Our client, a University based in Boston, is seeking a temporary (3 months) 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 temporary contract position, expected to last at least 3 months, but could transition into a temp-to=perm opportunity for the right individual. It is full-time (40 hrs a week) and a hybrid model, with 3 days working onsite at the Boston campus, and 2 days working remotely.
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.
ServiceNow & Stakeholder Support
- Manage escalated AskFin / ServiceNow 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 ServiceNow, 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 configuration, workflow design, audit rules, and reporting.
- Demonstrated ability to operate independently in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment with minimal ramp time.
- Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with the ability to bridge technical teams and business stakeholders.
- Proficiency with enterprise systems; experience with Workday Finance and/or ServiceNow strongly preferred.
Preferred Qualifications
- Prior contract or interim engagements in T&E operations or Concur administration.
- Experience in higher education or a similarly complex, decentralized organization.
- Familiarity with travel management company (TMC) operations and corporate travel program operations.
- Experience supporting audit remediation, compliance monitoring, or internal controls in a T&E context.
Key Competencies
- Technical Ownership: Takes end-to-end accountability for the systems in their portfolio. Understands Concur deeply enough to diagnose issues, recommend solutions, and implement changes with confidence.
- Operational Rigor: Manages competing priorities with discipline, follows through on commitments, and maintains service levels even during periods of high volume.
- Customer Orientation: Approaches every traveler and system-user interaction — regardless of complexity or stakes — as an opportunity to deliver a professional, responsive, and resolution-focused experience.
- Self-Direction: Operates effectively with limited supervision. Identifies what needs attention, prioritizes appropriately, and escalates with judgment.
- Cross-Functional Partnership: Works effectively across Finance, IT, HR, and academic units. Translates technical constraints into business language and vice versa.