Associate Director, Travel & Expense

Northeastern University•Boston, MA

2d•$99,010 - $143,568•Hybrid

About The Position

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)

Requirements

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.

Nice To Haves

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.

Responsibilities

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.