Travel Assistant

As the United Nations lead agency on international development, UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities, and to build resilience to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Our work is concentrated in three focus areas; sustainable development, democratic governance and peace building, and climate and disaster resilience.

Under the supervision of the Travel and Events Analyst, the Travel Assistant provides travel related services in the UNDP IRH ensuring high quality and accuracy of work in order to ensure delivery of optimum travel services. She/he analyzes and interprets rules and guidelines regarding travel and entitlements and provides solutions to a wide spectrum of complex travel related issues. The Travel Assistant closely monitors travel expenditures and internal costs, and ensures their timely and accurate billing, settlement and cost recovery. The Travel Assistant promotes a collaborative, client-focused, quality and results-oriented approach in the delivery of travel services.

The Travel Assistant works in close collaboration with UNDP IRH Programme and Operations teams, local and national government officials, airlines and other travel vendors/agencies to ensure consistent service delivery.

The position is cost-shared with the BIOFIN (Biodiversity Finance Initiative) team, part of UNDP’s Nature, Climate and Energy Unit, under UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS), which is based in Istanbul, and will support necessary travel arrangements for BIOFIN team globally.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

1) Support in implementing operational strategies and processes for high quality and cost-effective travel management for the UNDP IRH, projects and at the request of other Agencies in full compliance with UN/UNDP rules, regulations and policies:
• Provide information to staff on travel including entitlements, travel route and hotel arrangements.
• Process travel authorizations and claims in line with travel entitlements for staff, consultants, UN and visitors, ensuring that the travel arrangement follow the UN rules of most direct route and competitive prices.
• Process travel transactions (tickets and DSA) in ERP (UNALL and Quantum). Check on availability of budget and follow up with respective requesting teams in case of issues.
• Prepare and send travel packages (including logistics note, invitation, and authorization letters) for participants of global and regional events.
• Facilitate processing of payments to travel vendors and agents.
• Follow-up on Travel Claim (F-10s) submission.
• Provide support and guidance to Country Offices’ travel focal points as required in connection with organization of events.
• If requested, make hotel reservations for visiting UN/UNDP officials and support in arranging for airport pick-up of high-level officials.
• Maintain records and provide information to finance unit on cost-recovery of services provided to other Agencies or units outside of IRH and BIOFIN.
• Prepare routine correspondence, memoranda and reports as needed by IRH and/or BIOFIN.

2) Support implementation of cost-competitive sourcing strategy in the Country Office:
• Support in collecting and analyzing information on market situation in travel service area.
• Support in conducting surveys and biddings of travel services.
• Support the conducting of Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) surveys and hotel surveys.
• Analyze and prepare reports on most competitive prices and service quality of hotels.
• Submit reports to HQ and distribute Hotel list to all UN agencies.
• Implement cost saving measures through negotiation with travel service provider, arrangement of the most economic route, and appropriate itinerary.
• Providing inputs to prepare LTAs for travel and hotel services on behalf of UN Agencies.
• Follow-up with contracted travel agent to ensure provision of high quality professional service and most competitive price.

3) Support knowledge building and knowledge sharing in the Country Office:
• Participate in and assist in organizing training for the programme, operations and projects staff on procurement and travel.
• Make sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

4) Support in organization of global and regional events:
• Support the organization of Global and Regional Meetings and Events.
• Assist in procurement processes for events as required.
• Prepare and maintain a list of participants to events.
• Share event materials and documentation with event participants.
• Coordinate event services with relevant providers (i.e. interpretation, etc.
• Ensure proper technical set-up is in place for virtual/hybrid events.

The UN Volunteer performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.