Senior Analyst, Global Travel & Expense

Job Title
Senior Analyst, Global Travel & Expense

Location
Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Palo Alto, San Diego, San Francisco, Washington, D.C.

Regular/Temporary
Regular

Job Description Summary
We have an opening for a Senior Analyst, Global Travel & Expense.

The Senior Analyst, Global Travel & Expense is the dedicated owner of the firm's travel, expense, and card program operations within Global Accounts Payable at Paul Hastings. Reporting to the Global AP Compliance Program Manager, this role owns the Travel & Expense ("T&E") policy governance, corporate and purchasing card program management, T&E controls and audit readiness, exception management and root cause analysis, T&E reporting and analytics, and the T&E platform workstreams within the firm's AP transformation. Where Processors execute expense transactions, the Senior Analyst governs the program around them - setting the standard, measuring performance, protecting the control environment, and fixing what breaks at the source. This role serves as the firm's authority on expense policy and card programs, partnering with attorneys, partners, business leaders, HR, Payroll, Travel, and Procurement on matters that are often sensitive and rarely black-and-white. This is not just a processing position. It demands deep end-to-end T&E expertise, strong controls mindset, analytical rigor, and the judgment and presence to be a trusted partner across the firm.

Job Description

In this capacity, the Senior Analyst, Global T&E will:

T&E Policy Governance & Exception Management

• Serve as the firm's authority on travel and expense policy, interpreting requirements for complex, high-value, and escalated scenarios and making documented disposition recommendations to AP leadership;

• Monitor the T&E exception management framework - identification, classification, escalation protocols, resolution tracking, and trend reporting - aligned to the broader AP exception framework;

• Perform root cause analysis on recurring policy exceptions, late submissions, and out-of-policy spend, translating findings into concrete policy, process, or system changes;

• Govern approval routing and delegation integrity within the T&E platform, partnering with HR and system administrators to ensure approving hierarchies, thresholds, and exceptions are accurate, documented, and controlled;

• Identify gaps where policy does not address emerging expense scenarios (e.g., trial and litigation support expenses, non-employee and contractor reimbursements, international and multi-entity expenses) and lead the development of clear, practical guidance; and

• Partner with Travel, Finance leadership, and practice and business operations stakeholders on policy updates, communication, and adoption.

Corporate & Purchasing Card Program Ownership

• Own the firm's corporate and purchasing card programs end-to-end: program policy, cardholder onboarding, limit management, deactivation, transaction monitoring, and program performance reporting;

• Serve as the firm's primary operational contact for card issuers and program providers (e.g., Wells Fargo WellsOne, AMEX etc.), managing relationships, service issues, disputes, chargebacks, and data feed integrity;

• Own the card reconciliation control across all card programs - ensuring charges are documented, coded, reconciled to the ERP, and resolved on schedule, with clear accountability for delinquent cardholders and aged items;

• Partner with HR on joiner, mover, and leaver data to ensure timely card issuance, limit changes, and cancellation, closing the control risk of active cards for departed personnel;

• Support the virtual payables program, monitoring utilization, vendor adoption, and rebate capture, and identifying opportunities to expand program coverage and financial benefit; and

• Monitor spend trends and unusual activity across card programs, flagging misuse, policy violations, and potential fraud indicators to AP leadership.

T&E Controls, SOX & Audit Readiness

• Own the T&E and card program controls within the AP SOX control framework - control documentation, evidence standards, testing support, deficiency tracking, and remediation to closure;

• Design and execute a risk-based T&E audit program, including periodic sampling of expense reports and card transactions for policy compliance, documentation completeness, and approval accuracy;

• Lead T&E and card program responses to Internal Audit, External Audit, and the Controller's Office, deliver walkthroughs and evidence that are complete, accurate, and on time;

• Partner with Payroll and Tax to identify and route taxable or reportable expense items appropriately; and

• Identify control gaps, design corrective action plans, and drive remediation with defined timelines and accountability.

T&E Reporting, Analytics & KPIs

• Design, build, and maintain T&E and card program dashboards covering KPIs such as reimbursement cycle time, policy compliance rate, exception volume and aging, late submission rates, card reconciliation timeliness, and cardholder delinquency;

• Prepare monthly and quarterly T&E reporting packages for AP and Finance leadership, synthesizing data into clear narratives, trends, and recommendations;

• Partner with Procurement and Travel teams to deliver T&E spend analytics - spend by category, office, and supplier - that inform travel program strategy, supplier negotiations, and policy decisions; and

• Build ad hoc analyses to support leadership decisions on T&E policy, card program design, and platform investment.

T&E Platform & Transformation

• Lead T&E workstreams within AP transformation initiatives, including T&E platform evaluation, selection, and implementation - owning requirements, workflow and approval design, data validation, UAT, and post-go-live stabilization;

• Serve as the bridge between T&E operations, IT, HR systems, and the ERP (Elite 3E), ensuring integration accuracy for expense, card, and reimbursement data;

• Develop and maintain project plans, track milestones and dependencies, and communicate status and risks to AP leadership and cross-functional stakeholders; and

• Identify automation opportunities and translate business requirements into functional specifications for system enhancements and workflow redesign.

Escalations, Quality Oversight & Team Enablement

• Serve as the senior escalation point for T&E transactions that exceed Processor-level authority, including partner travel, client entertainment, international and multi-currency expenses, and sensitive or high-value submissions;

• Establish quality review standards for T&E processing, performing periodic QA sampling and providing constructive, coaching-oriented feedback that raises accuracy across the team;

• Own T&E and card program standard operating procedures, training materials, and cross-training documentation to ensure operational continuity; and

• Provide policy guidance to the AP team and firm personnel on complex T&E and card inquiries, building understanding rather than dependency.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner with HR, Payroll, Travel, Procurement, IT, the Controller's Office, Tax, and practice and business operations leaders on T&E and card program matters; and

• Represent T&E in cross-departmental working groups, system governance discussions, and transformation meetings with credibility and confidence.

Performance & Accountability

• Meet or exceed defined targets for policy compliance, reconciliation timeliness, exception reduction, audit readiness, reporting accuracy, and project milestone delivery;

• Maintain continuous visibility with the Global AP Compliance Program Manager on program status, emerging risks, and open items - no surprises; and

• Model a standard of policy expertise, controls discipline, and professional judgment that strengthens the firm's T&E control environment.

Proficiencies:

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, XLOOKUP/INDEX-MATCH, Power Query, data analysis at volume) and experience building recurring reports or dashboards;

• Strong working knowledge of GAAP, SOX compliance requirements, and internal controls as they relate to T&E, card programs, and the AP lifecycle;

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate policy decisions clearly and diplomatically to partners, attorneys, and senior leaders;

• Proven ability to manage competing priorities in environments with tight deadlines and high standards for accuracy and compliance;

• Familiarity with Elite 3E or comparable legal industry ERP/financial management systems (preferred);

• Proficiency in data visualization tools such as Power BI or Tableau (preferred);

• Experience with multi-country or multi-entity T&E environments (preferred); and

• Exposure to HR systems such as Workday as they relate to cardholder and approver data (preferred).

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field;

• Minimum 5 years of experience in travel and expense management, accounts payable, or finance operations, with at least 4 years in a T&E program, card program administration, controls, or analytics-focused role;

• Demonstrated ownership of corporate and/or purchasing card programs, including issuer relationships, cardholder lifecycle management, and reconciliation controls;

• Deep expertise in T&E policy interpretation, exception management, and expense audit;

• Experience supporting internal and external audits, including evidence preparation, control walkthroughs, and remediation tracking;

• Experience contributing to system implementations, platform migrations, or process redesign, including requirements gathering and UAT;

• Direct experience with Emburse (Chrome River), SAP Concur, Navan, or comparable T&E platforms, including administration or configuration (preferred);

• Experience leading or supporting a T&E platform RFP, selection, or implementation (preferred);

• Experience with Wells Fargo WellsOne, AMEX corporate card programs, or corporate travel management providers such as AMEX GBT (preferred);

• Experience with virtual payables or virtual card programs (supplier enrollment, rebate optimization) (preferred);

• Professional certifications such as CAPP, APM, CTP, or GTP (or in progress) are a plus (preferred); and

• Prior experience in a law firm or professional services environment.

The salary wage range for Boston that we expect to pay for this position is a minimum of $80,000 and a maximum of $112,750 annually. The actual pay wage may vary based on experience or other relevant factors.

The salary wage range for Palo Alto that we expect to pay for this position is a minimum of $80,000 and a maximum of $112,750 annually. The actual pay wage may vary based on experience or other relevant factors.

The salary wage range for San Francisco that we expect to pay for this position is a minimum of $80,000 and a maximum of $112,750 annually. The actual pay wage may vary based on experience or other relevant factors.

The salary wage range for Los Angeles that we expect to pay for this position is a minimum of $74,700 and a maximum of $105,550 annually. The actual pay wage may vary based on experience or other relevant factors.

The salary wage range for Orange County that we expect to pay for this position is a minimum of $74,700 and a maximum of $105,550 annually. The actual pay wage may vary based on experience or other relevant factors.

The salary wage range for Washington, DC that we expect to pay for this position is a minimum of $74,700 and a maximum of $105,550 annually. The actual pay wage may vary based on experience or other relevant factors.

The salary wage range for San Diego that we expect to pay for this position is a minimum of $71,700 and a maximum of $100,900 annually. The actual pay wage may vary based on experience or other relevant factors.

The salary wage range for New York that we expect to pay for this position is a minimum of $80,000 and a maximum of $112,750 annually. The actual pay wage may vary based on experience or other relevant factors.

Employees will be provided with an excellent career opportunity in a collaborative environment, in addition to a generous total compensation package with the opportunity to earn bonuses based on individual contribution and firm profitability.

The actual salary offered will depend on a variety of factors, including without limitation, the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and if applicable, the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job. This role is exempt meaning it is not overtime pay eligible.

Eligible employees can participate in the Firm's comprehensive benefits program, which include the following:

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life/AD&D, Long Term Care, and Short- and Long-Term Disability
• Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Account
• Healthcare Concierge and Advocacy
• Lifestyle Spending Account
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