Senior Director, Travel & Expense Program (CEMI)

About the Cornell Experience Modernization Initiative (CEMI)

The Cornell Experience Modernization Initiative (CEMI) is a multi-year program designed to improve the experience of students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, patients, and partners by unifying and enhancing administrative systems and processes across all Cornell University locations. Its name CEMI is said as “See Me” because the focus is on you: the people who use Cornell’s systems and data to accomplish your goals.

The Opportunity

Cornell University is seeking an visionary, innovative, strategic, and collaborative leader to serve as our Senior Director, Travel & Expense Program (CEMI). This is a rare opportunity to establish and launch Cornell's first enterprise-wide Travel & Expense program, creating a best-in-class experience that supports our global community of students, faculty, researchers, clinicians, staff, guests, and visitors.

Reporting to the Associate Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer, the Senior Director will design, launch, and lead a comprehensive Travel & Expense program that serves Cornell's diverse ecosystem, including Cornell Ithaca, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell Tech, and affiliated Cornell entities.

As a key leader within the Cornell Enterprise Modernization Initiative (CEMI), you will shape the vision, operating model, governance, technology strategy, traveler experience, supplier partnerships, duty of care programs, analytics capabilities, sustainability initiatives, and service delivery approach that will define the future of travel and expense management across Cornell.

This role offers the opportunity to create meaningful impact at scale, influencing the travel and expense experience for more than 30,000 students and thousands of faculty, staff, researchers, clinicians, and visitors across Cornell's global community.

What You'll Do

Enterprise Strategy, Transformation, and Governance

• Develop and execute the strategy for Cornell's enterprise Travel & Expense program, aligned with CEMI and institutional priorities.
• Design and implement a One Cornell Travel & Expense operating model that unifies Ithaca, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell Tech, and affiliated entities.
• Establish governance structures, decision-making frameworks, policies, standards, and accountability models.
• Develop multi-year roadmaps that align people, processes, technology, service delivery, organizational change, and user experience priorities.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives, steering committees, and executive stakeholder forums.

Elevate the Traveler Experience

• Deliver a streamlined booking-to-reimbursement experience — with measurable reductions in cycle time, out-of-pocket costs, and policy exceptions — for faculty, staff, students, guests, visitors, researchers, and clinicians.
• Lead the redesign of travel booking, reimbursement, payment, and support processes to reduce administrative burden and improve usability.
• Develop scalable solutions that support academic travel, student programs, research travel, clinical travel, guest travel, recruitment travel, visiting scholars, conferences, and institutional events.
• Apply customer journey mapping and service design principles.
• Ensure Travel & Expense programs support accessibility, inclusion, global engagement, and student success.

Lead Technology, Innovation, and Service Delivery

• Serve as the business lead for Cornell's Travel & Expense technology ecosystem.
• Partner with IT, Finance, HR, Payroll, Procurement, and stakeholders to optimize technologies.
• Own the roadmap for the online booking tool (OBT), the expense platform, corporate card and virtual payment programs, and AI-enabled audit, receipt capture, and automation capabilities.
• Define the traveler support model — including tiered service, after-hours support, VIP/executive travel, and group/event travel handling — and evaluate shared-service opportunities across Cornell entities.

Strategic Travel Management Company (TMC) & Supplier Partnership Management

• Serve as the owner of Cornell's TMC relationship, overseeing contract governance, SLA and KPI management, service escalations, quarterly business reviews, and continuous improvement.
• Lead periodic TMC market assessments and RFPs to ensure the service model aligns with Cornell's academic, research, and clinical travel profiles.
• Manage strategic partnerships with airlines, hotels, ground transportation, and corporate card providers, including negotiated program agreements and preferred supplier programs.
• Oversee integration and data sharing among the TMC, OBT, the expense platform, HR/payroll, and duty-of-care systems.

Advance Traveler Safety & Duty of Care

• Support Cornell's global duty-of-care program, including partnering with Risk Management, Global Operations, International SOS (or an equivalent medical/security assistance provider), and Weill Cornell Medicine
• Establish policies and workflows for high-risk destination travel, export controls, and international research and clinical travel in coordination with Research Administration.
• Integrate duty-of-care data feeds from the TMC, OBT, and the corporate card program into a single traveler-tracking capability.

Drive Compliance, Risk, Sustainability, and Stewardship

• Modernize travel and expense policies.
• Partner with Finance, Tax, Audit, Legal, Research Administration, Human Resources, Sustainability, Global Operations, and Risk Management stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Procurement and Category Management teams to optimize suppliers and contracts.
• Ensure compliance with Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), the Fly America Act, Open Skies agreements, per diem rules, and Sunshine Act / Open Payments reporting for Weill Cornell Medicine clinical and sponsored travel.
• Advance Cornell's sustainability and climate objectives through travel program design and supplier partnerships.
• Develop sustainability metrics and reporting capabilities.

Data, Analytics & Sourcing Enablement

• Build enterprise trip and spend analytics (air, lodging, ground, card, and expense) that serves as a single source of truth across Ithaca, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell Tech, and affiliated entities.
• Partner with Procurement Category Managers to translate travel data — market share by carrier/property, lane volumes, average ticket price, advance-purchase behavior, and traveler compliance — into negotiation leverage for airline, hotel, car rental, and TMC agreements.
• Deliver traveler-, department-, and college-level dashboards covering policy compliance, out-of-policy spend, leakage, sustainability (CO₂), and duty-of-care coverage; establish a benchmarking cadence against peer R1 and academic medical center travel programs.

This role offers a unique opportunity to build a highly visible enterprise program from the ground up while helping shape the future of one of the most prestigious and influential universities in the world. Join Cornell and help create a seamless, innovative, and globally connected travel and expense experience that supports teaching, research, healthcare, and discovery around the world.

Success Factors

• Launch a unified One Cornell Travel & Expense operating model within 18–24 months.
• Deliver a significantly improved experience for students, guests, visitors, faculty, researchers, clinicians, and staff.
• Modernize technology and service delivery capabilities.
• Increase automation and reduce administrative burden.
• Achieve target OBT adoption (e.g., 85%+), reduce expense report cycle time, and reach 100% traveler-tracking coverage for international trips.
• Deliver measurable improvements in traveler experience, policy compliance, cycle time, cost savings through category-managed sourcing, duty-of-care coverage, and sustainability (CO₂) outcomes.

What We Need

A cover letter and resume outlining your interest and how your experience and goals align with the potential for mutual success in the role are required for consideration.

• Bachelor's degree, plus 7+ years of progressive leadership in enterprise travel program management, Travel & Expense operations, or related disciplines, including direct ownership of a TMC relationship and an expense platform (Workday, Concur, Emburse, or equivalent) or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience in higher education, academic medical centers, or research institutions strongly preferred; GBTA GTP or CTE certification a plus.
• Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and managing enterprise-wide travel, expense, reimbursement, and/or corporate card programs.
• Experience leading large-scale operational, process improvement, or transformation initiatives across complex organizations.
• Proven ability to develop strategy and translate it into operational programs, governance structures, policies, and measurable outcomes.
• Experience managing relationships with Travel Management Companies (TMCs), travel technology providers, payment and corporate card partners, and other service providers.
• Strong understanding of travel and expense processes, compliance requirements, internal controls, traveler safety and duty of care considerations, and customer service delivery models.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams and fostering collaboration across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and change management skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders and build consensus across a decentralized environment.
• Demonstrated analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to use data and metrics to drive decision-making and program performance.
• Ability to travel as needed between Cornell locations and external partner sites.
• Strong strategic leadership, executive presence, stakeholder engagement, change management, and digital transformation experience.
• Ability to cultivate and develop inclusive working relationships with students, faculty, staff, and community members. 

It Would Be a Bonus if You Have Any of the Following

• Advanced degree preferred.
• Familiarity with global travel operations, international reimbursement practices, and traveler risk management programs.
• Demonstrated success leading organizational change and driving adoption of new technologies, policies, and service models.
• Knowledge of leading travel, expense, and payment platforms, including Navan, AMEX GBT, and other contemporary AI enabled travel platforms.

Important Notes About Applying

• A cover letter and resume outlining your interest and how your experience and goals align with the potential for mutual success in the role are required for consideration.
• This position is based in Ithaca, New York, however, the successful applicant may perform this role remotely anywhere within the United States.
• There is no visa sponsorship available for this position.

Rewards and Benefits

• This position is based in Ithaca, New York, however, the successful applicant may perform this role remotely anywhere within the United States. Employees who work remotely may receive multiple W-2 Forms depending on their work location.
• The New York Convenience of employer guidelines require New York State individual tax reporting and withholding for this position. Additional individual state income tax filings may also be required if working temporarily outside of New York State.
• Cornell receives national recognition as an award-winning workplace for our health, wellbeing, and sustainability.
• Our benefits programs include comprehensive health care options, generous retirement contributions, access to wellness programs, and employee discounts with local and national retail brands. We invite you to follow this link to get more information about our benefits: Understand Your Benefits | Working at Cornell.
• Our leave provisions include health and personal leave, three weeks of vacation and 13 holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, and an end of the year winter break from December 25-January 1. To offer greater flexibility for observing faiths and traditions we also offer two additional floating holidays. Learn more about our generous leave provisions: Holiday and Accrued Time Off | Working at Cornell
• Cornell's impressive educational benefits include tuition-free Extramural Study and Employee Degree Program, tuition aid for external education, and Cornell Children's Tuition Assistance Program. Learn more about our extensive educational benefits: Education Benefits | Working at Cornell
• Follow this link to learn more about the Total Rewards of Working at Cornell:Total Rewards | Working at Cornell.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Relocation assistance is not available for this position (fully remote).

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