TRAVEL ASSOCIATE

Contract

This is a G-6 contract. This kind of contract is known as General Service and related categories. It is normally only for nationals. It usually requires 6 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be more than 1,994 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

Org. Setting and Reporting The mandate of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is to promote sustainable and inclusive development and regional connectivity in the Asian and Pacific region. ESCAP’s role as a regional development arm of the United Nations Secretariat is to support its membership with policy oriented research and analysis, normative support and technical assistance and capacity building, to respond to the development priorities and changing needs of the Asian and Pacific region.

The General Services Unit (GSU) supports the ESCAP and UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes to deliver their programmatic mandates, by delivering coherent and cost-effective general services.

This position is located in the Travel, Transportation and Visa Services Sub-Unit (TTVS), GSU in the Commercial and General Services Section of the Division of Administration, ESCAP.

Responsibilities Under the direct supervision of the Senior Travel Assistant (Supervisor of TTVS) and the overall supervision of Chief of GSU, the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties:

•Coordinates the travel of ESCAP staff and its UN clients, traveling to and from a wide range of member states in connection with their official duties. •Calculates and initiates entitlements for all such travel and submits to the Sub-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. •Provides information about frequency of air services and provides advice to staff and consultants on the most direct and economical airfare rates for such travel as permitted by the rules and regulations. •Provides information on rates and travel schedules for specific itineraries, as requested for budgeting purposes for programme managers. •Contacts airlines to make reservations, negotiates least expensive fares e.g., discusses with management of travel agency and with senior airline sales management for space on flights, reduced airfares, group discounts and reduced excess baggage charges, initiates issuance of tickets; discusses discrepancies and problems. Assists TTVS’ Supervisor in managing the Travel Management Company against the established and agreed upon KPIs. •Calculates the residual values of partially used tickets when there is a rerouting. •Computes and determines the revised amounts of per diem where there is deviation from original travel plans. •Arranges for changes or cancellations requested by travelers and has tickets reissued, including obtaining reimbursement, where applicable. •Converts departure and arrival times, as needed, and identifies class of accommodation corresponding to the nature of the travel. •Examines and pre-audits the official itineraries of staff members, , as stated in the travel authorization, in order determine air travel cost entitlement of the proposed official travel of the mission personnel and ensures conformity with established rules, regulations and relevant directives; •Reviews travel claims and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy and validity, prior to forwarding to the Financial Resources Management Section; ensures that entitlements are in conformity with Staff Rules. Refers discrepancies back to Administrative and /or Certifying Officers for clarification and possible correction. •Advises Administrative Office of more efficient and cost effective routings with regard to more complicated staff itineraries, and assists them in making travel plans in order to take advantage of the benefits to be derived from advance purchases or special promotional fares. •Maintains records of all travel authorizations processed and records savings accrued to the organization as a result of the cost savings techniques employed. •Calculates 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, which stopovers are designated official business or personal; depending upon actual category of the traveler, prepares travel authorization, calculates all other costs, including excess baggage, terminal expenses, subsistence allowance and travel advance. •Advises substantive offices, travelers, plus mission personnel and movement control staff of arrival information, requesting arrangements to be made accordingly for traveler. •Coordinates with the various Consulates and the host government Ministries of Foreign Affairs regarding the provision of transit visas and resident visas respectively. •Checks travel authorizations and cables and correct where necessary, •Classifies and records travel authorizations numbers. •Analyzes travel data, via utilization of business intelligence software, for advance purchase compliance rate and other travel activities and provides recommendations on saving opportunities. •Supervises the staff of transportation services within the TTVS Sub-Unit. •Acts as the Deputy to Supervisor, TTVS in his or her absence and takes full responsibility for the work of the Sub-Unit. •Performs other related work as required.

Competencies •Professionalism: Knowledge of travel related processing requirements; plans, manages and resolves conflicting priorities. 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.

•Planning & Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.

•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.

•Managing performance: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority; Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member; Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills; Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines; Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff; Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative; Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; Appraises performance fairly.

Education High school diploma or equivalent.

Work Experience A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in travel administration, including travel rate construction, is required. Experience in utilizing Global Distributions System (GDS) e.g., Amadeus, Sabre etc., as well as in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems relating to travel module is required. Experience in supervising staff is desirable. Demonstrated experience in travel data analysis and use of business intelligence (BI) software e.g., Microsoft Power BI, is desirable. Experience in the United Nations Common System or international organizations is desirable.

Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required.

Assessment Qualified applicants may be evaluated through a competency-based interview and/or other assessment methods.

Special Notice Appointment against this post is on a local basis; candidates shall be recruited in the country or within commuting distance of the ESCAP office, irrespective of nationality and length of time the candidate may have been in the country. If no suitable local candidate is identified, candidates located elsewhere may be considered. The candidate is responsible for any expenses incurred in taking the relevant examinations at the duty station, and of any costs related to traveling and relocating to the duty station in the event of an employment offer.

Must have passed the United Nations Global General Service Test (GGST) at Headquarters or an equivalent locally-administered test at Offices Away from Headquarters.

United Nations Considerations According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer, or promotion of staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. By accepting an offer of appointment, United Nations staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and assignment by him or her to any activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). In this context, all internationally recruited staff members shall be required to move periodically to discharge new functions within or across duty stations under conditions established by the Secretary-General.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.