Description:

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.

Reporting:
Reports to: Associate General Counsel, Enterprise Legal

Key Responsibilities:
Commercial Contracting

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