UN Women: Travel Associate, Home Based, NPSA-6

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.  

Under the overall guidance and daily supervision of the Chief, Procurement and Travel Services, the Travel Associate provides support in the execution of travel services within the Business Unit, ensuring effectiveness, transparency, and integrity. The Travel Associate promotes a client-focused, quality, and results-oriented approach in the Unit.

The Travel Associate works in close collaboration with Operations, Programme, and Project teams in the Business Unit, Region, and UN Women HQ, as well as with travel service providers and government officials, to deliver information, provide advisory support, and resolve complex travel-related issues.

UN Women embraces a programmatic approach that facilitates adaptation to changing business needs and maximizes synergies across various initiatives to achieve its strategic goals. Consequently, it is anticipated that UN Women personnel will engage in cross-unit and cross-functional collaboration. This approach is designed to amplify and facilitate cross-disciplinary teamwork, supporting the organization's overarching mission and goals.

Key Functions and Accountabilities:

1) Provide administrative and policy support in the implementation of UN Women’s travel strategies in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and standards:

• Provide inputs to travel-related reports and analyses; research and draft responses to travel inquiries for clearance.
• Contribute to the implementation of travel management policies and strategies focused on cost optimization and efficiency.
• Follow up on internal and external audits related to travel operations.
• Support the development of sustainable travel strategies and guidelines. 
• Generating reports from organizational databases and systems to track compliance and performance.
• Developing dashboards and leveraging data analytics tools (e.g., Power BI, Excel, or other BI platforms) to visualize trends, identify gaps, and support decision-making.
• Using data-driven insights to recommend process improvements and ensure adherence to KPIs and service standards.

2) Organize travel processes entrusted to the Travel Services at UN Women Headquarters:

• As part of the Virtual Travel Hub (VTH), provide travel services to requesting units within the organization, manage the issuance of invoices for cost recovery, follow up with clients, and ensure client satisfaction in line with organizational standards and KPIs. 
• Prepare travel plans for programmes/projects in alignment with operational requirements.
• Review travel requests and initiate travel arrangements for staff, consultants, and meeting participants.
• Organize travel processes including booking flights, accommodation, and ground transportation; ensure compliance with UN Women travel policies.
• Review and process travel-related transactions and create/close Travel Requests (TRs), Purchase Orders (POs) and other transactions, in Quantum and UNall, for requesting offices.
• Review travel requests and prepare submissions for approval by relevant committees.
• Assist field offices in developing travel itineraries and provide quality assurance for travel activities.
• Perform backup duties within the travel team as needed to maintain service continuity.

3) Organize travel contract management processes:

• Maintain and update rosters of travel service providers; support implementation of vendor selection and evaluation.
• Provide technical advice to UN Women Regional and Country Offices on travel requests exceeding pre-defined thresholds.
• Provide guidance on travel policies, procedures, and system functionalities.
• Conduct periodic reviews and closure of travel-related transactions in coordination with project managers.
• Collect documents and information required by auditors and other entities, as required. 

4) Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing:

• Provide inputs and support to the development of training materials, webinars, and other educational resources on travel management.
• Organize trainings for operations/projects staff on travel policies and procedures.
• Synthesize lessons learned and best practices in travel management.
• Support the development and delivery of comprehensive training programs on travel compliance and sustainability.
• Facilitate knowledge-sharing sessions and create platforms for exchanging travel-related insights and experiences.
• Conduct compliance reviews to ensure adherence to travel policies and standards.
• Implement quality assurance processes to maintain high standards in travel services.

5) Support to the Overall Management of Travel Services

• Ensure quality assurance of incoming and outgoing travel-related documents with external stakeholders such as member states and other UN agencies.
• Support coordination and activities related to sustainable and gender-responsive travel initiatives.
• Maintain and update travel records and databases.
• Track and analyze travel expenses to support management decisions.
• Provide support and inputs for the review and development of cross-functional policies and procedures.
• Coordinate with internal departments to ensure alignment and compliance with travel requirements.
• Organize and prepare materials for meetings, including agendas and minutes.
• Handle correspondence and communications on behalf of the travel management team.
• Participate in and lead the automation of business processes, and the implementation of innovative technical solutions, including AI or other tools, as necessary, to improve efficiency, accuracy, and user experience in travel processes across the organization

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

Competencies:

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: 

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Good knowledge of procurement process, systems; administrative rules and regulations;  
• Good knowledge in the use of spreadsheets and database packages; 
• Ability to work well under pressure and meet deadlines; 
• Ability to extract and interpret data; 
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions;  
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work;  
• Strong IT and web based management skills. 

Minimum requirements:

Education and Certification:

• Completion of secondary education is required.  
• A university degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, Economics, Law, Information Technology or equivalent is desirable
• Procurement (e.g. CIPS) or Travel-related (e.g. IATA) certification is an asset.

Experience:

• A minimum of 6 years of relevant experience in Travel with progressive responsibility is required. 
• Experience in Travel at an international level or in a UN Agency is desirable. 
• Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advanced knowledge of web-based management systems such as ERP are required.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in Spanish or French is desirable.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.