Travel Program Lead

Early Warning; Scottsdale (AZ); Hybrid; USD 84,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare Coverage

401(k) Retirement Plan

Paid Time Off

Paid Parental Leave

Maven Family Planning

Job summary

Early Warning is seeking a Travel Program Lead in Scottsdale for strategic direction and daily management of the corporate travel and expense program. You will balance policy adherence, traveler safety, and cost control while partnering with Finance and business stakeholders.

Lead airline, hotel, ground transport, and catering supplier relationships, oversee the TMC, and deliver analytics-driven insights to optimize spend and risk. Hybrid work model in select cities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a related field.
• 5+ years corporate travel experience, 3+ in lead role.
• Experience managing enterprise travel programs.
• Knowledge of travel analytics and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Develop, enforce corporate travel policies and compliance.
• Create regular T&E reports for management on spend and compliance.
• Partner with Legal, HR, Security on duty-of-care initiatives.
• Manage relationships with airlines, hotels, car rental, and catering.
• Lead sourcing events, negotiations and contract management.
• Oversee the Travel Management Company (TMC) and vendor performance.

Skills

Negotiation

Contract management

Communication

Travel program management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Hospitality, Finance, or related field

GBTA or CTIE certification

Tools

Concur

Egencia

Navan

Job description

At Early Warning, we’ve powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting‑edge solutions like Zelle®, Paze℠, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses. Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment. Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship.

Overall Purpose

The Travel Program Lead is responsible for executing strategy and day‑to‑day administration of the company’s corporate travel & expense program. This role maintains flow between travel and expense processes, ensures travel policies are consistently applied, travel spend is optimized, and employee safety, compliance, and traveler experience are balanced effectively.

The Travel Program Lead will manage supplier relationships across air, lodging, ground transportation and catering service providers, oversee the Travel Management Company (TMC), and collaborate with Finance and business user stakeholders to deliver analytics‑driven insights to support cost control, risk mitigation, and operational efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and enforce corporate compliance with travel policies.
• Develop regular T&E reporting for presentation to management on compliance and spend.
• Partner with Legal, HR, Security and Risk on duty‑of‑care initiatives.
• Establish and manage supplier relationships with airlines, hotels, car rental, ground transportation, and catering service providers.
• Lead sourcing events, negotiations, and contract management activities.
• Manage and oversee the Travel Management Company (TMC).
• Monitor travel spend and identify cost‑savings opportunities.
• Collaborate with leadership on preferred supplier programs to maximize value and compliance.
• Track contract performance, rebates, and savings.
• Support travel budgeting and forecasting activities.
• Collaborate with internal security teams on traveler safety and emergency response.
• Ensure suppliers meet safety and insurance requirements.
• Collaborate on reporting for spend, compliance, and supplier performance.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for travel‑related issues.
• Deliver training and communication on travel policies and tools.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Hospitality, Finance, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• Typically a minimum of 5 years of progressive corporate travel or travel industry experience with a minimum of three (3) years in a Travel Manager/Lead or Travel Program Manager/Lead role.
• Experience managing enterprise travel programs.
• Effective negotiation, contract management and communication skills.
• Experience working with Travel Management Companies (TMCs).
• Familiarity with online booking tools (e.g., Concur, Egencia, Navan).
• Knowledge of traveler duty of care and corporate risk management.
• Background and drug screen.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting mid‑size to large enterprise travel programs.
• Familiarity with procurement frameworks.
• Experience using travel analytics and reporting tools.
• GBTA or CTIE certification preferred.

Physical Requirements

Working conditions consist of a normal office environment. Work is primarily sedentary and requires extensive use of a computer and involves sitting for periods of approximately four hours. Work may require occasional standing, walking, kneeling, and reaching. Must be able to lift 10 pounds occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently. Requires visual acuity and dexterity to view, prepare, and manipulate documents and office equipment including personal computers. Requires the ability to communicate with internal and/or external customers. Employee must be able to perform essential functions and physical requirements of position with or without reasonable accommodation.

Base Pay Scale For This Position

Phoenix, AZ/ Chicago, IL / Washington, DC in USD per year is: $84,000 - $105,000.

Benefits

• Healthcare Coverage – Competitive medical (PPO/HDHP), dental, and vision plans as well as company contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or pre‑tax savings through flexible spending accounts (FSA) for commuting, health & dependent care expenses.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Featuring a 100% Company Safe Harbor Match on your first 6% deferral immediately upon eligibility.
• Paid Time Off – Flexible Time Off for Exempt (salaried) employees, as well as generous PTO for Non‑Exempt (hourly) employees, plus 11 paid company holidays and a paid volunteer day.
• 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave.
• Maven Family Planning – provides support through your parenting journey including egg freezing, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy, postpartum, early pediatrics, and returning to work.

Early Warning Services, LLC (“Early Warning”) considers for employment, hires, retains and promotes qualified candidates on the basis of ability, potential, and valid qualifications without regard to race, religious creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, protected veteran or disability status or any factor prohibited by law, and as such affirms in policy and practice to support and promote equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and municipal laws. The company also prohibits discrimination on other bases such as medical condition, marital status or any other factor that is irrelevant to the performance of our employees.

Early Warning Services LLC is a proud participant in E‑Verify, a federal program to help ensure a legal and authorized workforce. As part of our hiring process, we electronically verify the employment eligibility of all new hires through E‑Verify. For more information on your rights and responsibilities under E‑Verify please visit Home | E‑Verify.