Associate Director, Travel & Expense
About the Opportunity
Position Summary
Northeastern University's Travel & Expense function manages
corporate card programs across multiple issuers and geographies,
supporting approximately 3,000 cardholders and over $35 million in
annual card spend, and administers a university-wide travel program
through the SAP Concur platform. The Associate Director, Travel
& Expense is a critical member of the T&E leadership team,
serving as the primary steward of NU's corporate card programs,
Concur platform configuration and operations (both expense and
travel modules), policy compliance framework, and cardholder and
traveler experience.
This role is responsible for the day-to-day administration of NU's
card programs across all issuers, the business-side administration
of the SAP Concur platform for both expense and travel (workflows,
policies, configurations, user administration), engagement with the
travel program on Concur Travel configuration and travel policy,
and the compliance and audit remediation activities that underpin
the integrity of the T&E function. The Associate Director
partners closely with the T&E Director, IT leadership, Finance,
Internal Audit, and senior stakeholders across the university to
deliver a compliant, efficient, and user-centered card, expense,
and travel experience.
The ideal candidate is a self-directed professional with
demonstrated experience owning a card program and/or T&E
operations end-to-end in a complex organization. They bring a
customer-first mindset-understanding that compliance and service
are not competing priorities-and the judgment to navigate
ambiguity, escalate appropriately, and drive resolution with
urgency and professionalism.
This is a Hybrid position (3 days in the office per week)
Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities
Concur Expense Administration
- Serve as the primary administrator of Concur Expense module
business-side configuration, responsible for platform workflows,
approval routing, expense policies, audit rules, and system
maintenance aligned with NU's T&E policy and audit
requirements.
- Manage Concur user administration for approximately 15,000
users, including account provisioning, delegate setup, and role
assignments for both expense and travel modules.
- Monitor and support the Concur-to-Workday Finance integration
in partnership with IT and Finance teams, ensuring accurate and
timely data exchange.
- Lead Concur system enhancement projects and platform
optimization initiatives in partnership with IT and internal
stakeholders.
- Monitor expense reporting activity and Concur report execution,
identifying workflow issues, routing errors, and system anomalies
requiring remediation.
Travel Program Administration
- Administer Concur Travel module configuration, including
booking policy settings, travel request approvals, approval
workflows, and integration with NU's travel management company,
ensuring alignment with university travel policy and procurement
requirements.
- Administer and maintain the high-risk and sanctioned country
pre-trip approval workflow in Concur, ensuring alignment with
Global Safety requirements and audit management commitments.
- Monitor travel booking compliance, request approvals, and
Concur Travel report activity, identifying workflow issues, routing
errors, and system anomalies requiring remediation.
- Serve as the primary escalation and consultation point for
travelers and administrators with complex travel policy questions;
work with the outsourced operations partner to ensure consistent
policy guidance and interpretation.
Card Programs Management
- Administer NU's corporate card programs across all issuers,
including account maintenance, card issuance and cancellation,
limit management, and program-level reporting.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for cardholders, cost
center managers, and departmental administrators on all
card-related inquiries, escalations, and exceptions.
- Manage card issuer relationships, including day-to-day account
management, issue resolution, and coordination with the T&E
Director on contract and program strategy.
- Oversee the Travel Card and Purchasing Card application,
approval, and onboarding workflow in ServiceNow, ensuring a
streamlined and professional cardholder experience.
- Monitor card spend for policy adherence, unusual activity, and
fraud indicators; coordinate with Internal Audit, Risk Services,
and card issuers on investigations as needed.
Policy, Compliance & Audit
- Approve and finalize NU's T&E, card, and travel policy
updates and improvements, ensuring alignment with peer
institutions, audit requirements, and university risk
standards.
- Review and approve updates to NU's T&E, card, and
travel-related Knowledge Articles (KAs) in ServiceNow, ensuring
accuracy, clarity, and accessibility for all cardholders,
travelers, and administrators.
- Oversee audit remediation activities resulting from internal
and external reviews; work with the T&E Director and the
outsourced operations partner to coordinate management responses,
corrective actions, and ongoing compliance monitoring.
- Conduct periodic cardholder compliance reviews, identifying
patterns of non-compliance and initiating corrective outreach per
established policy.
- Escalate systemic compliance or workflow issues surfaced by the
outsourced operations partner, and collaborate on resolution with
the T&E Director and relevant stakeholders.
Training Development & Delivery
- Review and approve cardholder and traveler training materials
proposed by the outsourced operations partner; develop occasional
policy refresher materials and targeted communications as
needed.
- Deliver training content directly to end users when needed;
partner with the outsourced operations partner to ensure consistent
messaging and cardholder education through their frontline
support.
- Work with the outsourced partner to identify and address
recurring pain points in the cardholder and traveler
experience-form friction, unclear policy language, confusing
workflows-and drive improvements in partnership with IT.
- Serve as a visible, accessible resource for the university
community, understanding that a well-supported cardholder is a
compliant one.
Outsourced Operations Partner Management
- Manage the day-to-day operational relationship with NU's
outsourced T&E operations partner, including onboarding, SLA
monitoring, quality assurance, and performance reporting.
- Ensure the partner operates in alignment with NU policy and
compliance standards, and serve as the escalation point for policy,
card, and travel-related issues surfaced by the partner.
- Coordinate with the T&E Director on system and technical
escalations requiring Concur configuration or workflow
changes.
- Conduct regular governance reviews with the outsourced partner
(monthly performance and strategic) and report outcomes to the
T&E Director; hold ad-hoc operational check-ins as needed.
- Own standard cardholder and traveler support escalations
(complex inquiries, policy exceptions) requiring professional
judgment; resolve within established SLA targets.
Reporting & Analytics
- Define requirements for and oversee production of regular card
program reporting, including outstanding transaction aging,
delinquency metrics, spend analysis, and compliance dashboards by
the outsourced operations partner.
- Define requirements for reporting infrastructure in Concur and
connected systems; work with the outsourced partner to build and
maintain reporting dashboards and cardholder activity reports per
those specifications.
- Monitor and report on key performance indicators across card
programs and the outsourced partner, identifying trends, risks, and
opportunities for program improvement.
- Support the T&E Director in preparing materials for
internal audit, executive leadership, and cross-functional
partners.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree required; concentration in Finance,
Accounting, Business, or a related field preferred.
- 5-8 years of progressive experience in corporate card program
administration, travel and expense management, accounts payable, or
a related financial operations function.
- Demonstrated experience owning or co-owning a corporate card
program, T&E operations, or compliance function in a complex,
matrixed organization.
- Proficiency with SAP Concur or a comparable T&E platform;
experience with Workday, ServiceNow, or similar enterprise systems
a plus.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the
ability to translate policy and compliance requirements into clear,
accessible guidance for a diverse university community.
- Proven track record of delivering a high standard of customer
service in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment.
- Experience managing vendor or outsourced service provider
relationships preferred.
Key Competencies
- Customer Orientation: Approaches every cardholder and
traveler interaction-regardless of complexity or stakes-as an
opportunity to deliver a professional, responsive, and
resolution-focused experience.
- Ownership Mindset: Takes end-to-end accountability for
the programs and processes in their portfolio without waiting to be
directed. Identifies problems, surfaces solutions, and drives
closure.
- Concur & Systems Fluency: Understands Concur
configuration deeply enough to diagnose issues, recommend
solutions, and implement changes with confidence. Comfortable
translating technical constraints into business language.
- Compliance Judgment: Understands the difference between
enforcing policy and supporting people-and knows when to apply
each. Exercises sound judgment in ambiguous situations.
- Stakeholder Communication: Communicates clearly and
confidently with administrators, faculty, senior leaders, and
external partners. Adapts tone and format to the audience and
stakes of the situation.
- Continuous Improvement: Actively looks for ways to
reduce friction, improve accuracy, and increase the effectiveness
of T&E operations-and brings specific, actionable ideas rather
than general observations.
- Collaborative Execution: Works effectively with the
T&E Director, IT partners, and the outsourced operations
provider in a small, interdependent environment. Shares context
proactively, escalates appropriately, and follows through on
commitments
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:
112S
Expected Hiring Range:
$99,010.00 - $143,567.50
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/Associate-Director--Travel---Expense_R140600
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