Administration Associate (Travel) G6 at World Food Programme (WFP)

Requisition ID: 166022 
Location: Abuja
Department: Administration

Organizational Context

• This position, under the direct supervision of the National Administration Officer in the Country Office and the overall guidance of the Head of Administration, will provide travel support services to all staff in WFP Nigeria. 
• The incumbent is expected to deliver results with minimal hands-on day to day supervision and to exercise some degree of independence of action as guided by WFP policy and guidelines; effectively communicate with various levels of staff within WFP Nigeria and other locations including HQ, Regional Office staff, and external vendors to ensure the provision of premium Travel Services for WFP Operations.

Job Purpose

• The incumbent is expected to train staff on the use of the travel platform and provide guidance for various related activities including MSLS, TEC, and DSA; 
• S/he will maintain extensive contact with WFP Nigeria travelers and travel vendors in travel processes and contribute to the resolution of any problems that may arise; act as the coordinating function of the travel team country wide which includes being the focal person for the reconciliation of invoices with all travel vendors engaged by WFP before payment, and provide up to date information to all staff on available travel services.

Key Accountabilities (Not all-inclusive)

• Verify resource requirements in the area of responsibility (WFP facilities, assets, light vehicle fleet, etc.), and assist in the identification of new requirements to facilitate efficiency and cost-effectiveness of operations and services.
• Responsible for provision of services such as facilities management, travel, protocol and light vehicle management related, etc., reporting any discrepancies to the supervisor for consistent and timely delivery of services, to ensure the provision of a safe and comfortable working environment for WFP staff.
• Support the production of various data and compile and prepare reports in order to contribute to the provision of accurate information for informative decision-making and to support the effective and timely management of WFP resources.
• Contribute to planning, monitoring and processing administrative actions related to procurement, finance, human resources, etc., including contracts with external vendors to ensure all data is accurately and timely recorded, processed in WFP corporate systems and any operational issues addressed.
• Adapt and update administrative processes, supporting the implementation of operating procedures, in order to contribute to the continuous improvement of administration services in the area of responsibility.
• Answer a range of queries related to the provision of administrative services in order to support the resolution of daily issues.
• Coordinate the activities of a team of staff working in the area, to ensure individual and team objectives are met in compliance with all relevant regulations, policies, and procedures, and performance plan.
• Provide training and guidance to staff in interpretation of administrative procedures, policies, processes, and use of corporate systems to ensure consistency and efficiency of services provided to all clients.

4Ps Core Organisational Capabilities
Purpose:

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Coaches team in the most effective ways to communicate WFP’s Strategic Objectives to WFP team and partners in the field.
•  Be a force for positive change: Implements new methods or tools to improve team’s work processes and productivity.
•  Make the mission inspiring to our team: Maps team’s activities and tasks to specific successes in beneficiary communities to showcase positive impact.
•  Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Explains to teammates how each unit contributes to the overall WFP mission.

People:

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Identifies skill development opportunities such as training modules or on-the-job experiences for self, colleagues and direct reports.
• Create an inclusive culture: Facilitates team building activities to build rapport in own unit.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Facilitates the pairing of junior colleagues with coaches within own team.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Proactively anticipates potential challenges and develops mitigation plans to ensure that team meets goals and targets.

Performance:

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Identifies opportunities to be creative in own work and to help team be more innovative and accurate in their respective tasks and areas of work.
• Focus on getting results: Monitors team’s deliverables and provides feedback to ensure outcomes are delivered consistently and accurately.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments: Provides accurate guidance to team on expected responsibilities and tasks, whilst also upholding own commitment to the team.
• Be Decisive: Sets an example and provides guidance to junior team members on when to escalate issues when faced with challenging issues in the workplace or in the field.

Partnership:

• Connect and share across WFP units: Facilitates partnerships with other WFP units to accomplish missions in the field.
•  Build strong external partnerships: Sets an example and provides guidance to team on how to build relationships with external partners.
•  Be politically agile & adaptable: Articulates to colleagues or direct reports the value of contributing to other WFP teams and agency partnerships in fulfilling WFP’s goals and objectives.
•  Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Organizes, monitors, and prioritizes own and team’s efforts to ensure that they will fulfill the needs of internal and external partners.

Functional Capabilities
Capability Name - Description of the behaviour expected for the proficiency level:

• Business Support Services & Reporting - Applies strong ability to identify country level requirements and develop customer focused solutions and action plans. Communicates data-based findings in a highly impactful way that is tailored to the audience.
• Internal Controls & Risk Management - Utilises understanding of risk management approaches and internal controls to monitor projects and programmes to confirm regulatory compliance, ensure data integrity and ensure client satisfaction.
• Resource Management - Monitors trends in staffing and resource usage to anticipate and escalate potential issues to programme leaders and key clients.
• Specialised Knowledge in Administrative Services     - Demonstrates a broad or specialist knowledge of administration best practices, techniques and processes, and a good grasp of WFP standards, processes, and infrastructure in area of responsibility; applies this to ensure the provision of efficient and effective administration services.
• Customer Focus     - Monitors and supervises administrative work against the established standards and protocols for service excellence. Ensures that customer problems are identified and resolved.

Standard Minimum Qualifications
Education: Completion of Secondary School Education. A post-secondary certificate in the related functional area.

Language: 

• General Service (Headquarters): Fluency (level C) in English language. 
• Fluency (level C) or intermediate knowledge (level B) of another official language may be required depending on the location of the post or area of responsibility. 
• General Service (Field): Fluency in both oral and written communication in the UN language in use at the duty station and in the duty station’s language, if different.

The skills required for success in this position include:

• Excellent teamwork and interpersonal skills
• Ability to independently apply knowledge of travel rules, procedures, and policies
• Able to work collaboratively with others 
• Good planning and organizing skills 
• Very good written and verbal communication skills 
• Keen attention to details 
• Customer service mindset

Other Specific Job Requirements:

• Liaise with travel agents to make flight reservations and bookings for staff members travelling locally and internationally, on the most direct and least costly flights.
• Manage and maintain paper and electronic records within the area of responsibility in accordance with established procedures, to ensure swift and easy access as required.
• Be a first point of contact for internal queries on travel, to facilitate the provision of efficient and effective resolution of daily issues.
• Process travel requests, calculate and process DSA payable for local and international duty travel of WFP staff and partners
• Liaise with relevant travel agencies to ensure that the organization obtains the best service and price for all official travels.
• Review and process travel claims and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy of computations, validity, availability of budget and conformity with WFP rules prior to certification and approval. Investigate all discrepancies for clarification and possible correction
• Advise staff on more efficient and cost-effective routings to ensure that the organization benefits from savings due to advance purchases; assist in providing staff with information regarding requirements for travel both within the country and abroad.
• Responsible for collecting invoices related to travel management services, filing documents for processing, and carrying out reconciliation - verify invoices for payment from travel agents against trip documents for actual services rendered and follow up with Finance unit to ensure timely payment.
• Participate in the onboarding of new staff and keep staff members informed on issues relating to related travel such as security clearance, and documentation procedures.
• Extract, input, maintain, and verify correctness of travel records in WeTravel to ensure accurate transactions related to travel costs and staff travel.
• Contribute to the preparation of Admin quarterly expenditure plan on travel costs and maintain travel plan and budget related records.
• Generate periodic reports from the Travel module, monitor open/outstanding Trips and periodically close open TRIPS/items in WINGS
• Support the Head of Admin/Admin Officer in the implementation of the internal standard operating procedures (SOPs) and practices, which includes drafting and communicating any changes to WFP staff.
• Support the monitoring of travel related contracts to ensure that the terms and conditions agreed are being applied by the vendor including but not limited to customer service response and survey administration and compilation of results.
• Manage incoming and outgoing correspondence, e-mails, and telephone calls related to travel processes.
• Share knowledge with focal points countrywide engaged in the processing of travel documents in line with the procedures, rules, and regulations.
• Contribute to the preparation of office budgets on travel costs and maintain relevant budgetary control records.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Desired Experiences for Entry into the Role:

• Has demonstrated a sound understanding of general administrative operating standards and awareness of international humanitarian development issues through day-to-day work.
• Has provided ad-hoc guidance to new staff members.
• Proficient in the use of office equipment, web-based applications and computer software packages, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, etc.
• Excellent drafting ability and communication skills, both oral and written; ability to communicate complex concepts orally; ability to prepare written reports that are clear, concise and meaningful.
• Good interpersonal skills, courtesy, tact and ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships in a multicultural team environment, with high level of teamwork, good sense of initiative and ability to plan and follow procedures;
• Ability to handle a large volume of work quickly and accurately under time constraints;
• Knowledge of Travel Standard, rules, regulations and procedures

Terms and Conditions

• Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.
• Only Nigerian Nationals or valid Nigerian residence and work permits holders are eligible to apply.
• Applications must be submitted online and in English only.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Canvassing of any sort will lead to automatic disqualification of the concerned applicant.