National Post: Admin and Travel Assistant, FTA, GS4, Kabul, Afghanistan

The Position:

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the International Operations Manager, the Admin and Travel Assistant will provide administrative, financial, travel and logistical support for the UNFPA country office and provincial offices, by adhering to UNFPA policy, standard rules and regulations. The Admin and Travel Assistant post is located in UNFPA Afghanistan Country Office, Kabul. 

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.  UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

 In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction. UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high-impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:

The Admin and Travel Assistant will ensure the effective functioning of the admin and travel unit ensuring the accuracy of the work, integrity, and client-oriented approach. The Admin and Travel Assistant work within the operations team, different units of the country office and provincial offices as well as external partners e.g. UNDP, UNHAS or other UN Agencies, Travel agents, embassies, etc. 

• Organizing domestic and international travel arrangements, for all incoming personnel for the UNFPA Afghanistan office by processing travel requests, estimating travel costs, providing travel-related information to staff members, preparing visa letters and replying to queries. 
• Maintain appropriate coordination with WFP/UNHAS, UNAMA, and other chartered-flight carriers approved by the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS);
• In a customer-service atmosphere, assists the travellers with tickets, detailed itineraries, relevant information, flight/ticket restrictions, involuntary stop-over, hidden stops, and other inconveniences of the itinerary. Monitor through the travel agent and timely advise the traveller of any changes regarding the flight time. 
• Advise the International Operations Manager that documentation and prerequisites for official travel are complied with established policies and practices and are verified, and that travel costs, entitlements, and expenses are eligible and correctly determined.
• Conduct research on flight options and prepare suitable itineraries through the most direct and economical routes according to the UNFPA travel policy and find alternatives that would result in cost avoidance or savings for the organization;
• Support the traveler in the preparation of a Travel Authorization (TA), Travel Claims (F10) including cost estimate, and submit Movement of Personnel (MOP) requests when required by counterparts. 
• Advise the International Operations Manager on the travel management effectiveness through maintaining and timely updating a tracking system for TA, MOP, related requisitions, completed travels and travel costs paid per destination, and related lead time.
• Prepare, submit and follow through on requests for new issuance and/or renewals of visas from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) through UNDP and the embassies, as necessary;
• Providing travel and logistics support during HQ/Regional Office visits to Afghanistan and  Country Office official events. 

Participate in Monitoring and Reporting activities

• Gather and consolidate travel-related data as required;
• Log all travel process information on passports and other travel-related documents;
• Reconcile financial data for ticket payments with the travel agents;

Perform other travel-related support functions

• Interpret and apply all relevant policies to the calculation and disbursement of travel entitlements as required;
• Raise requisition for all travel-related activities and payments and facilitate monthly reconciliation of accounts with the Finance Section;
• Facilitate dispatching of documents and/or items with courier services when required; 
• Advise on raising requisitions for all travel-related services and entitlements and facilitate monthly reconciliation of accounts with Finance Section;
• Maintain an updated contact list of counterparts for travel and visa services, including MoFA offices and other UN agencies;
• Perform protocol-related activities when required, particularly for new arrivals, visitors, delegations and other similar arrangements while coordinating with various units for accommodation, transport arrangements and security briefings;
• Closely liaise with staff and personnel on travel status concerning entitlements, routes, rebooking, cancellations and payments, among others; 
• Perform other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor. 

Qualifications and Experience

Education: 

• Completion of secondary school education; college education highly desirable;

Knowledge and Experience: 

• Minimum 4 years of work with government, NGO, or UN in providing administrative and travel management services;
• Solid knowledge of MS Office (Excel, Word & PowerPoint) and Google Workspace application required;
• Knowledge of Atlas, Quantum, or other ERP system desirable;
• Comprehensive knowledge of UNFPA Travel Policies & Procedures and UN staff rules a plus;

Languages:

Fluency in English in addition to knowledge of Dari and Pashto as official languages of Afghanistan are required. Knowledge of other official UN languages is desirable.

Required Competencies 

Compensation and Benefits 

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

Disclaimer: 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Fraudulent notices, letters or offers may be submitted to the UNFPA fraud hotline http://www.unfpa.org/help/hotline.cfm

In accordance with the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, persons applying to posts in the international Professional category, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.