Manager,Travel & Expense

Wonder•Chicago, IL

1d•$115,000 - $135,500

About The Position

We are seeking a highly motivated Travel & Expense Manager to oversee the company’s travel and expense programs and ensure cost efficiency, policy compliance, and an optimized employee experience. This role will drive process improvements, supplier management, reporting insights, and system optimization to support scalable growth and operational excellence. This role is critical to ensuring operational excellence as we significantly increase travel volume and complexity, while driving support to a fast-paced, high-demand organization.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, or related field
5+ years of experience in travel, expense, procurement, or finance operations
Strong understanding of T&E policies, expense management, and travel programs
Experience with expense management systems (Navan)
Proven ability to manage suppliers and drive cost savings
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

Responsibilities

Own and manage the end-to-end travel and expense program
Develop and enforce travel & expense (T&E) policies aligned with company goals and compliance requirements
Drive cost optimization strategies across travel, lodging, and other expense categories
Continuously evaluate and enhance the employee travel experience
Identify and implement process improvements to streamline T&E workflows
Partner with Procurement, Finance, and Accounts Payable to align T&E with Procure-to-Pay (P2P) processes
Leverage automation and system capabilities to reduce manual effort and cycle times
Support system implementations, integrations, and enhancements (e.g., expense platforms, ERP)
Manage relationships with travel platform provider (Navan), airlines, hotels, and expense software providers
Negotiate contracts and drive supplier performance and savings
Act as the primary point of contact for internal stakeholders across departments
Ensure adherence to company policies, audit requirements, and regulatory standards
Monitor and enforce compliance with travel booking and expense submission guidelines
Develop and deliver regular reporting on travel spend, policy compliance, and savings opportunities
Provide actionable insights to leadership to inform decision-making
Build dashboards and KPIs to track program performance
Oversee the full expense lifecycle: submission, review, approval, audit, and reimbursement
Ensure timely, accurate reimbursement processing in alignment with SLAs
Establish and monitor controls to prevent duplicate, fraudulent, or non-compliant expenses
Partner with Accounts Payable to ensure seamless reimbursement processing and payment accuracy
Ensure proper expense categorization, coding, and alignment with financial reporting requirements
Own and administer the corporate card program (individual cards/ virtual cards)
Manage card issuance, cancellations, credit limits, and user access controls
Monitor card usage to ensure compliance with company policy and detect misuse or fraud