Senior Associate, Corporate Services - Travel Management

Senior Associate, Corporate Services - Travel Management

Country: United States of America

The Senior Associate, Corporate Services — Travel Management, is responsible for the overall operation of a diverse line of services. Key areas of responsibility include business travel, car fleet, food service, vending machines, fitness center, printers and audiovisual service, administrative services, and any other services as requested by the organization. S/he also manages vendor relationships, ensuring effective cost controls.

Responsibilities:

• Oversight of the travel agency including all operational issues, SLAs, management reporting systems, and adherence to policy.
• Set and monitor reporting parameters, oversee programming needs, access, and analyze travel reports, and evaluate savings opportunities.

• Analyze data, monitor, and report on corporate travel expenditures and compliance. Preparation of monthly travel metrics reports.

• Travel Exceptions management, tracking, and fielding of all exception requests to the travel policy.

• Assist and advise management on hotel, car rental, rail, ground transportation, and RFP preparation in conjunction with Aquanima. 

• Manage/troubleshoot customer service issues and ensure compliance with our corporate travel program and policies. 
• Interact with team members, management, and suppliers to resolve customer service issues. Guide employees through day-to-day travel-related issues including policy, travel behavior, compliance improvements, and cost savings best practices.

• Update and maintain the Corporate Travel Source page and Concur portal content, ensuring information accuracy.

• Coordinate changes to the Concur Travel online booking tool with the vendor to ensure traveler profiles are updated, travel policy settings are correct, functionality needs are reported, and the user experience is kept at an optimal level.

• Assist and advise management with fares/rates with travel vendors and RFP preparation in conjunction with Aquanima. 
• Actively manage travel suppliers through periodic business reviews, contract management, and performance evaluations.
• Creating data metrics to track supplier performance and cost-effectiveness of negotiated agreements.

• Maintain close relationships with internal teams such as Accounts Payable, IT, Risk, International Mobility, Business Continuity, Audit, Security, Corporate Insurance, Admins & Travel Arrangers, HR, travelers, and leadership to foster successful collaborations.

• Works closely with the accounting department to administer the Corporate Travel Ghost Card Program via Conferma Pay.

• Support integration of Corporate Travel services for any subsidiaries not currently included or joining the Corporate Travel Program.  Train and educate subsidiaries on travel policy practices and procedures.  

• Coordinate and lead ongoing travel workshops with travel arrangers to foster support of travel programs for increased traveler satisfaction.

• Facilitate and participate in Hotel Site Inspections on an as-needed basis to ensure selected Preferred hotels meet safety/security/cost guidelines.

Job Description:

• Develops, analyzes, implements, and oversees short-term and long-term strategic business processes and plans to increase operational efficiency, meet strategic vision, and achieve financial goals.
• Develops, presents, and implements business case recommendations and tactical/operational strategies based on analyzing global and industry trends, company objectives, and key stakeholders.
• Manages, identifies, and develops strategic partnerships with business functions, management, and other internal/external stakeholders.
• Identifies and analyzes the company's strengths, weaknesses, and business opportunities to advise management and optimize business strategies.
• Monitors industry trends, competitor actions, economic developments, and regulatory environment to identify and plan for expected impact on business operations.
• Ensures the correct functioning of facilities, office, and business support services.
• Compiles, documents, communicates, and verifies information according to established procedures.
• Conducts business continuity planning to ensure that essential company functions can operate during and following major disruptive events.

Job Function:

• Monitors and coordinates the administrative and operational affairs of the office for a department, practice, group, or executive. Develops and generates reports on key practice metrics (e.g., financial, pipeline, utilization, and staffing reports).
• Contributes to practice development by planning and executing best practice research and training initiatives to support target achievement and business objectives.
• Manages the administrative activities of an office or other company unit so that administrative staff, equipment, supplies, and other resources are used effectively and economically.
• Responsible for all aspects of travel management within the company.
• Responsible for managing the corporate service programs including vendor management, customer service, quality assurance, and service level performance.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Education:
Required - Bachelor's Degree or equivalent work experience: Finance, Accounting, Business, or an equivalent field.

Work Experience:
Required - 9+ Years Experience in the Banking/Financial sector and/or Management Consultancy with Travel Management experience.

Skills and Abilities:

• Solid understanding of supplier markets, and complexities, and has an overall pertinent vision of procurement needs and practices
• Network of industry peers, consulting organizations, and real estate suppliers.
• Understands occupancy and space planning, space programming, scenario development, utilization data analysis, and expertise in change management, including development of change management roadmap
• Awareness of the linkage between design, real estate planning & financial results, with the ability to tailor strategic direction to address financial challenges.
• Understanding of current workplace planning theories. Advanced knowledge of workplace design, and trends.
• Proven organizational skills, and ability to prioritize to meet deadlines and provide high-quality service to clients.
• Flexible approach with the ability to adapt to changing conditions and priorities and to work in a collaborative team environment.
• Distills complex information to the essential for client decision-making. Capable of participating in discussions with internal clients on design and space use concepts
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to present to and communicate with demanding clients within the Business Units, managing expectations throughout the design and delivery process
• Computer skills in Microsoft platforms. High proficiency in Excel.
• Able to execute operationally, complex sourcing activities
• Understands sourcing processes, able to implement more than one option: RFX, e-sourcing, or pooling Supplier Relationship Management
• Demonstrates a collaborative approach to delivering business outcomes
• Understand the broad range of environmental and social sustainability reporting Commercial Negotiation
• Solid understanding of most contract terms and able to craft terms with legal and management support
• Understanding of the adversary’s position, desired outcomes, and leverage
• Ability to involve stakeholders in negotiation preparations and events
• Ability to identify the appropriate supplier performance measurements (KPIs)
• Demonstrates ability in working with multiple ERP systems: SAP, Oracle, Spend Analytics
• Understands how to analyze large data sets and extract valuable information
• Ability to build quantitative models and support decision-making

Diversity & EEO Statements:

At Santander, we value and respect differences in our workforce and strive to increase the diversity of our teams. We actively encourage everyone to apply.
Santander is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Working Conditions:

Frequent Minimal physical effort such as sitting, standing, and walking. Occasional moving and lifting equipment and furniture is required to support onsite and offsite meeting setup and teardown. Physically capable of lifting up to fifty pounds, able to bend, kneel, and climb ladders.

Employer Rights:

This job description does not list all of the job duties of the job. Your supervisors or managers may ask you to perform other duties. You may be evaluated in part based upon your performance of the tasks listed in this job description. The employer has the right to revise this job description at any time. This job description is not an employment contract and either you or the employer may terminate at any time for any reason.

The base pay range for this position is posted below and represents the annualized salary range. For hourly positions (non-exempt), the annual range is based on a 40-hour work week. The exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, training, licensure and certifications and location.

Base Pay Range

Minimum:

$93,750.00 USD

Maximum:

$165,000.00 USD Apply