Org. Setting and Reporting
This position is located in the Regional Office for West and Central Africa (ROSEN), Division for Operations (DO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with duty station in Dakar, Senegal. The Travel Assistant will work under the overall guidance of the UNODC Regional Representative, ROSEN, and the direct supervision of the UNODC Operations Officer, and the additional guidance of the ROSEN Programme Coordinator and the Procurement Officer. For more information please visit www.unodc.org

Responsibilities
Within assigned authority, the Travel Assistant will be responsible for ensuring, or carrying out the following specific duties:
• Coordinate the travel of Professional staff, General Service and National Professional Officers, service contractors, UNV and consultants 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..
• Provide information about frequency of air services and provide advice to staff and consultants on the most direct and 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, negotiate least expensive fares e.g., discuss with management of travel agency and with senior airline sales management for space on flights, reduced airfares, group discounts and reduced excess baggage charges, initiate issuance of tickets; discuss discrepancies and problems.
• 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 travelers and ensure tickets are reissued, including obtaining reimbursement, where applicable.

• Convert departure and arrival times, as needed, and identify class of accommodation corresponding to the nature of the travel.
• Examine and pre-audit the official itineraries of staff members, civilian police and military staff, as stated in the travel authorization, in order determine air travel cost entitlement of the proposed official travel of the mission personnel and 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 Accounting Section; ensure that entitlements are in conformity with Staff Rules. Refers discrepancies back to Administrative and /or Certifying Officers for clarification and possible correction.
• Advise administrative office of more efficient and cost effective routings with regard to more complicated staff itineraries, and assist them 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 and 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, which stopovers are designated official business or personal.depending upon actual category of the traveler, prepare travel authorization, calculate all other costs, including excess baggage, terminal expenses, subsistence allowance and travel advance.
• Advise substantive offices, travelers, plus mission personnel and movement control staff of arrival information, requesting arrangements to be made accordingly for traveler.
• Coordinate with the various Consulates and the host government Ministries of Foreign Affairs regarding the provision of transit visas and resident visas respectively.
• Check travel authorizations and related documents and correct where necessary; classify and record travel authorizations numbers.
• 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.
• Assist with visualizations and updating information material such as web pages or brochures.
• Perform other work-related duties, as required.


Competencies
• Professionalism: Has knowledge of travel related processing requirements; plans, manages and resolves conflicting priorities. Has 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.
• Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Education
• High school diploma or equivalent is required.
Work Experience
• A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in travel administration, including travel rate construction, routing, and travel reimbursement, or related area is required. The minimum number of years of relevant experience is reduced to five for candidates who possess a first-level university degree or higher. Work experience with advanced computer applications (MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Internet, Email, etc.) is required. Work experience with an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is required. Work experience with SAP/Umoja is desirable.
Languages
• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English and French is required. Knowledge of another United Nations official language is an advantage.
Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise and a competency based interview.


Special Notice
This temporary vacancy is expected to be available for a period of six months. Actual filling of this position and the duration of the assignment are subject to availability of post and funding. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment. While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post. This position is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules. Applicants for positions in the General Service and related categories must be authorized to work for the United Nations in the duty station where the position is located. Eligible applicants selected from outside the duty station are responsible for any expenses in connection with their relocation to the duty station. Staff members subject to local recruitment are not eligible for allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment. The movement of staff members from the General Service and related categories to the Professional category in the United Nations Secretariat is exclusively allowed through the Young Professionals Programme competitive examinations. Only a few staff members pass the competitive examinations. Passing the competitive examinations does not guarantee movement to the Professional category. For further information, please visit https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=GP At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application.


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. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c).

Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile 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.