Senior Associate, Internal Audit

Location: New York

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 As the third line of defense, Internal Audit’s mission is to independently assess the firm’s overall control environment, including the firm’s governance processes and controls, and risk management and compliance frameworks.

Communicates and reports on the effectiveness of the firm’s governance, risk management and controls that mitigate current and evolving risk.

Raise awareness of control risk.

Monitors management’s implementation of control measures.

Primary functions and essential responsibilities

Support the AI audit coverage strategy, including risk assessments and recommendations to strengthen risk mitigation.

Provide practical guidance for assessing AI risks across audit projects.

Engage stakeholders to ensure AI risks are appropriately identified, assessed, and documented.

Stay current on AI technologies, ethical considerations, and regulatory requirements to inform audit coverage.

Partner with Technology, Risk, Privacy, Legal, and other stakeholders to support AI audit planning and execution.

Identify audit process improvements to increase productivity, efficiency, and contribution to economic profit without compromising effectiveness.

Leverage and advocate for the use of technology across the audit function, with a particular emphasis on data analytics.

Partner with business and technology stakeholders to develop use cases and integrate automation into control testing.

Identify and evaluate risks and assess the adequacy, effectiveness, and compliance of internal controls.

Assess control effectiveness and deliver high-quality audit findings and recommendations.

Demonstrate strong judgment and sound decision-making.

Identify and communicate existing and emerging business risks and significant issues in a timely and proactive manner.

Exhibit strong organizational and follow-up skills.

Execute responsibilities accurately, efficiently, and proactively.

Maintain all organizational and professional ethical standards.

Conduct quarterly risk and fraud assessments based on input from management, external auditors, and external factors to support the development of quarterly audit plans.

Pursue professional development opportunities, including internal and external training and participation in professional associations.

Maintain independence and objectivity in all audit activities.

Maintain an in-depth understanding of business areas, processes, and supporting functions.

Qualifications General Requirements:

Strong experience with data analytics and comfortable with manipulating large data sets.

Experience in developing/validating/auditing of AI/ML Models Subject matter expertise in auditing and enterprise risk management concepts (e.g., risk assessment/prioritization, process & internal controls, root cause analysis)
Understanding of local and globally significant regulatory requirements pertaining to AI Understanding of the operation of financial markets, financial instruments and strategies.
5 years of internal audit experience in the Financial Services Industry with an emphasis in the Investment Management industry.

Strong managerial skills, written and verbal communication skills, analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and interpersonal skills

Enthusiastic/ self-motivated/ strong interest in learning/ effective under pressure and willing to take personal responsibility/accountability.

Related certifications (CPA, CA, CIA or similar) preferred.

Reporting Relationships Head of Internal Audit Compensation The  anticipated base salary range for this position is listed below. Total compensation may also include a discretionary…