Administrative Manager (Senior Associate/AVP, Corporate Services)

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 Administrative Manager to join the New York Corporate Services team. This role provides day-to-day leadership and oversight of approximately 35 administrative professionals, ensuring high-quality support, effective coverage, and strong performance across the firm’s New York location.

The Administrative Manager will play a critical leadership role in executing the regional administrative talent strategy, including workforce planning, hiring, onboarding, performance management, and professional development. The successful candidate will foster a high-performance, inclusive culture; balance workloads and coverage; and serve as a key stakeholder and liaison to business leaders, HR, and cross-regional administrative partners. This role requires strong people leadership, sound judgment, and the ability to proactively drive process and operational improvements.

Primary functions and essential responsibilities

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

People Leadership & Talent Management

• Lead and manage the administrative function for the New York office, fostering an inclusive, high-performance environment.
• Build a culture of accountability, engagement, and professional excellence.
• Align administrative resources to departmental and business objectives.
• Drive workforce planning, including staffing levels, coverage models, overtime management, and workload balancing.
• Lead and participate in the full recruitment lifecycle, including intake meetings, interviews, candidate evaluations, and offer recommendations.
• Partner with HR to approve and execute onboarding plans for new administrative hires.
• Lead performance management processes, delivering clear, constructive feedback and holding team members accountable to expectations.
• Provide recommendations for merit increases and annual bonus awards.
• Identify development needs and facilitate coaching and learning opportunities for team members.

Operational Oversight & Process Improvement

• Evaluate administrative structures and support assignments to ensure efficiency and scalability.
• Proactively identify risks, issues, and opportunities; take decisive action when needed.
• Challenge existing processes and recommend improvements to enhance effectiveness and service delivery.
• Partner with IT and internal stakeholders to design and implement process and technology enhancements.
• Understand region-specific administrative processes and help streamline cross-regional practices where appropriate.
• Act consistently with firm policies, practices, and governance standards.

Stakeholder & Client Partnership

• Build and maintain strong relationships with business leaders and internal clients, with a deep understanding of business-unit dynamics.
• Serve as a trusted partner by proactively seeking feedback and continuously improving service quality.
• Collaborate with administrative leaders across regions to implement firmwide initiatives, including technology improvements, town halls, learning programs, and intranet resources.
• Leverage a broad internal network to share best practices and drive alignment across the organization.

Team Engagement & Culture

• Promote teamwork, collaboration, and camaraderie across the administrative population.
• Design and manage team-building initiatives that support engagement and morale.
• Maintain close connection with the team to ensure sustainable workloads and effective collaboration in support of business goals.

Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Experience Required:  

• Minimum 4–6+ years of experience in a role with significant people management responsibility, ideally in a coverage-intensive environment
• Experience in financial services preferred
• Human Resources and process improvement experience strongly preferred
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Previous experience as an Executive Assistant (EA) preferred

General Requirements:

• Strong understanding of administrative team dynamics and cross-functional partnerships
• Demonstrated emotional intelligence and excellent interpersonal skills
• Clear, confident, and effective communicator with a collaborative leadership style
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
• Strong client service orientation with attention to detail and accuracy
• Sound judgment, including the ability to appropriately escalate issues when necessary
• Skilled at leading and partnering with individuals across a wide range of personalities, seniority levels, and working styles to drive collaboration and results
• Strategic thinker with a solutions-oriented mindset
• Analytical approach with a passion for improving efficiency and effectiveness
• Agile, adaptable, and comfortable with ambiguity and change
• High level of integrity, discretion, and ability to handle confidential information
• Dependable, motivated, and committed team leader who models firm values

Reporting Relationships

Head of Global Administration & Travel

Compensation

$110,000 - $150,000

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.