Head of Strategy and Product - Client Platforms

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 Principal to serve as Head of Strategy and Product for Client Platforms Technology, the engineering team responsible for all Client facing systems within Ares, including Sales, Marketing, Client Reporting, and Digital/Web platforms. This leader will play a central role in enabling Ares’ continued global growth by defining, socializing and getting consensus on the Client Platforms Technology strategy for the Institutional and Wealth/Retail businesses Reporting to the Managing Director, Head of Client / Investor Technology, the successful candidate will partner with business leaders across Wealth Management, Institutional, and Corporate verticals to define technology platforms, requirements, and priorities necessary to allow those leaders to meet multi-year business objectives. The role also serves as Head of Product for Client Platforms, with dotted line responsibility for product managers embedded in the institutional, retail, digital, client reporting, and data teams. This leader will be responsible for outlining a multi-year technology strategy as well as an incremental delivery plan that will deliver business value throughout the journey. The role requires deep understanding of the Client Lifecycle within Asset Management, and familiarity with relevant technology platforms and vendor offerings. Experience in build-versus-buy decisions, and prior collaboration with core engineering teams would be beneficial. The successful candidate brings a proven track record of translating business objectives into technology requirements and sequencing deliverables over an extended period to deliver value incrementally while remaining aligned to a strategic vision. The candidate should have outstanding written and verbal communication skills and the leadership presence to influence senior stakeholders across engineering and the business. This role demands both strategic thinking and a pragmatic focus. Primary Functions • Partner with business leadership to transform business outcomes into a technology platform and suite of capabilities suitable to support those outcomes • Maintain a strong focus on platform stability, performance, observability, reliability, and client experience and ensure those features are a critical component of the technology strategy • Collaborate with engineering leads and product managers to federate responsibility for delivering the platform and capabilities • Provide oversight to embedded product managers to ensure alignment to strategy, consistency of approach and quality of execution • Build and lead a high-performing product management team within Client Platforms Qualifications Experience & Background • 8+ years of related experience transforming business objectives into platform vision and sequencing deliverables to deliver that vision • Deep understanding of the client lifecycle within asset management including the sales, marketing, onboarding, reporting, and digital experience functions • Demonstrated success leading product management teams • Strong track record partnering with senior business and technology leaders Technical Expertise • Familiarity with CRM, Marketing, Sales Enablement, Client Reporting, and Analytics tools and platforms Education • Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred. • Engineering or Computer Science background preferred. Reporting Relationships Compensation The anticipated base salary range for this position is listed below. Total compensation may also include a discretionary performance-based bonus. Note, the range takes into account a broad spectrum of qualifications, including, but not limited to, years of relevant work experience, education, and other relevant qualifications specific to the role. $300,000 - $350,000 The firm also offers robust Benefits offerings. Ares U.S. Core Benefits include Comprehensive Medical/Rx, Dental and Vision plans; 401(k) program with company match; Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA); Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSA) with company contribution; Basic and Voluntary Life Insurance; Long-Term Disability (LTD) and Short-Term Disability (STD) insurance; Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and Commuter Benefits plan for parking and transit. Ares offers a number of additional benefits including access to a world-class medical advisory team, a mental health app that includes coaching, therapy and psychiatry, a mindfulness and wellbeing app, financial wellness benefit that includes access to a financial advisor, new parent leave, reproductive and adoption assistance, emergency backup care, matching gift program, education sponsorship program, and much more. 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.