systems and technology-enabled contracting workflows, with a demonstrated fluency in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies applicable to contract review and legal service delivery
• Experience managing external counsel, alternative legal service providers or other outsourced contracting resources preferred
• Strong stakeholder management experience, including interaction with senior leadership and cross-functional business partners

General Requirements

• Experience providing practical, solutions-based legal advice and strategically collaborating with business partners to navigate legal landscapes and commercial considerations
• Ability to operate autonomously as well as part of a larger team
• Ability to plan, execute and manage complex projects and organizational change, getting buy-in from relevant stakeholders
• Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent time management and organizational skills
• Excellent contract review, drafting and negotiation skills
• Critical thinker and skilled issue spotter with high attention to detail
• Ability to successfully manage and prioritize multiple priorities and competing/shifting demands
• Strong people-management skills and an ability to develop high-performing teams
• Appreciation for process design, implementation and continuous improvement
• Technology-forward mindset with an interest in identifying and implementing innovative approaches to legal service delivery
• Growth mindset with the desire to learn, improve and take on new challenges

Reporting Relationships

Associate General Counsel, Enterprise Legal

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 qualifications specific to the role. $250,000-$300,000

Benefits

• Ares U.S. Core Benefits include Comprehensive Medical/Rx, Dental and Vision plans; 401(k) program with company match; Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA); Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSA) with company contribution; Basic and Voluntary Life Insurance; Long-term Disability (LTD) and Short-term Disability (STD) insurance; Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and Commuter Benefits plan for parking and transit.
• Ares offers a number of additional benefits including access to a world-class medical advisory team, a mental health app that includes coaching, therapy and psychiatry, a mindfulness and wellbeing app, financial wellness benefit that includes access to a financial advisor, new parent leave, reproductive and adoption assistance, emergency backup care, matching gift program, education sponsorship program, and much more.

Equal Employment Opportunity

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. (1) As of June 30, 2026. AUM amounts include funds managed by Ivy Hill Asset Management, LP., a wholly owned portfolio company of Ares Capital Corporation and registered investment adviser.