Director, Meetings And Travel - Remote

At the American Cancer Society, we're leading the fight for a world without cancer. Our employees and 1.5 million volunteers are raising the bar every single day. We actively seek candidates from diverse backgrounds including communities of color, the LGBTQ community, veterans, and people with disabilities. The greater the diversity of our people, the better we can serve our communities.
The people who work at the American Cancer Society focus their diverse talents on our lifesaving mission. It is a calling. And the people who answer it are fulfilled.

***This is a remote position that can be home based anywhere in the United States. ***

Position implements and manages the travel and meetings programs, strategy and policies which includes: 1) manages the Society’s Meetings, Travel & Expense Policy and associated compliance; 2) partner cross-functionally to select, contract, implement and maintain suppliers, systems and processes to establish programs and standards; 3) listen to end-users and key suppliers to ensure that solutions are meeting enterprise objectives and mission in an effective and efficient manner; 4) manage the daily operations of the associated suppliers, staff, and technologies.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Business Planning

• Provides leadership to recommend business practice changes to improve compliance with regulations and ACS strategic business goals.
• Evaluate aspects of the meetings & travel management programs and apply change management to areas to meet business needs and/or for customer experience enhancements.
• Partnering with Supply Chain Governance and Corp Comm, lead communication through appropriate communication channels when necessary.
• Manages budget, performance goals and operational plan of the 3rd party travel management company (TMC), strategic meeting management provider, & and related solutions within scope.
• Develops solutions for complex problems through resource management, experience, investigation and analysis.
• Provides strategy for multi-channel, dependable, policy compliant solutions that satisfy customer expectations in the areas of Meetings and Travel.
• Create and adhere to annual operational budget related to staff, technology, and related services.
• Review monthly and quarterly operational reports that include analysis of variances from plan, forecast and prior year; determine and execute revisions to operations accordingly. Develop annual resource allocation plan for the operations.

Development of employees

• Lead and develop a team of operational professionals, ensuring staff structure and competencies are appropriate to ensure organizational goals are accomplished.
• Create and monitor SMART goals with staff to ensure accomplishment of ACS, department, and project goals.
• Manage performance and develop the team through coaching and training.
• Perform and develop staff’s ability to identify potential value opportunities.
• Perform and train others to foster relationships with key suppliers and internal partners to create short-term and long-term value for ACS.
• Demonstrate and model how to use fact-based decision making; leverages market data, analytics, and cost modeling to inform decisions.
• Develop team members to become change agents and leaders.

Buyer/ Supplier Relations

• Identify, cultivate, and manage relationships with current and potential suppliers that support the American Cancer Society’s goals and objectives related to meeting & travel technologies & services.
• In partnership with Sourcing & Legal, develop service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) for supplier agreements.
• Manage vendor account reviews on regular, periodic basis.

Company-wide Travel Program & Meeting Solutions Administration

• Directs compliance and works cross functionally with Supply Chain Governance, Finance, and Internal Audit
• Maintains written standard policies and procedures for operations.
• Manage and implement processes and procedures for operational efficiency for the travel operation, meeting requests, connecting & contracting with 3rd parties to support virtual or in-person meeting / conference management.
• In partnership with Manager and Supply Chain Governance, maintain related policies to set standards and evolve with changing times.
• Partnering with Enterprise Risk Management, direct the development and integration of meetings & travel risk management, crisis management and business continuity plans.

Data Analysis and Finance

• Validate accuracy of data received from identified sources to include invoices and performance data from suppliers.
• Direct the creation and analysis of reports for stakeholder groups to identify trends, benchmarks, and communicate meeting & travel program performance.
• Applies advanced skills to interdependently resolve challenging problems with high level of complexity, analysis, investigation and cross departmental effects.

Day to Day Operations

• Oversee the collaborative day to day operation of the 3rd party travel management company and 3rd party meeting solution and service providers.
• Analyze financial performance of products and services provided by Meetings & Travel team. Recommend enhancements to increase policy adherence, reduce cost, and/or increase benefits.
• Conduct ongoing market and technology research within the industry to refine processes, identify any weaknesses of existing process, and propose areas of improvement.
• Partner cross-functionality to define website functionality including overall customer experience, product flows, business logic, back-end integration, as well as third party system interaction.
• Oversee the documentation and testing of internal controls over the air connection process in conjunction with the company’s online registration requirements.
• As required, conduct supplier visits to observe implementation and compliance with contracts, SLA, and ACS Policies.

Manages Travel Policy Compliance

• Monitor and manage travel non-compliance within the organization.
• Works cross functionally to remedy non-compliance issues. Recommend business practice changes to improve compliance with regulations and ACS strategic business goals.
• Work cross-functionally to ensure that corrections in areas of non-compliance are made timely and appropriately.
• Partner with Supply Chain analyst on periodic analysis and reporting including compliance, spend and savings.
• Enforce and communicate ACS Meetings and Travel policies in workgroup environment.
• Respond appropriately to inquiries from partners, customers, and other dependent departments.
• Analyze meetings & travel data and reports seeking process efficiency, improved supplier performance, end-user satisfaction, safety, and savings reporting.

Maintains Meetings, Travel and Expense Policies

• Partner with Supply Chain Governance to direct development and oversee training for the organization to communicate policies and procedures and other necessary operational processes.
• Manage consistent, enterprise-wide communication with regards to policy and process changes, best practices, and industry updates.
• Maintain and evaluate effectiveness of meeting & travel policies. Recommend to leadership new and revised policies and standards.

Other Duties

• Oversee audits with vendors as necessary; establish deadlines, assist in resolution of issues, provides and distribute audit information internally as needed.
• Maintain professional and current technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications, establishing personal networks, benchmarking state of the art practices, participating in professional societies.
• Maintain effective industry relationships that facilitate the sharing of best practices while mitigating any negative impacts due to industry changes.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

FORMAL KNOWLEDGE:

• Bachelor’s Degree preferred or an equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• Certification preferred.
• Seven+ years comprehensive meetings & travel management experience with emphasis on managing third party providers, TMC agency operation, knowledge of airline reservation system, and understanding of meeting and event planning principles.

COMPETENCIES/SKILLS:

Demonstrates Meetings & Travel Competencies:

• Customer focus - Builds strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.
• Decision quality - Makes good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.
• Action oriented - Takes on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm.
• Drives results - Consistently achieves results, even under tough circumstances.
• Interpersonal savvy - Relates openly and comfortably with diverse groups of people.
• Instills trust - Gains the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity.
• Persuades - Uses compelling arguments to gain the support and commitment of others.
• Situational adaptability - Adapts approach and demeanor in real time to match the shifting demands of different situations.

Demonstrates ACS Leadership Competencies:

• People-First Mindset – Demonstrates genuine care of ACS’s people by providing meaningful work, offering opportunities for professional development, and valuing work-life balance of team members.
• Organizational Savvy – Demonstrates clear understanding of organizational culture and effectively navigates through complex company dynamics, championing organization initiatives.
• Decision quality - Makes good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.
• Business Knowledge – Applying business knowledge and industry best practices to advance the organization’s goals and inform data-driven decision making.
• Leadership Courage – Stepping up to address tough organizational issues and demonstrates conviction and courage to do what’s right.
• Strategic Mindset - Sees ahead to future possibilities and translates them into breakthrough strategies.

Other skills:

• Ability to lead operations with limited direct supervision
• Ability to work independently and manage project(s) from beginning to end.
• Ability to lead in a team environment and work cross functionally with diverse groups
• Exhibits utilization of analytical decision-making skills in daily work efforts.
• Contract negotiation skills as well as legal contract elements.
• Advanced verbal and written communication skills and the ability to present effectively to small and large groups.
• Employee development and performance management skills.
• Microsoft Office skills.

SPECIAL MENTAL OR PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• Work is normally performed in a typical interior/office work environment.
• Minimal travel required.
• No or very limited exposure to physical risk.

The starting rate is $X-$X. The final candidate's relevant experience/skills will be considered before an offer is extended. Actual starting pay will vary based on non-discriminatory factors including, but not limited to, geographic location, experience, skills, specialty, and education

The American Cancer Society has adopted a vaccination policy that requires all staff, regardless of position or work location, to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (except where prohibited by state law).

ACS provides staff a generous paid time off policy; medical, dental, retirement benefits, wellness programs, and professional development programs to enhance staff skills. Further details on our benefits can be found on our careers site at: jobs.cancer.org/benefits. We are a proud equal opportunity employer.