Travel Associate

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Staff in the General Service category are recruited locally from the Primary Location area, which is where the office is located.

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

FAO’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.
FAO's commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

The Logistics Services Division (CSL) is responsible, inter alia, for ensuring effective and efficient administration and enabling functions to support the Organization's programmes in achieving the Strategic Objectives while meeting the requirements of Members, UN partners and resource partners.

The position is located in CSL at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Main Purpose

The Travel Associate plays a lead role in the coordination of travel support services for the entire work unit. He/she performs a broad range of specialized travel-related functions, requiring in-depth knowledge of relevant policies,  procedures and systems. The incumbent ensures quality and consistency of processes and provides procedural guidance to clients and travel support staff.

Supervision Received/Exercised

The Travel Associate reports to the Travel and Transportation Officer, CSL.
Work is performed autonomously, showing a high degree of initiative and independent judgment. Supervision received is focused on facilitating service delivery and meeting client requirements. The incumbent provides guidance and training to travel support staff. 

 

Working Relationships

The Travel Associate maintains a wide range of contacts with managers in client divisions and staff throughout the Organization as well as with colleagues within the team in the delivery of travel-related services and handling of specialized and complex processes.

Key Functions/Results

•    Provide guidance and advice on travel rules, procedures and policy exception management to user community.
•    Track and maintain data records related to travel unit programmes and initiatives.
•    Analyse and investigate technical problems in the travel system, rejections and errors in travel payments, verify correctness and alignments of records between the travel, HR and payment systems and take corrective action to adjust discrepancies and errors.
•    Participate in the review, design and implementation of travel operational and reporting systems changes and enhancements.
•    Provide inputs for system testing and perform user acceptability tests of all travel system changes, provide inputs for ongoing design and procedural changes.
•    Generate travel data reports as requested for internal analysis and audit requirements, prepare requirements for queries to be run, verify accuracy of data, assist with analysis of data and prepare summaries as required.
•    Participate in the development, co-ordination and delivery of travel programme-related training.
•    Process and approve payments to headquarters travel agency: analyse and investigate technical rejections and take corrective action.
•    Process and prepare Import License Requests for staff entitlement related shipments and liaise with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on all matters relating to import licenses.
•    Process administrative actions related to Travel Unit functions.
•    Support knowledge building and knowledge sharing across the Organization through participation in the development and delivery of training related to travel administrative procedures and processes.
•    Review current processes and make recommendations to improve programme/projects administration procedures.
•    Provide administrative support to the CSLD Travel Unit and assist head of unit with managing units’ activities.
•    Perform other duties as required.

Impact Of Work

The incumbent's work affects the smooth and efficient operation of the Organization's travel support functions. He/she plays a lead role in the coordination and provision of the travel support services for the successful achievement of the Division/Office's mandate.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Education: Secondary School Education.
Experience: Five years of relevant experience in office/travel and accounting support work.
Languages: Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English and of another official FAO language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).
IT Skills: Very good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment.

Residency: General Service Staff are recruited locally. To be eligible for this position, candidates must be nationals of the country of the duty station or possess an existing visa/work permit and reside within commuting distance of the duty station at the time of the application. "Commuting distance" means the distance within which staff members can travel daily between their place of work and their residence.

Competencies

•    Results Focus
•    Teamwork
•    Communication
•    Building Effective Relationships
•    Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical Skills

•    Thorough knowledge of the essential elements of a range of financial/accounting/budgeting activities, including the relevant policies, rules and regulations.
•    Thorough knowledge of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) corporate travel systems.
•    Thorough knowledge of communication and documentation standards.

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FAO staff are expected to adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO,

Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

•FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)
•Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/ 

• The length of  the appointment for internal FAO candidates will be established in accordance with applicable policies pertaining to extension of appointments

• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.
•General Service Staff are recruited locally. To be eligible for this position, candidates must be nationals of the country of the duty station or possess an existing visa/work permit, and reside within commuting distance of the duty station at the time of the application."Commuting distance" means the distance within which staff members can travel daily between their place of work and their residence.
•No international benefits will be payable as selected candidates are recruited locally and paid in the local currency of the office location
• For additional information visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/ 

REMUNERATION

A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, click on the following link: 
https://onehr.un.org/salary-survey/#/salary_scale 

HOW TO APPLY
• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Once completed, please apply and submit your application, with language certificates as attachments. Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications. FAO reserves the right to request candidates to undertake a language test in the future, as appropriate
• Incomplete applications will not be considered

• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered

• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp

FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT