Travel Assistant, Dakar, Senegal

## Travel Assistant, Dakar, Senegal - Organization:UNODC - Office on Drugs and Crime - Office:UNODC Dakar, Senegal Organizational 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 on UNODC, please visit the website www.unodc.org. Within assigned authority, the Travel Assistant will be responsible for ensuring, or carrying out the following specific duties: - Coordinate the travel of staff and affiliate personnel traveling to and from a wide range of locations in connection with duty travel. - Calculate and initiate entitlements for all travel modalities and submit to the unit Supervisor for approval, e.g., airfare, excess baggage entitlements, terminal expenses, airfreight entitlements, daily subsistence allowance for staff and affiliate personnel. - Provide information about frequency of air services and advise staff and affiliate personnel 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 prepare documentation with regard to competitive bidding for travel and liaise with the Procurement Unit in respect of such contractor services. - Calculate the residual values of partially used tickets when there is a rerouting and any revised per diem amounts in case of deviation from approved travel. - Arrange for changes or cancellations requested by travellers and ensure tickets are reissued, including obtaining reimbursement, where applicable. - Coordinate departure and arrival times, as needed, and identify class of accommodation corresponding to the nature of the travel. - Review travel claims and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy and validity, prior to forwarding to the Accounting Section for non-automatic approval Expense Report scenarios; ensure that entitlements are in conformity with Staff Rules. 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 complicated itineraries and assist in making travel plans which take advantage of benefits 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. - Coordinate with the various Consulates and host government Ministries of Foreign Affairs for the provision of transit visas and resident visas respectively. - Check travel requests and related documents and correct where necessary; classify and record travel request 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. - Ensure the timely and efficient settlement of airline ticket payments, including verification and reconciliation of invoices with travel agencies and service providers, and drive the timely clearing of outstanding travel claims in the travel portal; follow-up with substantive teams on pending cases to avoid payment delays and penalties and minimize financial exposure to the Organization, maintaining a responsive, client-oriented service to clients. - Serve as the principal focal point for coordination within the Travel Hub, liaising closely with counterparts across duty stations to ensure timely, efficient and consistent processing of travel-related transactions and adherence to established travel policies and service standards. - Act as Team Leader of the ROSEN Travel Team, exercising managerial responsibility over assigned staff, including allocation and supervision of workload, setting and monitoring of individual performance objectives, coaching and capacity development, and fostering a collaborative and results-oriented team environment. - Act as focal point for resolving complex travel cases and ensuring accuracy and compliance with UN travel policies. - Perform other work-related duties, as required. - 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. - Managing Performance: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority; ensures 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 tasks 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 nitiative;actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; appraises performance fairly. High school diploma or equivalent is required. Job - Specific Qualification A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible work 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. English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this job opening, EnglishandFrench are required. The table below shows the minimum required level for each skill in these languages, according to the UN Language Framework (please consult https://languages.un.org for details). Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise and a competency-based interview. The appointment against this position is limited to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. THIS IS A FIXED TERM LIMITED POSIT