Corporate Card Program Lead

WORK OPTION:
The NBA currently provides eligible employees the option of working remotely one day per week.

The Corporate Card Program Lead is responsible for the end-to-end management and administration of the corporate card program for the NBA and its domestic subsidiaries. This role oversees card operations, policy compliance, financial reporting, and internal controls. This position partners with Finance leadership, Human Resources, and key stakeholders to ensure effective program governance, mitigate risk and enhance the employee experience. It also supports driving strategic initiatives focused on automation, process improvement, and program growth.

The role manages two direct reports.

• Corporate Card Program Oversight & Operations:
  Oversees the US corporate card program, including the application, issuance, usage monitoring, and cancellation of company-issued corporate cards.
• Ensures timely resolution of delinquencies, escalations, and high-risk transactions.
• Identifies card spend leakage and assists in implementing initiatives to expand and optimize the card program.
• Assists the international regional offices in implementing and maintaining local corporate card programs, as needed.

• Partners with employees, human resources, and Finance leadership to enforce the NBA’s travel, expense, and corporate card policy.
• Monitors transactions to ensure compliance; identifies, escalates and drives resolution of potential policy violations.
• Ensures timely resolution of corporate card and expense report delinquencies.
• Maintains a strong control environment over corporate card processes, including auditing reports to ensure expenses are appropriately documented and substantiated.
• Supports company interim and year-end audits and government regulatory filings.

• Develops and delivers reporting to senior management on travel and expense activity, including noncompliance trends and program performance.
• Analyzes outstanding corporate card expenses and records journal entries as part of the month-end accounting close.

• Drives continuous improvement of systems, controls, and processes to meet evolving business needs.
• Assists in the identification and implementation of automation and AI-enabled solutions to improve departmental efficiency, optimize employee experience, and strengthen accounting, reporting, and control processes.

• Provides high-quality customer service across the team by responding to employee inquiries, resolving issues in a timely manner, and continuously improving the user experience.
• Engages regularly with internal stakeholders to ensure that the corporate card department meets business needs.
• Builds and maintains strong relationships with cardholders, corporate card providers, and key partners.
• Maintains and communicates policies and assists in providing training to employees, as needed.
• Manages and develops a team of two direct reports including setting priorities, providing coaching, and ensuring consistent execution while proactively mitigating risk and operational disruption.
• Fosters a positive work environment and leads team by modeling the NBA’s core values.

• Bachelor’s degree in finance or accounting
• 5+ years of experience in a corporate card program with demonstrated success in continuous improvement and process optimization.
• 3+ years leadership/management experience.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, project management, and decision-making skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively.
• Demonstrated experience in virtual card technologies, expense policy and spend compliance, general ledger account/ tax categorization and enforcement of corporate policies.
• Experience leveraging automation, AI, and emerging technologies to improve financial processes, drive efficiency, and enhance reporting and controls.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with ability to engage effectively across different teams and levels within the NBA.
• Advanced…