Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Travel Unit, Human Resources Management Section, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Naqoura. The incumbent will report to the Head of the Unit or his/her designate.

Responsibilities

– Coordinate the travel of civilian and military personnel, 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 support to the Uniformed Personnel (UP) Cell as needed;
– 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 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, 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 cancellation requested by travelers and has tickets 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 to 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 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 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 records 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;
– Perform other duties as required.

Competencies

– Professionalism: knowledge of travel related processing requirements; good understanding of SAP Travel modules such as UMOJA; Familiarity with travel related operations including knowledge of Airline Passenger Tariffs and ABS Airways Guide or OAG; knowledge of IATA visa requirements. 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.


– 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.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent is required. Technical or vocational certificate in the field of business administration or travel and related matters or related fields is required.

Work Experience

A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in travel administration, including travel rate calculation, routing, and travel reimbursement, or related area is required. Experience working with International Air Transport Association (IATA) rules and regulations as well as Global Distribution System such as Amadeus or SABRE is desirable. Experience working with Systems Applications and Products (SAP) Travel modules is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in English (both oral and written) is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is desirable.

Assessment

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

Special Notice

Recruitment against this position is on a local basis; applicants in the General Service category shall meet the relevant employment requirements of the host country (Lebanon), including fulfilling visa or work permit stipulations. If you fulfill the visa and work permit stipulations for Lebanon, please specify in your cover letter and attach a copy of your visa and work permit under ‘attachments” of your application in Inspira.

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 or sexual abuse, or crimes other than minor traffic offences, 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.

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.

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.