Associate, Legal Vendor Strategy & Management

Location: New York

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* 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
** ABOUT

THE ROLE Ares is seeking a data-driven Associate, Legal Vendor Strategy & Management to support Ares Legal’s implementation of best-in-class legal vendor and spend management practices. The role is focused on standardizing how Ares evaluates, engages and manages legal service providers to drive cost and performance value across the firm.
The Associate will function as both a data translator and a commercial business partner—turning legal spend, matter and performance data into insights that inform sourcing decisions, pricing strategies and ongoing vendor management. Working at the intersection of legal, finance and technology, this role enables leadership visibility, cost discipline and accountability by embedding analytics into day-to-day vendor governance and decision-making processes.

REPORTING
*
* Reports to:

** Associate Vice President, Legal Vendor Strategy & Management

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
** Spend Analytics, Budgeting & Forecasting:
*** Develop, maintain and continuously enhance spend reporting, analytics and performance dashboards that support vendor management, budgeting and executive decision-making.
* Support annual budgeting, rolling forecasting and variance analysis in partnership with Legal leadership and Finance and Accounting at the matter, vendor and portfolio levels.
* Identify cost drivers and inefficiencies, including pricing gaps, scope creep and demand drivers; recommend corrective actions aligned with sourcing and pricing strategies.
* Analyze and maintain vendor scorecards integrating spend, rate discipline, matter mix, AFA usage and performance metrics to enable vendor differentiation and governance.
* Produce monthly and quarterly reporting packages highlighting trends, savings opportunities, demand drivers and resource optimization insights for leadership review with clear implications for action.
** Data Governance & Process Management:
*** Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to enforce data capture standards for vendor, matter, budget and invoice intake at the point of request and billing.
* Ensure the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of legal spend and vendor data used for forecasting, sourcing and performance reviews.
* Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align data inputs and workflows with leadership reporting and decision-making needs.
* Support reconciliation, testing and system integration activities to enhance data flow and reliability while improve scalability of reporting.
* Implement and administer RFP and vendor sourcing tools, including configuration, data standards and integration with other matter and spend systems.
* Maintain centralized, up-to-date firm profiles capturing capabilities, pricing models, performance history and areas of expertise to support sourcing and allocation decisions.
** Vendor Strategy & Performance Support:
*** Analyze vendor utilization, sourcing mix, AFA adoption and rate structures to inform strategy and portfolio optimization.
* Support RFPs and competitive sourcing initiatives through data analysis, pricing comparisons and proposal evaluation including scoring and recommendations.
* Track vendor performance against KPIs, including pricing commitments, AFAs and compliance with Outside Counsel Guidelines (OCGs).
* Use performance data to identify improvement opportunities and support vendor review discussions with fact-based materials and insights.
* Plan, organize and support Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with key vendors, including agenda development, performance materials and follow-up actions.
* Develop and maintain…