Senior Associate - Human Resources Project Management

Senior Associate, HR Project 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.

Job Description

The Associate Project Manager is a key contributor to our Program Management Office (PMO), supporting a variety of projects and building trusting relationships with clients. This role is critical to ensuring operational excellence and driving successful outcomes for strategic initiatives.

This individual will collaborate with cross-functional teams to manage timelines, resources, and communications, ensuring projects are delivered on time and on budget. This role offers the opportunity to build strong PMO foundations, develop stakeholder management skills, and grow into a project manager who can lead larger-scale projects.

The ideal candidate has 2–5 years of project management or related experience, is an organized self-starter with an eye for detail, and thrives in dynamic environments. They bring fresh ideas, can manage multiple priorities, and are comfortable presenting at the executive level. Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build trust with stakeholders at all levels are essential.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities

Project Planning & Execution

• Draft comprehensive project plans (75–80% complete) including scope, deliverables, milestones, dependencies, and risk identification.
• Drive execution by maintaining project schedule, following up on action items, resolving issues, escalating when necessary, and adapting to changing priorities.

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead status calls with well-prepared agendas and materials.
• Create concise, data-driven presentations and executive summaries tailored to stakeholder audiences.
• Serve as the primary liaison between business partners, technical teams, and leadership, ensuring clear alignment.

Documentation & Reporting

• Maintain project assets in Smartsheet, Excel, Teams, or SharePoint: project plans, status reports, RAID logs, meeting minutes.
• Distribute meeting notes and action items promptly after sessions.
• Track progress, risks, and issues, recommending mitigation strategies.

Process Improvement & Tools

• Standardize templates, checklists, and key PMO artifacts.
• Utilize and recommend enhancements to project management tools and collaboration platforms.
• Support continuous improvement efforts in the PMO.

Professionalism & Autonomy

• Manage your time effectively, proactively seeking guidance only when necessary.
• Independently carry out daily, weekly and monthly recurring tasks, such as soliciting updates from project leads and compiling leadership updates.
• Demonstrate accountability by owning your tasks, deliverables, and follow-ups.
• Balance independent work with effective collaboration.

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Human Resources, Project Management, Communications or related field.
• 7 – 10  years of experience in project coordination, management or related experiences.

Required Skills & Competencies

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Excellent verbal and written communication abilities
• Experience with PM tools (Smartsheet, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Teams)
• Ability to draft clear status reports, meeting agendas, and executive summaries
• Effective at multitasking and adapting to evolving priorities

Behavioral Traits

• Problem solver who escalates issues appropriately and evaluates options
• Dependable and trustworthy, maintaining confidentiality and integrity
• Collaborative mindset who builds effective relationships across diverse teams
• Ability to make big-picture connections and also pay attention to detail.

Reporting Relationships

Head of HR Project Management

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.

Experience Level

Senior Level