Travel & Expense Manager

About The Susan T. Buffett Foundation

The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (STBF) is a private grant-making Foundation with a U.S. home office in Omaha, Nebraska, and a global office in Kigali, Rwanda. With annual spending in excess of $800 million, it is one of the largest private foundations in the U.S. The Foundation is unusual for donors of such size as it has only two main areas of grant making: 1) supporting efforts to reduce unintended pregnancy and ensure access to safe abortion for women in the U.S. and around the world and 2) to enable low-income students in Nebraska to attend and succeed in college. The Foundation currently employs over 70 staff across the U.S. and Kigali, Rwanda. The Foundation will not exist in perpetuity. After Mr. Buffett passes away (he is currently 93 years old), the Foundation’s grantmaking will grow substantially, then eventually sunset after 15 years.

About the Foundation Operations Team

This role will be a part of the Foundation Operations team, consisting of People Operations, Organizational Effectiveness, Finance, Accounting, Payroll, IT, and General Business Operations. The Foundation Operations team is a central, cross-collaborative unit intersecting every facet and team within the Foundation.

The Opportunity

The Travel and Expense Manager will be responsible for managing all aspects of the Foundation’s travel and expense processes. This includes, but is not limited to, policy development, expense management, travel coordination, budget oversight, and vendor management. This individual will play a critical role in streamlining travel processes, controlling expenses, and ensuring compliance within the Foundation.

The Foundation is intent on safeguarding the values that drive our culture: Mission, Respect for Donor Intent, Appetite for Risk and Tolerance for Failure, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Humility, Passion Tempered by Objectivity and Evidence, Compassion and Love of Humanity, Honesty and Integrity, Kindness and Respect and Shared Accountability.

The Travel and Expense Manager will need to have a genuine understanding of, and appreciation for, the significance of these values and aspirations and how they are operationalized in the work that the Foundation undertakes. Finally, this individual will need to be aligned with the Foundation’s progressive values, including unambiguous support for individual reproductive freedom.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership

• Lead the Foundation’s global travel and expenses programs, including managing relationships with preferred vendors, implementation of travel management software, administration of the Foundation’s expense reporting platform, and administration of company credit cards
• Manage all future Travel and Expense staff
• Oversee travel procedures and processes for all staff, both in the U.S. and Africa

Subject Matter Expertise

• Counsel colleagues on travel safety and serve as primarily liaison with external health and security risk management partner
• Serve as the expert on global travel guidelines and best practices
• Create and conduct Foundation-wide training for global travel and expenses

Surveying and Analysis

• With insight from Foundation staff, develop travel protocols for frequently traveled locations in Africa
• Analyze global travel expenditures to inform decision making and respond to any ad hoc report requests

Attributes for Success in this Role

• Comfortable creating travel-related processes and procedures where none have previously existed
• Can manage from concept to implementation process improvements and systems to ease the burden of booking and expensing travel
• Exhibits ability to prioritize competing interests with varying levels of urgency
• Attention to detail to help ensure accuracy and compliance with policies and regulations.
• Organization skills to for arrangements, reports, receipts, and other documentation
• Problem-Solving skills for unexpected issues with bookings, reports, or expenses
• Understanding of financial principles and budgeting to effectively manage travel expenses
• Technology proficiency with travel and expense software, systems, and/or platforms

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience not only booking travel in the U.S., but internationally (specifically, intra- African travel)
• Managed key external partnerships
• Provided data-driven analysis to inform decision-making related to travel budget, expenses, or bookings
• Administered a corporate/travel card program
• Familiarity with various corporate travel booking tools
• Experience with and knowledge of various travel best practices (i.e. booking processes, airline regulations, hotel accommodations, rental car services, etc.)
• Experience with and knowledge of financial management (i.e. expense reporting, budgeting, cost analysis, etc.)
• Experience working with a distributed workforce across multiple locations and time zones.

Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Travel Requirements

Annual trip to Kigali, Rwanda; if remote, 3-4 trips to Omaha, NE per year

Location

This position is remote within the US ( preference for CST or EST) or in STBF’s office in Omaha, NE.

Benefits and Compensation

Starting salary for this role is $137,000. Compensation is determined by a variety of factors including candidate’s individual qualifications, experience relative to the requirements of the role, and internal equity. STBF offers a robust and generous benefits package.

Inclusion Statement

We are committed to creating a workplace where employees thrive both personally and professionally. This includes not only creating a diverse team where everyone feels represented, respected, and included, but also embedding these values across our work and practices. All applicants who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.

To Be Considered

Please submit your resume and cover letter expressing your interest in the position and fit for the role via the “Become a Candidate” button below. Letters may be addressed to Cody McCarthy.

Applicants applying by July 29th will be given priority consideration, with the position open until filled.