Travel Assistant Vacancy-Job Ref: ACKWUNAMA/0108/202458

Travel Assistant Vacancy-Job Ref: ACKWUNAMA/0108/202458
Kuwait City (Kuwait)
JOB DESCRIPTION
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.
Under the strategic guidance of the Department of Operational Support (DOS), the Kuwait Joint Support Office provides efficient and client-oriented services with the goal of moving transactional, non-location dependent administrative functions from its client entities. These include transactional elements of human resources, finance, travel and payroll. This position is located in the Kuwait Joint Support Office (KJSO). The Travel Assistant at this level will report to the Travel Team Leader and under the overall guidance of the Chief Travel Officer.
Responsibilities
Within delegated authority, the Travel Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:
Calculates airfare, excess baggage entitlements, terminal expenses, daily subsistence allowance for staff and dependents traveling on missions, etc.
Provides information to staff and consultants on the most direct and economical route, and plans routings and itineraries plus the most economical airfare rates for such travel as permitted by the rules and regulations.
Provides information on rates and travel schedules for specific itineraries
Contacts airlines or travel agency to make reservations at least expensive fares, and requests issuance of tickets.
Initiates requests for visas.
Reviews of travel claims and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy, reasonableness, validity, and conformity with UN Rules.
Reviews and process travel requests and expense reports in Umoja for all travel categories for staff members and non-staff categories including military personnel.
Calculates lump-sum amounts for entitlement travel.
Competencies
PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of travel related processing requirements; ability to recognize and act in the face of conflicting priorities. 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 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
IATA certification in Fares and Ticketing is required
Work Experience
A minimum of five (5) years of experience in travel administration, including travel rate construction, routing, and travel reimbursement, or related area is required. The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced by two (2) years for candidates who possess a first-level university degree or higher.
A minimum of two (2) years of working experience in travel administration using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems such as SAP is desirable. A minimum of two (2) years of working experience in a Global Distribution System (GDS) such as Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo, Worldspan is desirable. Experience in travel data analysis and use of business intelligence (BI) software e.g., Microsoft Power BI, is desirable.
A minimum of two (2) experience in the United Nations Common System, international organizations or large national / multinational firms is desirable.
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another UN language is desirable. Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas.
Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
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