Travel Assistant

United Nations Regional Service Centre is hiring an Travel Assistant to carryout the following duties and responsibilities;

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Coordinate the travel of civilian and military personnel including civilian police, traveling to and from a wide range of member states in connection with mission duties.
• Calculate and initiate entitlements for all such travel and submit to the Unit Supervisor for approval, e.g., airfare, excess baggage entitlements, terminal expenses, airfreight entitlements, daily subsistence allowance for staff and dependents on traveling on missions, etc.
• Perform complex lump sum calculation of travel entitlements for staff members.
• Provide information about frequency of air services and provide advice to staff and consultants on the most economical airfare rates for such travel, as permitted by the rules and regulations.
• Provide information on rates and travel schedules for specific itineraries, as requested for budgeting purposes for programme managers.
• Contact airlines to make reservations and negotiate least expensive fares, e.g., discuss with travel agency management and with senior airline sales management for space on flights, reduced airfares, group discounts and reduced excess baggage charges.
• Initiate issuance of tickets and discuss discrepancies and problems.
• Coordinate and process shipment of personal effects and official cargo, including preparation of documentation, follow-up with service providers and monitoring of delivery status in accordance with applicable procedures.
• Calculate the residual values of partially used tickets when there is a rerouting.
• Compute and determine the revised amounts of per diem where there is deviation from original travel plans.
• Arrange for changes or cancellations requested by travellers and ensure tickets are reissued as required and obtain reimbursement where applicable.
• Convert departure and arrival times, as needed, and identify class of accommodation corresponding to the nature of the travel.
• Follow up on itinerary amendments and ticket adjustments where required.
• Examine and pre-audit the official itineraries of staff members, civilian police and military staff as stated in the travel authorization to determine air travel cost entitlement of the proposed official travel of the mission personnel.
• Ensure conformity with established rules, regulations and relevant directives.
• Review travel claims and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy and validity prior to forwarding to the Finance Section for payment.
• Ensure that entitlements are in conformity with UN Rules, Regulations and policies.
• Refer discrepancies back to Administrative and/or Certifying Officers for clarification and possible correction.
• Advise Administrative Office on more efficient and cost-effective routings with regard to more complicated staff itineraries.
• Assist in making travel plans in order to take advantage of the benefits to be derived from advance purchases or special promotional fares.
• Maintain records of all travel authorizations processed.
• Record savings accrued to the organization as a result of the cost savings techniques employed.
• Calculate daily subsistence allowance for travel for senior UN staff or mission assignees and appointments, and other UN Staff, taking into account whether meals will be provided and which stopovers are designated official business or personal.
• Prepare travel authorization depending upon actual category of the traveler and calculate all other costs, including excess baggage, terminal expenses, subsistence allowance and travel advance.
• Advise substantive offices, travellers, plus mission personnel and movement control staff of arrival information, requesting arrangements to be made accordingly for traveller.
• Perform other duties as required.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

Education

• High school diploma or equivalent is required.

Job – Specific Qualification

• A technical or vocational certificate in the field of travel, business administration and related matters or related fields is required. IATA certificate is desirable.
• A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in travel administration, airline reservations and ticketing including fare construction, identifying difficult and complicated routes at the lowest possible fares is required.
• The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced to five (5) for candidates who possess a first level degree or higher.
• Experience in administration of a broad range of travel-related entitlements and benefits using Systems Applications and Products (SAP) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software e.g., Umoja or other similar platforms is required.
• Experience in application of United Nations or similar international organization’s Staff Rules and Regulations in an operational travel environment is desirable.
• Having supervisory experience of an IATA accredited travel agency is desirable.
• Experience in a shared service center or similar setup is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.
• For this job opening, English is required. French is desirable.
• The table below shows the minimum required level for each skill in these languages, according to the UN Language Framework

Competencies

• Professionalism: Knowledge of IATA rules and familiarity with United Nations Staff and Financial Rules and Regulations and procedures.
• Shows pride in work and in achievements; Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter.
• Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
• Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns. Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.
• Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.
• Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively. Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately.
• Asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication.
• Tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience.
• Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
• Client orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view.
• Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect.
• Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions.
• Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems.
• Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects. Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

How to Apply:

All suitably qualified and Interested applicants should apply online at the link below.

Click Here

NB: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.