Senior Associate, Cost Management

Ares Management Corporation; Bellevue (WA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental and Vision

401(k) with company match

HSA/FSA

Life Insurance

Disability coverage

Commuter Benefits

Job summary

Ada Infrastructure, part of Ares Management, is seeking a Senior Associate for Global Cost Management to own project cost controls across NA and global programs. You will lead budgeting, forecasting, and cost governance, coordinating with regional delivery teams and external consultants to ensure cost data integrity and alignment with underwriting standards.

The role requires extensive experience in CAPEX cost planning, KPI development, and executive‑level reporting.

Qualifications

• 7–10+ years of progressive experience in cost management, quantity surveying, or commercial management (infrastructure preferred).
• Experience executing estimating, budgeting, forecasting, and cost controls across multiple projects.
• Strong understanding of CAPEX cost planning, contingency management, and cost‑focused change control.

Responsibilities

• Develop and publish top‑down cost targets and benchmarking by market/archetype.
• Provide estimating support to optimize design standards and kit of parts.
• Drive cost management practices across projects: estimating, budgeting, forecasting, contingency tracking, and reporting.
• Maintain discipline around cost evolution from underwriting through delivery with clear budget bridges.
• Coordinate with regional teams to present variance analysis and budget bridges.
• Oversee third‑party cost consultants to meet internal/external reporting standards.
• Support cost data frameworks, training materials, and standard work products.

Skills

Cost management

Budgeting

Forecasting

Cost controls

CAPEX

Vendor management

Excel modeling

Procore

Yardi ERP

Stakeholder communication

Underwriting

Tools

Procore cost modules

Yardi ERP

Job description

Ada Infrastructure is a global data center business committed to being a positive force for technology, people, and the planet. As part of the digital infrastructure platform of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES), a leading global alternative investment manager, Ada Infrastructure is positioned to be a leader in the industry in reliable, safe, secure, and sustainable digital infrastructure. With eight in-flight campuses across Japan, the UK, and Brazil, we have over 850 MW of power currently available and more than 1,500 MW in our global pipeline. To learn more about Ada Infrastructure, visit www.adainfrastructure.com or to learn more about Ares Management visit www.aresmgmt.com.

Why Join Us:

This role is an excellent opportunity to join a deeply experienced and high‑performing team with the ability to directly impact and contribute to Ada’s development program. Our team combines industry‑wide experience and in‑country expertise across all our regions. We are committed to collaborating cross‑functionally and partnering to drive efficient and effective solutions that meet the needs of our internal and external stakeholders.

The Team you are joining:

The Global Design, Development and Delivery team is responsible for developing and curating Ada’s global datacenter development program through scalable, repeatable and agile tools and processes that enable our global development. We are committed to collaborating cross‑functionally and partnering to drive efficient and effective solutions that meet the needs of our internal and external stakeholders. We provide global leadership and direction that enables our regional teams to design and deliver scalable future‑ready solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers.

Summary:

We are looking for a Senior Associate, Cost Management (Global) who owns the cost dimension of project controls for NA based projects and global level coordination, including business case inputs, underwriting model CAPEX updates, estimating, budgeting, forecasting, contingency management, and cost‑focused change governance. This role has day‑to‑day responsibility for cost management execution in North America (including oversight of external cost consultants) and partners with regional development and delivery teams to execute projects in line with budget, underwriting, and cost standards. In this role you will support Ada’s global cost management frameworks, standards, and reporting/telemetry; ensuring accurate, consistent, and defensible cost data across regions that integrate into Ada’s stage gate process and portfolio cadence. You will also contribute to the future Cost Management Center of Excellence (CoE), including best‑practice sharing, training, and standard work products in collaboration with cost managers and external cost consultants across all regions.

Responsibilities:

• Support the development, publication, and maintenance of top‑down cost targets and benchmarking assumptions by market and archetype
• Provide estimating support to optimize global design standards and associated kit of parts; challenge assumptions and quantify variance drivers
• Drive consistent cost management practices across assigned projects; estimating, budgeting, forecasting, contingency tracking, and cost reporting
• Maintain discipline around cost evolution from underwriting through delivery; produce clear budget bridges and variance narratives
• Partner with Business Intelligence to ensure definitions, data quality expectations, and reporting cadence are met
• Develop cost‑focused KPI views and executive‑ready summaries that surface early warning signals and recommended actions
• Support North America Delivery and Development teams with project‑level budget governance including commitments, actuals, forecasts, and cash flow inputs across all WBS items including AOR/EOR, GCs, subs and LLE vendors
• Validate escalation/inflation and regional market assumptions impacting CAPEX; document impacts and communicate to stakeholders
• Support Investment, PMG, and Delivery teams with underwriting cost inputs, sensitivities, and updates through development phases
• Help with review and validation of scope change costs, track contingency drawdown, and ensure auditability
• Coordinate with regional teams to visualize variance analysis and budget bridge data presentations
• Oversee and manage day‑to‑day outputs from third‑party cost consultants in North America (e.g., Turner & Townsend, Soben, Linesight); ensure deliverables meet internal and external reporting standards
• Contribute to continuous improvement by capturing lessons learned and helping develop standard templates, playbooks, and training materials for cost management

Minimum Requirements:

• 7–10+ years of progressive experience in cost management, quantity surveying, or commercial management (mission‑critical / complex infrastructure preferred)
• Demonstrated experience executing estimating, budgeting, forecasting, and cost controls across multiple concurrent projects
• Strong understanding of CAPEX cost planning, contingency management, and cost‑focused change control (scope vs estimate evolution)
• Expert‑level proficiency in Procore cost modules and exposure to ERP systems such as Yardi and Yardi Construction Manager
• Experience partnering with investment/underwriting and maintaining cost inputs, assumptions, and sensitivities in business case models
• Proven ability to manage and challenge tier‑one cost consultants and professional services firms; set expectations and drive quality
• Advanced financial and cost modeling capability (Excel‑based models; comfort with CAPEX, cash flow, and return sensitivities)
• Strong communication skills: ability to translate cost data into clear executive‑ready insights and actionable recommendations

Compensation

The anticipated base salary range for this position is listed below. Total compensation may also include a discretionary performance‑based bonus. Note, the range takes into account a broad spectrum of qualifications, including, but not limited to, years of relevant work experience, education, and other relevant qualifications specific to the role. $180,000.00 - $210,000.00 The firm also offers robust Benefits offerings.

Ares U.S. Core Benefits include Comprehensive Medical/Rx, Dental and Vision plans; 401(k) program with company match; Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA); Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSA) with company contribution; Basic and Voluntary Life Insurance; Long-Term Disability (LTD) and Short-Term Disability (STD) insurance; Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and Commuter Benefits plan for parking and transit. Ares offers a number of additional benefits including access to a world‑class medical advisory team, a mental health app that includes coaching, therapy and psychiatry, a mindfulness and wellbeing app, financial wellness benefit that includes access to a financial advisor, new parent leave, reproductive and adoption assistance, emergency backup care, matching gift program, education sponsorship program, and much more.