Principal, Head of Financial Crimes Prevention

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 & 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; Corporate Compliance, which administers global policies and central compliance and oversight functions; and Financial Crimes, which oversees Ares’ adherence to financial crimes-related rules and regulations. 

Ares is seeking a Principal to join our Compliance team to serve as its Head of Financial Crimes. The ideal candidate will be responsible for ensuring that all Ares’ activities follow the necessary global financial crimes (anti-corruption, AML/KYC and sanctions) rules and regulations. The candidate will draft, maintain and advise on the Firm’s global financial crimes policies and procedures, including third party risk management, transactional due diligence, new business transactions, joint ventures and hiring practices with an opportunity to serve as the Firm’s MLRO.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS AND LOCATION

Reports to: Partner | Chief Compliance Officer

Supervises: will manage 3+ team members directly + matrixed oversight/partnership globally

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS AND ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:  

• Serve as the primary subject matter expert in the financial crimes space and main interface point with internal and external stakeholders in assessing and explaining our related compliance risk and control environment

• Lead the strategy, implementation, and execution of Ares’ Financial Crimes Program to ensure internal and external stakeholders adequately mitigate financial crimes risks across Ares’ global operations

• Develop and maintain global program training and testing materials including development of business unit specific content and ad-hoc training, as necessary

• Work with leaders throughout the enterprise to oversee the global team’s timely identification, resolution, and, as appropriate, escalation of any issues to the Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Regulatory Officer or General Counsel, as applicable 

• Coordinate risk-prioritized execution of Ares’ ongoing AML-CTF testing and risk assessments

• Review and respond to the results of the global testing and audits that cover the AML-CTF program

• Regularly liaise with Legal, Regulatory and Compliance partners globally in connection with the development and operation of the program

• Work collaboratively across the senior leadership team and functional teams within the Legal and Compliance Department as well as Investor Relations and Relationship Management to ensure effective and efficient operations with clearly defined roles and responsibilities in connection with the global Financial Crimes programs

• Liaise with regulators and supervisors in connection with the global program and related regulatory issues

• Drive collaboration and efficiency across multiple teams globally

• Build strong partnership with Investment Teams, Technology, Internal Audit, Enterprise Risk, Information Security and other stakeholders in connection with the global Financial Crimes programs

QUALIFICATIONS

Education: 

• Bachelor’s Degree required

• Master’s Degree or Juris Doctor a plus 

Experience Required:  

• 7+ years of Finance industry experience in Legal and Compliance

• 10+ years of Finance industry experience including strong knowledge of anti-corruption laws development of program training, policies and procedures

• Detailed knowledge of relevant regulatory requirements, including comprehensive understanding of sanctions as well as proposed rules including (but not limited to) FCPA, USA PATRIOT Act, Bank Secrecy Act, FACTA, and FATF 

• Proven ability to develop