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 a new Associate to add to the growing ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) team. The ESG Associate will support the Global Head of ESG and the ESG integration of the US Credit business. The Associate will cover a workload which includes both on-going responsibilities and project based work across both Ares’ Corporate Sustainability and Responsible Investment initiatives. Project based work includes, but is not limited to, maintaining the momentum behind firmwide workstreams focused on Sustainability Linked Loans, ESG Data, Climate Change Strategy and Diversity & Inclusion investment process integration. See Ares’ 2020 Sustainability Report for more information on the ESG team’s Corporate Sustainability and Responsible Investment Initiatives.Reporting relationships
Reports to:
Managing Director, Global Head of ESG
Secondary Relationship: Vice President, ESG Integration Lead for US Credit
Supervises: n/a
Primary Functions & Responsibilities
The Associate is responsible for the following functions:
- Lead project management and develop internal / external deliverables on ESG workstreams Conduct research and communicate findings on ESG industry trends and frameworks, in addition to ad hoc deep-dive research topics
- Support ESG initiatives across the US Credit investment platform including ESG data collection and carbon foot printing efforts
- Manage ESG external deliverables
- In partnership with the Head of ESG, create high visibility board materials
- Work with ESG team members and RFP team on complex ESG-related inquiries
- Lead aspects of preparing the corporate sustainability report in accordance with accepted standards (GRI, SASB, TCFD, CDP, etc.)
- Partner with ESG Vice Presidents on engagements with portfolio companies, investment professionals and deal teams as needed
- Support benchmarking analysis and action plans for Ares’ improvements in sustainability practices
- Contribute to thought leadership through research and writing, and client engagement through content development and production of presentation materials
- Collaborate with other teams (i.e. HR, Corporate Services, IR, compliance, marketing, investment professionals) on building their capacity to progress their own ESG initiatives
- Support “enabler” activity, including but not limited to Ares’ firmwide workstreams focused on Sustainability Linked Loans, ESG Data, Climate Change Strategy and Diversity & Inclusion investment process integration
- Support the maintenance and enhancement of Ares’ ESG capabilities, including staying abreast of industry trends and regulations, and engaging with industry associations
Qualifications
Education:
- Bachelor’s Degree required
Experience Required
- Passion for ESG, sustainability, and/or impact investing, with an entry level understanding of (or strong appetite to learn about) ESG data, frameworks, reporting, and industry best practices
- Minimum 4-6 years of work experience in a professional work environment
- Prior experience in Financial Services, Consulting or ESG/Sustainability is preferred
- Strong proficiency in PowerPoint and Word; proficiency in Excel
Skills/Abilities
- Requires strong work ethic, flexibility, excellent communication, writing and interpersonal skills, and the ability to prioritize tasks
- Strong analytical and written / verbal communication skills, including synthesizing research and concepts into actionable insights and investor-facing deliverables in a timely manner
- Comfort navigating ambiguity
- Team-oriented and organized, with the proven ability to proactively manage multiple projects with a broad range of stakeholders to deliver results in a dynamic environment
- Accountable, with a strong sense of ownership and attention to detail
Reporting Relationships
Head of ESG