Lead, AI Governance & Portfolio Management

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.

SUMMARY The Lead, AI Governance and Portfolio Management will lead the operational governance of Ares' AI initiatives by managing the end-to-end AI use case intake process, coordinating governance reviews, and ensuring AI solutions meet enterprise standards for risk, compliance, security, legal, privacy, and architecture. The role serves as the central point of coordination between business stakeholders, technology teams, and control partners, driving efficient intake, transparent governance, and successful delivery of AI initiatives. The ideal candidate combines strong program management, stakeholder engagement, and governance experience with a solid understanding of AI technologies and enterprise operating models. PRIMARY FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES: A. AI Governance & Intake Management: • Own and manage the enterprise AI use case intake process from submission through approval. • Establish and maintains governance processes, intake standards, documentation requirements, and decision frameworks. • Track use cases through each governance stage and ensure timely progression. B. Stakeholder & Control Partner Management • Coordinate reviews across Risk, Information Security, Privacy, Legal, Compliance, Architecture, Data Governance, and Technology. • Facilitate governance meetings and document decisions, risks, and action items. • Serve as the primary liaison between business sponsors and governance partners. C. Portfolio Management of AI use cases • Maintain the AI use case portfolio, roadmap, and prioritization. • Develop project plans, milestones, status reporting, dashboards, and executive communications. • Identify delivery risks, dependencies, and mitigation plans. D. Governance Reporting & Operational Excellence • Define KPIs for intake volume, approval cycle times, governance effectiveness, and business adoption. • Produce executive dashboards and portfolio reporting. • Continuously improve governance processes, templates, and operating procedures. E. Change Management • Promote awareness of AI governance policies and best practices. • Support training, communications, and adoption of enterprise AI governance standards.

Education: • Bachelor's degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related field. • Master's degree preferred. • PMP, Agile, Scrum, or governance/risk certifications are desirable.

Required: • 8–12 years of experience in project/program management, technology governance, PMO, or digital transformation. • Experience managing enterprise intake, governance, or portfolio processes. • Strong understanding of AI, Generative AI, and enterprise technology delivery. • Experience working with cross-functional control partners (Risk, Legal, Compliance, Security, Privacy). • Financial Services or Asset Management experience preferred. General Requirements: • Exceptional organizational and project management skills. • Strong executive communication and stakeholder management capabilities. • Ability to influence without direct authority across global teams. • Detail-oriented with strong analytical and problem-solving skills. • Ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives in a fast-paced environment. • Commitment to governance, operational excellence, and continuous improvement. Reporting Relationships Partner,