Travel Assistant, G5 at United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON)

This post is located in the Nairobi duty station, the Travel, Shipping & Visa Unit (TSVU) within Central Support Services of the Division of Administrative Services, UNON. The incumbent reports to the supervisor of the TSVU unit. Within delegated authority, the Travel Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:

Responsibilities

• Provides information to staff members and delegations on entitlements, policy and procedures on official travel, removal of personal effects arrangements in accordance with governing rules and regulations.
• Review travel and shipment requests in Umoja to ensure conformity with applicable rules.
• Calculates airfares and constructs itineraries for staff and dependents, delegations and non-staff (consultants, meeting participants and contractors) traveling on official business in line with the most economical and direct route.
• Liaises with contracted travel agency on complex itineraries and issuance of tickets.
• Approves travel and shipment authorizations including amendments.
• Calculates and records lump-sum entitlements.
• Request and record refunds in Umoja.
• Perform partial and complete cancellation of Travel Requests in Umoja, if applicable.
• Process expense reports that are routed to travel unit in accordance with rules and regulations.
• Co-ordinates arrangements for removal of personal effects for staff members worldwide including registering shipments and insurance coverage, insurance claims and reviewing invoices.
• Provides Umoja support on travel related issues to staff members.
• Assists with the collection and analysis of data as well as preparation of data presentations and reports for information sharing, responding to queries, knowledge management, planning and decision making.
• Assists with visualizations and updating information material such as web pages or brochures.
• Performs ad-hoc duties as required.

Competencies

• PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of travel related processing requirements; ability to recognize and act in the face of conflicting priorities; ability to perform analysis, modeling and interpretation of data in support of decision-making; 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.
• 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 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.

Education

• Completion of high school diploma or equivalent is required.

Job - Specific Qualification

• Specialized Travel Agent training (such as IATA certification or equivalent) is required.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in travel administration, travel rate construction, routing, and travel reimbursement, or related area is required.
• Working experience in the ERP System, Systems Applications and Products(SAP) is required.
• Three (3) years of working experience in the UN system or similar international organization is desirable.
• Experience arranging travel for large group of meeting participants is desirable.
• 1 year or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.