Travel Officer

Job Title:	Travel Officer
Grade:	P2
Section:	Travel and Protocol
Reports to:	Senior Travel and Protocol Officer
Duty Station:	Mogadishu, Somalia

2.   JOB PURPOSE:

To effectively and efficiently support the travel requirements of mission personnel and official visitors

3.   MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

•        Assist with the day-to-day functions of the Travel and Protocol Unit to coordinate travel-related matters within the mission;

•        Assist with the administration of all official mission travel, repatriation, home leave and trainings, including the processing of requests for border clearance;

•        Calculate airfare, excess baggage entitlements, terminal expenses, daily subsistence allowance for staff and dependents travelling on missions;

•        Provide information to staff on the most direct and economical routes and plan routings and itineraries accordingly;

•        Review travel claims and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy, validity, and conformity with AU rules prior to forwarding them to the Finance Section;

•        Coordinate with the Finance Section regarding reimbursement of travel;

•        Associate claims with travel authorizations or other obligation documents;

•        Prepare amendments to existing obligation documents as and when required;

•        Ensure validity of budget allotment and object expenditure codes assigned;

•        Review the information management system towards ensuring that no claim is duplicated and that arrangements are made to collect charges for any deviation from the authorized itinerary;

•        Establish reimbursable amounts for each travel;

•        Coordinate with the appropriate office for clarification or additional information and meet with officials from substantive offices in order to discuss the details of particular claims, and to explain the nature of problems, delays and backlogs;

•        Coordinate with the various consulates and the host governments' Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the provision of transit visas and resident visas respectively;

•        Verify that services provided by the airline authorities are rendered satisfactory and in accordance with the contract before processing invoices for payment;

•        Ensure that the established Invitation to Bid (ITB) system is complied with and that the airline tickets are purchased at the most competitive market prices;

•        Coordinate all official travel initiated via AU aircraft;

•        Advise substantive offices, and other relevant staff of arrival information; and

•        Perform other duties as directed/requested.

4.   QUALIFICATIONS:

An undergraduate degree or diploma in business administration/management, travel management, or related field is required.

5.   EXPERIENCE:

At least 4 years of progressively responsible experience in travel, administration and/or office management is required. Experience with an airline or travel agency is an advantage.

6.     SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES REQUIRED

•        Ability to work closely with governments, NGOs and multi-lateral institutions in complex political affairs, peace and security undertakings

•        Good knowledge of travel related processing requirements

•        Ability to apply sound judgment in the context of assignments given

•        Effective organizational skills and ability to handle a large volume of work in an effective and timely manner

•        Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment and sensitivity and respect for diversity

•        Proficient computer skills and use of relevant software (word processing, travel related software and data entry processes)

•        Excellent writing, negotiating, analytical and communication skills

•        Ability to identify priority activities and assignments and to adjusts priorities as required

•        Ability to work in a multicultural setting

•        Must be prepared to work in a hardship, highly pressurized and sometimes hazardous environment

7.   AGE REQUIREMENT:

Candidates must preferably be between 25 to 35 years old.

8.   LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT:

Fluency in spoken and written English is required. Knowledge of other working languages of the

African Union would be an added advantage (Arabic, French and Portuguese).

9.   GENDER MAINSTREAMING:

The AU Commission is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

10. TENURE OF APPOINTMENT:

The  appointment shall be  for an  initial period  of one  (1) year, the  first three  (3) months of which

shall be on probation. It shall be renewable subject to performance and availability of funds.

11. REMUNERATION: The salary attached to the position is an annual lump-sum of US$85,121.36 inclusive of all allowances for internationally recruited staff, and

US$ 73,517.77 inclusive of all allowances for locally recruited staff

Applications must be made through the AUC E-recruitment Website

http://www.aucareers.org   not later than 19^th  November 2012.

Directorate of Administration and Human Resource Management

African Union Commission

Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)