Travel Assistant

The Travel Assistant provides operational support for travel administration to UNODC Country Offices in the Central Asia, Iran, Pakistan, Southeast Asia and Pacific, and South Asia regions. Responsibilities include coordinating official travel, calculating entitlements, liaising with travel agencies, and supporting travel-related data analysis and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate the travel of and provide information to staff members, affiliate personnel, and meeting participants on entitlements, policies and procedures related to official travel, shipment of personal effects, and passport and visa requirements, in accordance with governing rules and regulations.
• Calculate airfares, excess baggage entitlements, terminal expenses, and daily subsistence allowance for staff members, their dependents, and affiliate personnel, and submit them to the Unit Supervisor for approval.
• Prepare itineraries for staff members, their dependents, delegations, and affiliate personnel traveling on official business, ensuring the most economical and direct routes, in close coordination with the Travel Unit in Vienna.
• Assist with troubleshooting the in-house SAP/Umoja system and provide support to UNODC Field Offices on travel related issues.
• Contact airlines or travel agencies to secure reservations at the most economical fares and request the issuance of tickets.
• Liaise with contracted travel agencies on complex itineraries and ticket issuance.
• Determine revised cost estimates where deviations occur and obtain reimbursement, where applicable.
• Approve travel and shipment authorizations, including amendments.
• Calculate and record lump-sum entitlements (where applicable).
• Provide guidance to travellers on the reconciliation of travel claims in accordance with applicable rules and regulations.
• Review travel claims and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy, validity, and compliance with UN Rules and Regulations.
• Refer discrepancies to the Representative and /or Associate Finance Officer for clarification and corrective action.
• Support the analysis of travel requirements and the identification of cost-saving and cost-reduction strategies.
• Maintain records of all processed travel authorizations and document savings achieved through the implementation of cost-savings measures.
• Monitor refunds related to tickets issued to individual travellers.
• Review monthly reports and invoices received from the travel agencies for issued tickets, ensuring the accuracy of amounts payable against approved Travel Requests.
• Submit payment requests to the FRMS Payment Unit and reconcile Travel Agent Invoice error reports in Umoja to facilitate settlement by the Financial Resources Management Service.
• Support the drafting of Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the procurement of travel agency services and assist with vendor registration in the in-house SAP/Umoja system.
• Maintain relevant internal databases and files; Assist in maintaining all UNOV/UNODC Travel Agency Contracts in Umoja, monitor contractual agreements with travel service providers, and inform affected users of contractual rights and obligations.
• Contribute to the implementation of operational strategies by providing input to travel processes and supporting the development and maintenance of internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) related to travel and logistics, in consultation with the direct supervisor.
• Liaise with Travel management Contractors (TMCs) on operational matters, including but not limited to the TMC’s performance monitoring, negotiation and utilisation of airline discounts, follow up on ticket cancellations and refunds, and any other travel-related matters.
• Assist in compiling and preparing briefing materials, presentations, background information, and documentation for meetings involving UNODC colleagues.
• Assist 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 including travel reports from SAP Modules and compilation of BI reports, as required.
• Assist with visualizations and updating information material such as web pages or brochures.
• Perform other work-related duties, as required.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent is required.
• A minimum of five (5) years of work experience in travel administration, administrative services, finance or a related area is required.
• The minimum number of years of relevant experience is reduced to three (3) for candidates who possess a first-level university degree or higher.
• Work experience in travel administration, including the processing of official travel, calculation of travel-related entitlements, preparation of itineraries or review of travel claims, is required.
• Work experience using Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint) as well as web-based applications, is required.
• Work experience with an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system such as SAP/Umoja is desirable.
• Work experience within the United Nations system or similar international organizations, in particular in areas of providing administrative services is desirable.
• Work experience in a travel related industry is desirable.
• Work experience with an airline reservation or Global Distribution Systems (GDS) is desirable.
• Work experience in data collection and analysis, graph development, charts, tables and reports using data visualization is desirable.
• English is required at UN Level II for reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Skills

• Travel Administration
• Official Travel Processing
• Travel Entitlements Calculation
• Itinerary Preparation
• Travel Claims Review
• MS Word
• MS Excel
• MS Access
• MS PowerPoint
• Web-based Applications
• Enterprise Resource Planning
• SAP
• Umoja
• Data Collection
• Data Analysis
• Data Visualization
• Graph Development
• Report Preparation
• Airline Reservation Systems
• Global Distribution Systems

Languages

English