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 and highly motivated Associate Vice President, Facilities - Project Manager focused on tenant improvements to lead the planning, design, construction, and delivery of Ares’ corporate office buildouts throughout the United States, while supporting select international projects and project management across other strategic initiatives as needed.

This role will be responsible for managing a large portfolio of tenant improvement projects, office expansions, densifications, relocations, office upgrades, acquisition-related integrations, and space reduction and decommission initiatives. The successful candidate will serve as the primary project management lead across the project lifecycle, ensuring delivery of projects on schedule, within budget, and aligned with Ares' evolving workplace standards and business objectives.

The position requires a strategic thinker with strong construction management expertise, financial acumen, contract negotiation experience, and the ability to collaborate effectively and efficiently with stakeholders across multiple business functions. This individual will partner closely with executive leadership, regional facilities teams, external consultants, landlords, architects, contractors, and vendors to ensure successful execution of projects and seamless transition to ongoing operations.

Primary functions and essential responsibilities

Project Leadership & Delivery

• Lead all phases of tenant improvement and capital projects across Ares' U.S. office portfolio, including planning, programming, design, budgeting, construction, commissioning, occupancy, and closeout.
• Manage multiple concurrent projects ranging from office expansions and relocations to densifications, renovations, workplace upgrades, and acquisition-driven integrations.
• Develop comprehensive project schedules, milestones, risk registers, and delivery plans to ensure successful execution.
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders to define business requirements, workplace standards, and operational objectives.
• Conduct regular site visits and travel extensively to oversee project execution, mitigate risks, and ensure quality outcomes.
• Maintain flexibility across project load to enable prioritization of critical deadlines and deliverables within a changing and growing workplace environment.  
• Provide executive-level reporting regarding project status, budget performance, key risks, and mitigation strategies.

Design & Construction Management

• Manage external architects, engineers, project managers, furniture vendors, consultants, contractors, and specialty vendors throughout the project lifecycle.
• Understand and align with lease requirements, permitting, landlord approvals, and construction administration and Tenant Improvement reimbursement processes.
• Ensure projects align with corporate design standards (architectural, security and technological) and coordinate with the Ares technology team around implementation of Ares technology standards.
• Review construction documents, schedules, change orders, and contractor submissions to maintain project quality and consistency.
• Drive continuous improvement of workplace design standards, construction processes, and project delivery methodologies.

Capital Planning & Financial Management

• Manage the annual Facilities Capital Expenditure (CapEx) budget across all active and upcoming projects.
• Develop more robust financial forecasting, budget tracking, reporting, and project performance dashboards for leadership review.
• Monitor project budgets throughout design and construction phases to identify and mitigate variances.
• Prepare business cases, financial analyses, and leadership presentations supporting capital investment decisions.
• Manage all Tenant Improvement refund processes to completion and in alignment with lease requirements.

Procurement, Contracts & Vendor Management

• Lead RFP development, bid evaluations, vendor selection processes, and contract negotiations for design, construction, furniture, and workplace service providers.
• Manage consultant and contractor agreements, ensuring favorable commercial terms and compliance with company standards.
• Oversee purchase order creation, invoice management, budget allocation, and project-related payment approvals and payment processing through Ares’ billing portal.
• Partner closely with Procurement, Accounts Payable, Legal, and Finance teams to ensure efficient project execution and financial controls.
• Build strategic relationships with preferred vendors while driving consistency and economies of scale across the portfolio.

Stakeholder & Change Management

• Partner with the Global Head of Facilities and senior business leaders to align projects with growth plans, headcount forecasts, and operational requirements.
• Facilitate workplace design reviews and decision-making meetings with stakeholders across business functions.
• Develop communication strategies that provide transparency regarding project scope, schedule, milestones, risks, and impacts.
• Support change management efforts associated with relocations, expansions, consolidations, and acquisition-related integrations.

Operational Transition & Portfolio Support

• Ensure complete and seamless transition of newly delivered projects to Regional Facilities Managers and operational teams.
• Develop turnover documentation, operating procedures, warranty tracking, and maintenance requirements.
• Capture lessons learned and establish best practices across the global facilities project portfolio.
• Support select international projects and global process-improvement initiatives as organizational priorities evolve.

Qualifications

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required.

• Project Management degree or certificate (or work experience equivalent).

• Expertise reading construction documents required.

• Expertise in Excel, PowerPoint, MS Project (or other schedule management tool)

• Bluebeam, CAD or other plans review tool experience preferred.

• Architectural or construction project management background preferred.

• Experience with large-scale Capex projects and budget tracking required.

• Experience with Coupa (or similar billing/procurement software) preferred.

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Reporting Relationships

Compensation

$100,000 - $120,000

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.