Org. Setting and Reporting

The Department of Operational Support (DOS) was established to provide end-to-end operational support, advisory services and other solutions to operating entities across the Secretariat, including departments, offices away from headquarters, peace operations, and regional commissions. The Regional Service Centre in Entebbe, Uganda (RSCE), was established in July 2010, following the adoption of General Assembly resolution 64/269. The Centre provides efficient, client-oriented and scalable services with the goal of moving transactional, non-location dependent administrative functions to the Centre from its client entities. This includes transactional elements of human resources, finance, multimodal movement and control, personnel and cargo transport and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) support. In addition to these services, the Office of the Director RSCE and support offices through the Deputy Director RSCE provides overall guidance on the operations of the RSCE including strategic planning, communication, budgeting, human resources management, property management, quality assurance and business intelligence, conference services, record keeping and archive management, and audit response and risk management. For more information, please visit https://rsce.unmissions.org. This Temporary Job Opening is located in the Travel Service Line at the RSCE under the Department of Operational Support. The Travel Assistant at this level reports to an operational Team Leader of the Travel Service Line.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Travel Assistant will be responsible for ensuring, or carrying out the following duties:

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.

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.

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.

Work Experience

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

Language	Reading	Writing	Listening	Speaking
English	UN Level III	UN Level III	UN Level III	UN Level III

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

This position is temporarily available for 364 days. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment. The selected candidates are expected to start as soon as possible.

These positions are subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules. All staff in the General Service and related categories shall be recruited in the country or within commuting distance of each office, irrespective of their nationality and of the length of time they may have been in the country. A staff member subject to local recruitment shall not be eligible for the allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment.
The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for these positions.
Staff Members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all Staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures. An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential.

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. All external candidates recruited in accordance with section ‎2.2 (a) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment without limitation and all external candidates recruited in accordance with section 2.2. (c) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment limited to the entity are subject to an initial probationary period of one year under a fixed-term appointment. 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.

TRAVEL ASSISTANT