Director - Corporate Travel & Expense

Organizations everywhere struggle under the crushing costs and complexities of "solutions" that promise to simplify their lives. To create a better experience for their customers and employees. To help them grow. Software is a choice that can make or break a business. Create better or worse experiences. Propel or throttle growth. Business software has become a blocker instead of ways to get work done.

There's another option. Freshworks. With a fresh vision for how the world works.

At Freshworks, we build uncomplicated service software that delivers exceptional customer and employee experiences. Our enterprise-grade solutions are powerful, yet easy to use, and quick to deliver results. Our people-first approach to AI eliminates friction, making employees more effective and organizations more productive. Over 72,000 companies, including Bridgestone, New Balance, Nucor, S&P Global, and Sony Music, trust Freshworks' customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) software to fuel customer loyalty and service efficiency. And, over 4,500 Freshworks employees make this possible, all around the world.

Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.

We are seeking a detail-oriented and customer service-focused Director of Corporate Travel and Expense (T&E) to build, manage, and scale our global T&E programs. This critical leadership role requires strong analytical skills to drive cost savings, ensure policy compliance, and enhance the overall traveler experience for all employees, from executives to global field teams.

You will be responsible for defining the future of our travel program, establishing new systems, and leading negotiations that directly impact our bottom line. We are in the early stages of replacing most of our T&E systems, and we want you to get involved in building and defining these from the beginning. 

Key Responsibilities

Global Program Strategy & Operations

• Design, implement, and lead the global corporate T&E strategy, ensuring seamless, cost-effective, and compliant travel for all employees across all regions.
• Serve as the primary internal subject matter expert for all travel and expense policies, systems, and procedures.
• Proactively monitor emerging travel risks, trends, and technologies to ensure the program remains best-in-class.
• Propose and communicate changes and improvements to our senior leadership team as well as our employees.
• Drive our transition to a new Travel Management Company (TMC) and Online Booking Tool (OBT) and ensure it works well across all countries where we have employees.

Financial Management & Analytics

• Oversee and manage the global travel and expense budget, identifying areas for optimization and delivering tangible cost savings year over year.
• Run in-depth analytics and generate comprehensive reports for the FP&A team and senior leadership, highlighting spending trends, compliance rates, and ROI of vendor relationships.
• Manage all vendor relationships, leading negotiations and contract management for major service providers, including airlines, global hotel chains, and TMCs.

Corporate Card and Expense Systems

• Support the implementation of a new expense management tool (final selection still to be decided) and ensure it is set up to be most user friendly across the globe.
• Manage the relationship and continue to optimize the expense management platform to maximize efficiency and user experience.
• Lead the strategic assessment, implementation, and oversight of a future corporate card program, including card set-up, distribution, and policy compliance protocols.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Collaborate closely with the Meetings & Events team to provide strategic support, vendor leverage, and T&E policy guidance for large internal and external events.
• Negotiate contracts with large hotels and work with the TMC or third party vendors to coordinate all employees traveling to these events.
• Partner with HR and Legal to ensure T&E policies are consistent, fair, and adhere to all global regulatory and labor laws.

Additional Initiatives

• Develop a tailored strategy for ground transportation (cab and ride-share) in India to ensure safety, cost control, and compliance.
• Act as the final approval point for all complex travel exceptions, ensuring fairness and strict adherence to internal controls.

• Exceptionally detail-oriented with a proven ability to manage complex policies, contracts, and financial data with meticulous accuracy.
• Strong analytical proficiency with an ability to analyze complex datasets, benchmark with other companies, and run financial analyses to translate raw data into actionable business intelligence.
• Customer service focused with a history of balancing corporate compliance/cost controls with a positive, supportive, and efficient traveler experience for employees and executives.
• 10+ years of experience in Corporate Travel Management, Global Expense Operations, or Procurement, with at least 3 years in a leadership/Director role overseeing a global program and team.
• Knowledge of India travel processes and Government regulations.
• Expert-level knowledge of major expense management systems.
• Proven track record of successful negotiation and contract management with major travel vendors (airlines, hotels, TMCs).
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, or a related field preferred.
• Requires occasional international travel (1 - 2 times per year) to meet with global teams and key vendors.

The annual base salary range for this position is $140,800.00 - 202,400.00. This role is also eligible for a target bonus.

Compensation is based on a variety of factors including but not limited to location, experience, job-related skills, and level. Bonus/equity may be available. Freshworks offers multiple options for dental, medical, vision, disability and life insurances. Equity + ESPP, flexible PTO, flexible spending, commuter benefits and wellness benefits are also offered. Freshworks also offers adoption and parental leave benefits.

At Freshworks, we have fostered an environment that enables everyone to find their true potential, purpose, and passion, welcoming colleagues of all backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, religions, and ethnicities. We are committed to providing equal opportunity and believe that diversity in the workplace creates a more vibrant, richer environment that boosts the goals of our employees, communities, and business. Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.