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

Summary:

Ares is seeking a Principal and Compliance Officer to join our Compliance team to serve as the Conducting Officer for Compliance and AML/CTF for GCP Europe Management S.a r.l. (“GCP Luxembourg”), a regulated IFM.  As Conducting Officer in charge of the Compliance function for GCP Luxembourg, the position will lead the compliance function and serve as the Responsable du Contrôle (“RC”) for the IFM. In addition, this position will be responsible for co-ordinating the compliance training programme and oversight of GCP’s regulated and unregulated offices across the European Union. The successful candidate will serve as a key strategic leader for GCP Luxembourg’s future initiatives, as well as advising the Board of Directors of GCP Luxembourg on regulatory risk identification, compliance and monitoring.  As a senior member of the Ares Global Compliance Team, this position will report to the Head of EMEA Compliance.

This role requires a motivated, agile, and adaptable compliance professional with a results-oriented approach to resolving various compliance issues and achieving multiple objectives in a fast paced, rapidly growing environment.

Ares is a flat, flexible, and dynamic organization. The firm fosters a culture of collaboration, entrepreneurialism, integrity and partnership, both internally amongst colleagues and externally amongst clients and other stakeholders. The Ares team operates with a growth mindset, communicates transparently, and cultivates a high-performance and results-oriented environment.

The Ares Compliance Department oversees and manages Ares’ global regulatory compliance and ethics program. Under the leadership of the Global Chief Compliance & Regulatory Officer, the Compliance Department is comprised of functionally and business-aligned teams that operate collaboratively based on the Firm’s overall structure.

Primary Functions and Essential Responsibilities:

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Providing strategic leadership to the Executive Committee, Board of Managers, and international stakeholders on the regulatory implications of business developments
• Contribute to the integration of Ares’ two current AIFMs (GCP Luxembourg and Ares Management Luxembourg)
• Co-ordinating the compliance training programme and oversight of GCP’s regulated and unregulated offices across the European Union
• Efficiently manage and oversee the workplan for the Luxembourg-based Compliance team.
• Assist with creating a scalable compliance programme for a large AIFM, with multiple international Compliance stakeholders both within and outside of the Firm, including the financial crime framework required for a wide range of counterparties (including but not limited to investors, transaction counterparties, delegates, contractual counterparties, and tenants of real estate portfolios).
• Identify and assess the compliance risks to which the IFM is exposed, including identification and assessment of compliance risk in connection with new products and activities
• Assess the appropriateness of internal policies, procedures and guidelines, ensure a follow-up of any identified deficiencies, make recommendations for amendments, where necessary and supervise the implementation of corrective measures to mitigate the identified deficiencies
• Regularly monitor compliance with the compliance policies, procedures and instructions by performing regular and comprehensive compliance risk assessments and testing and preparing reports for senior management including any significant compliance issues that have arisen, corrective measures taken, and investigations carried out
• Establish and manage an issue escalation process which keeps firm management informed of incidents presenting material compliance and/or reputational risk
• Maintain a list of the main rules that govern the performance of the IFM’s activities
• Serve as Money Laundering Reporting Officer, RC and Complaints Handling Officer for the IFM
• Centralise all information on compliance-related matters
• Educate staff with respect to compliance matters and act as advisor on compliance queries from staff members
• Prepare periodic reports and notification to management and regulatory authorities on compliance and AML-CTF
• Ensure the regulatory framework of the IFM in Luxembourg, and within the branches of the IFM and unregulated European offices of GCP, positions the firm appropriately with regulators and other bodies with oversight of the firm
• In coordination with the other Conducting Officers, the Head of European Compliance and the Global Chief Compliance & Regulatory Officer, liaise with external parties and regulators on behalf of the IFM and its branches
• Develop, maintain and broaden effective working relationships across the organization and within the Compliance Department
• Maintain and demonstrate a thorough understanding of the regulations applicable to investment related activities and stay abreast of legal and regulatory developments
• Maintain a training plan for compliance policies and ensure new hire and annual training is completed

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree required
• Advanced Degree or Certification

• Membership of Luxembourg Association for Compliance Officers a plus

Experience Required:  

• 12+ years of Finance industry experience in Compliance
• 8+ years of experience in roles with duties including compliance for UK and / or US asset managers, overseeing or advising on the activities of both regulated and unregulated Luxembourg AIF fund structures (including specifically Part II UCIs).
• Experience of overseeing or advising on a broad range of investment strategies, including Private Credit, Real Estate, and Private Equity, with a detailed knowledge of relevant regulatory requirements and industry standards for both regulated and unregulated Luxembourg AIF fund structures
• A strong understanding of Luxembourg regulations applicable to AIFMs, including knowledge and experience with AML-CTF regulations across a multi-faceted counterparty base.
• Significant regulatory experience with the CSSF required
• Direct experience in managing regulatory dialogues, coordinating regulatory examinations, and responding to inquiries
• Proven track record of managing large-scale projects, successfully overseeing change management in collaboration with multiple stakeholders through to completion.

General Requirements:

• Exceptional communication skills, in particular in written English.
• Strong management skills, including proven experience of managing and/or collaborating with teams in remote locations to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and high level of supervisory oversight
• Excellent analytical skills
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability
• Self-starter who is comfortable working within an existing Compliance program
• Ability to manage up and instinctively know when to escalate risks, concerns, issues and/or various messages
• Strong interpersonal, relationship-building and negotiation skills, with an ability to influence
• Anticipate and proactively action potential issues and opportunities
• Collaborative team player
• Utmost integrity and discretion
• Ability to effectively partner with investment professionals and develop a deep understanding of investment products
• Proven ability to develop long-term strategy, reflecting multiple dimensions (business compliance/controls, people, and culture) and supporting multiple objectives
• Exceptional critical thinker
• Strong business judgment
• Expertise with regulatory review and interpretation of regulations
• Ability to manage challenging workflow in a fast paced, dynamic organization, managing multiple assignments in a deadline driven environment
• High accuracy and detail orientation
• An analytical mind and a passion/interest in bringing new ideas to increase efficiency of existing processes
• Experience and ability to proactively and continuously identify and analyze problem situations to develop an effective and improve course of action for resolution
• Ability to be flexible in terms of hours in order to coordinate with team members across time zones
• Comfort in dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty in a dynamic environment
• Dependable, great attitude, highly motivated and a team player

• Ability to handle confidential information appropriately

Reporting Relationships

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.