Director of Travel & Expense (Administrator II, Range 1) - San Francisco Bay Region Network

Administrator II, Range 1•San Francisco, CA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The San Francisco Bay Region Network (“SFBRN” or “The Network”) provides back-office administrative and transactional functions to California State University, East Bay (CSUEB), San Francisco State University (SFSU), Sonoma State University (SSU), and their auxiliaries through one single effective and cost-efficient structure. The Network’s Financial Services unit delivers essential financial and administrative support for the Network community, ensuring timely payments, efficient expense management, and effective sourcing of goods and services. Financial Services collaborates with Network university Presidents, Provosts, and other university leaders to drive financial transformation, foster operational excellence, and enable exceptional outcomes. By streamlining financial operations, Financial Services helps Network universities focus on their core missions while maintaining appropriate standards of service, compliance, and operational excellence. The Procurement and Accounts Payable team within Financial Services is dedicated to managing the Network’s acquisition of and payment for goods and services, ensuring that all purchasing activities are conducted efficiently, strategically, and compliantly. The team oversees requisitions and purchase orders, negotiates contracts, and manages supplier relationships to secure high-quality products and services at optimal costs. The team also manages all payment processing, including invoices, reimbursements, University and Auxiliary card programs. By collaborating closely with Network stakeholders, the Procurement and Accounts Payable team supports each Network university’s operational and financial needs through efficient and compliant management of procurement and accounts payable processes.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, or a related field. In lieu of a degree, a minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsibly experience in travel and expense roles, including staff supervision, is required.
Progressively responsible experience in travel, expense, accounts payable, or related roles.
Demonstrated success supervising or mentoring travel and expense staff.
Advanced knowledge of travel and expense principles, reimbursement processes, and policy compliance.
Demonstrated ability to apply strategic thinking and practical problem-solving to travel and expense management issues.
Strong understanding of relevant administrative laws, regulations, and compliance requirements.
Effective oral and written communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences.
Ability to manage multiple projects, tasks, and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Experience with process improvement, documentation, and knowledge sharing.

Nice To Haves

Master's Degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
Experience leading teams in a management or leadership role, particularly in a service-oriented environment.
Experience working in higher education, multi-campus systems, or similarly complex public sector organizations.

Responsibilities

Manages the daily operations of Travel and Expense.
Manages hospitality compliance for the Network and Auxiliaries.
Exercises authority to make operational decisions related to Travel and Expense, escalating complex or high-impact issues to the Senior Director of Procurement and Accounts Payable as needed.
Oversees the full travel and expense process, including review and approval of travel requests, expense reports, and procurement card transactions, ensuring optimal service delivery and compliance with best practices.
Ensures travel and expense activities are conducted accurately, timely, and in compliance with Network, university, state, and federal standards across all three campuses.
Engages with the Network Support Center Team to address Travel and Expense-related inquiries, efficiently delegating tasks to the appropriate Network personnel as required.
Maintains working knowledge of CSU Administrative Manual (ICSUAM) policies, state, and federal regulations related to Travel and Expense.
Assists Network staff in ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Leads, manages, and supervises the Travel and Expense team, providing guidance, direction, and mentorship, fostering a positive work environment, and ensuring the alignment of team goals with the Network’s overall strategy and objectives.
Manages the development of team members by helping them set and achieve goals for career growth.
Fosters an inclusive environment that values differences and creates a sense of belonging and appreciation for team members.
Leads by example, demonstrating ethics, high accountability, and actively drives the process of embedding Network values and behaviors.
Contributes to a culture of trust and transparency.
Drives best-in-class customer service through effective team member engagement.
Manages direct reports in adherence to Human Resources and institutional policies and procedures.
Handles personnel management tasks in coordination with HR, including selecting, training, guiding, and evaluating staff, ensuring staff effectively and equitably serve the needs of all Network universities.
Takes corrective action as required, recommends salary actions, promotions, and terminations, and participates in recruitment and orientation of new employees.
Builds and maintains strong relationships with customers, partners, and stakeholders to ensure consistent, reliable service is delivered to all stakeholders.
Monitors and enforces service level agreements (SLAs) for the Travel and Expense unit.
Identifies opportunities to streamline workflows, eliminate redundancies, leverage automation, or improve user experience within Travel and Expense.
Works collaboratively with the Network Financial Services teams and other functions to support the implementation of new technologies or process enhancements.
Tracks and reports on relevant key performance indicators (KPIs), metrics, and dashboards for Travel and Expense.
Stays current with changes in laws, regulations, and technologies that may affect Travel and Expense and informs senior management and staff.
Leads the development and maintenance of comprehensive documentation of university and Network Travel and Expense policies, processes, and systems, promoting consistency across Network campuses.
Ensures that crucial technical knowledge is accessible and understood by relevant stakeholders.
Cultivates a culture of mentorship and continuous skill development within the organization.
Champions initiatives that encourage knowledge sharing, coaching, and on-the-job learning.
Ensures end-user communications are timely, transparent, and helpful.
Maintains consistent communication with direct reports and senior leaders to resolve escalations and provide updates.
Communicates with Network universities and other Network leadership to safely support the Network’s Travel and Expense needs.
Contributes to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion across the organization.
Promotes the organization’s core values and consistently integrates innovation, employee fulfillment, teamwork, respect, excellence, integrity, service, and accountability into all aspects of work.
Complies with Network, CSU, university, and unit policies and procedures regarding privacy of information, authorized use of Network resources, and the security of Network systems and data.
Demonstrates safe work practices for oneself, others, and the office environment.
Performs other related responsibilities as requested and when necessary.
The Network reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.