Vice President, Compensation Business Partner

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 looking for a Compensation Business Partner to join the Human Resources team.  The Compensation Business Partner will be responsible for supporting full-cycle compensation activity for assigned business groups.  The individual in this role will regularly partner with the Compensation Administration team, HR Business Partners, Finance Business Partners, the Workforce Planning & Analytics team, and Business Leaders to ensure a competitive compensation approach for the business, taking into account market intelligence, the Firm’s broader compensation strategy, and line of business performance/financial results.  The Compensation Business Partner will be involved in helping to structure new employee offers, evaluate candidate buy-outs, assist with structuring compensation for employee transfers and exits and provide general advice and counsel on role pricing and compensation market trends.  The Compensation Business Partner will also play a critical role in the workforce planning and compensation forecasting process as well as the annual compensation planning process, including carry and co-investment allocations.  Core responsibilities will also include reporting and analytics.  This is a strategic role that requires a combination of deep compensation experience, strong analytical and technical skills, and excellent client management / relationship skills.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to: Co-Heads, Compensation Business Advisory Group

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS AND ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
 

• Serve as the primary point of contact with assigned client groups to support all line of business compensation needs, partnering with other experts within and outside of HR as needed to deliver exceptional customer service

• Educate leaders, managers and employees on Ares’ Total Compensation approach and key processes/timelines related to compensation, working in partnership with the Compensation Administration, Talent Management teams, and other Compensation Business Partners

• Work with HR Business Partners, leaders and managers in assigned client groups to support the annual compensation process

• Leverage understanding of the assigned business groups and the associated talent pools to make informed recommendations on broader comp strategy/approach as well as individual compensation decisions

• Monitor and review individual compensation decisions to ensure that the Firm is driving consistency in how we recognize performance, overall skill set and years of experience; highlight gaps and make recommendations to address any identified issues

• In consultation with HRBP’s and Recruiters, create and maintain compensation grids and/or ranges (where applicable), modifying as needed based on market intelligence

• Support pay equity audits and the annual compensation benchmarking process, working closely with the Compensation Administration team

• Gather market intel through peer connections, search firms and other relationships to provide enhanced insight where/when needed

• Support the workforce planning and budgeting/forecasting process for assigned client groups

• Assist in structuring candidate offers, evaluating/pricing buyouts and helping to educate/facilitate the compensation offer approval process where required

• Develop, maintain, and share various HR compensation reports and analyses with appropriate stakeholders to drive informative insights to enable leaders to make better decisions

• Ensure compliance with regulatory and other related legal requirements

• Provide leadership, training and support to more junior compensation professionals

• Continuously assess the firm’s programs relative to the market and provide recommendations on how we should be positioned considering industry trends

• Design compensation programs as business needs evolve

• Provide recommendations on overall approach, philosophy and impact of our compensation programs

• Identify other opportunities to reward performance and develop business case to support recommendations