Travel & Expense Operations Specialist​/Aministrator

Senior T&E Operations Specialist/Adminstrator - MUST BE LOCAL TO BOSTON

Client:
Northeastern University

Location:

hybrid schedule in Boston
Duration: 3 month contract (temp to hire for right person)
Pay Rate: $50-55/hr contingent on experience

* CANDIDATES MUST BE ABLE TO WORK DIRECTLY ON A W2 WITHOUT SPONSORSHIP. NO C2C!

Position Summary:

Northeastern University is seeking a Senior T&E Operations Specialist on a contract basis to serve as the operational and technical backbone of the university's Travel & Expense function during a period of transition. The T&E function supports approximately 15,000 Concur users and over $45 million in annual T&E activity across a complex, decentralized university environment.

This is a hands-on, senior individual contributor role responsible for full administration of the SAP Concur platform and day-to-day execution of T&E operations. The successful candidate will pick up an existing portfolio in motion - system configuration, user support, compliance reporting, and travel program operations - with minimal ramp time.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned Concur administrator who can operate independently in a complex organization, takes pride in keeping systems and stakeholders well-served, and brings the judgment to know when to act and when to escalate.

Key Responsibilities Concur Platform Administration

• Serve as the primary SAP Concur system administrator, responsible for platform configuration, workflow design, approval routing, audit rules, and ongoing system maintenance.

• Maintain the Concur-to-Workday Finance integration, ensuring accurate and timely data exchange and resolving integration issues in coordination with IT and Finance.

• Configure and maintain Concur expense types, policies, and approval workflows in alignment with university policy and audit requirements.

• Manage Concur user administration, including account provisioning, delegate setup, and role assignments across the ~15,000-user base.

Travel Operations & Compliance Reporting

• Administer the high-risk and sanctioned country pre-trip approval workflow in Concur, ensuring alignment with Global Safety requirements.

• Operate the 30/60/90-day outstanding transaction reporting process, including automated delinquency notifications and senior leader distribution.

• Monitor travel booking compliance and Concur report activity, identifying workflow issues, routing errors, and system anomalies requiring remediation.

• Produce regular operational reports tracking key T&E metrics - outstanding transactions, expense report cycle times, policy exception rates, and cardholder delinquency.

Travel Program Operations

• Support day-to-day operations of the university's corporate travel program, including traveler escalations, booking compliance, and routine TMC coordination.

• Maintain traveler communications and onboarding materials supporting booking compliance and policy awareness.

Daily Settlement & Payment Operations

• Execute daily Concur settlement runs and monitor results, researching and resolving payment failures in coordination with cardholders, banking partners, and Accounts Payable.

• Conduct cardholder banking outreach to correct payment routing issues identified through the settlement process.

• Process manual wire payments to Canadian employees through established controls until the Workday Canadian bank account functionality is fully operational.

Service Now & Stakeholder Support

• Manage escalated Ask Fin / Service Now tickets requiring system-level investigation or Concur configuration changes, with resolution targets of 5 business days for standard inquiries and 15 business days for complex matters.

• Maintain the T&E service catalog in Service Now, including form design, knowledge article structure, and workflow optimization.

• Serve as a visible, accessible resource for the university community, delivering a professional, responsive, and resolution-focused experience on every interaction.

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive experience in travel and expense management, financial operations, or a closely related function.
• 3+ years of hands-on SAP Concur administration experience, including system…