Job Details

Travel & Expense Director

Position Number: 6387001
Location: Boston, MA
Position Type: Business - Finance

Travel & Expense Director

About the Opportunity

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.

JOB SUMMARY

The Travel and Expense Director is responsible for managing the strategy and operations related to travel, employee expense reimbursement, and card programs. Responsibilities include travel and expense report process optimization, customer service for travelers and traveler expenses, communication of university travel and business expense policies and processes, analytics related to travel, expense and card programs, and expense and purchasing card audit and compliance.

The Travel and Expense Director should have a strong analytical mindset, an advanced knowledge of travel booking, expense reimbursement, and leading corporate and purchase card practices, a deep understanding of developing key metrics and dashboards, and effective communication skills to present information in an informative way to assist in making decisions.

The Travel and Expense Director assists in establishing and maintaining strong, collaborative relationships with faculty, staff, and students. This position also identifies additional ways to be of service and ensure vendor satisfaction. Championing and driving the entire travel and expense process supports the success of our global university and customers.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

* Bachelor's Degree with 8+ years of relevant experience as a Travel and Expense leader is required. An advanced degree (e.g., MBA / MS) is preferred.

* Demonstrated team leadership and functional expertise leading global travel, check pay / ad-hoc payment, corporate and purchase card, and expense reconciliation workflows.

* Globally minded, self-motivated, flexible, and creative leader, able to prioritize, multi-task, and work horizontally and vertically across a decentralized organization to deploy compliant travel and expense practices with high customer empathy.

* Demonstrated ability to effectively utilize data to identify opportunities, continuously improve team performance, and implement a robust data-driven performance management framework (e.g., business management system, service level agreements, key performance indicators).

* Familiarity with global travel and expense best practices, leading technologies, techniques/value levers to enhance returns on working capital, and associated travel savings levers and negotiation tactics. Experience with Concur travel and expense preferred.

* Proven experience with building & leading a high-performing strategic operations team in a high profile, high transactional volume, high financial risk environment.

* Ability to foster imagination, creativity, and experimentation, taking and promoting considered risks, celebrating creative successes, learning from failure, and being open to alternative ways of doing things.

* Strong leadership presence and ability to build "trusted advisor" relationships by delivering sound technical analysis, customer empathy, and data-driven decision-making.

* Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to lead, interact with, influence, resolve conflict, and drive decisions/accountability among individuals from a variety of cultures and disciplines.

* Demonstrated flexibility and willingness to respond to changes in the external environment while ensuring the organization can effectively and efficiently navigate transitions.

* A Certified Purchasing Card Professional (CPCP) from the National Association of Procurement Card Professionals is preferred.

* Familiarity with data mining software is preferred.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & ACCOUNTABILITIES

1) Responsible for leading the day-to-day operations of Travel & Expense team, to include, but not limited to:

Purchase and Corporate Card Management: Issuance, cancellation, card replacement, merchant code management, issue resolution and escalation with card issuer, Institutional credit limits (in collaboration with Treasury).
Expense Management: "Out of Pocket" and corporate / purchase card expense on-time reconciliation, reimbursement, and reporting, compliance programming and auditing of expense reports, recoupment of unallowable expenses, and dispute resolution / policy exception processing and remediation.
Global Travel Management: Work with internal teams, customers, and suppliers to institute and refine our corporate travel programming, create efficiencies, and optimize usage / drive adoption to Northeastern preferred travel partners. This includes working directly with travel suppliers to negotiate leading traveler benefits, deploying leading discount programs, and continuously searching for and driving expansion to Northeastern's travel program to meet the rapidly evolving needs of our global Institution.

2) Responsible for leading, optimizing, and transforming Travel and Expense service offerings, including the deployment, enhancement, and maintenance T&E related technology, suppliers, policy, and process elements. To include, but not limited to:

Develop and implement a global service offering strategy for travel and expense management tailored to the evolving needs of Northeastern.
Functional owner for T&E related technology solutions, including Concur, e-Payables technologies, Workday, and outsourced providers.
Functional owner for T&E related suppliers, to including e-Payables and one-time / check pay suppliers, purchase, and corporate card providers, Concur, Northeastern's Travel Management Company ("TMC"), Hotels, Airlines, Car Rental companies, etc.
Staying informed on current and emerging technology enhancements, including product-releases, updates, and patch-fixes, including functional testing and validation as required.
Serve as Northeastern lead within Industry Outreach and consortium events.
Supporting technology adoption and business process re-engineering, including end-user training content and delivery.
Providing internal controls and governance for all travel and expense workflows, related concepts and procedures, and adherence to policy.
Strategic leadership of new initiatives, to include, but not limited to, new "personas" within our T&E environment, such as part-time employees, students, guests, and reduction/elimination of out-of-pocket expenses

3) Responsible for managing and developing the Travel and Expense Team. To include:

Directly supervise and monitor the performance of all members of the T&E team.
Mutually-define measurable goals for team members and monitor outcomes.
Provide active real-time feedback and formal written performance assessments so team members understand their progress against goals.
Foster a positive career experience for all team members, including professional development and succession planning.

Position Type

Finance

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Compensation Grade/Pay Type:
113S

Expected Hiring Range:
$112,180.00 - $162,662.50

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.

To apply, visit https://northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/careers/job/Boston-MA-Main-Campus/Travel---Expense-Director_R134343