Travel Services Officer (Internally Only)

Org. Setting and ReportingUNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5.8 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA's services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is the largest UN operation in the Middle East with more than 30,000 staff. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions. If you are looking for a rewarding opportunity to make a tangible difference for one of the most vulnerable communities in the world, UNRWA would like to hear from you. The incumbent of the post supervises the Travel Assistants and professional staff in the Travel Unit within the Administrative Services Section. ResponsibilitiesCoordinates and manages travel-related processes for international staff throughout onboarding and separation, in collaboration with HR and relevant departments. Responsibilities include contacting newly appointed staff prior to arrival to provide guidance on travel authorizations, ticketing, visas, United Nations Laissez-Passer (UNLPs), residencies, and duty-free privileges, while ensuring all required documentation is completed. Upon arrival, provides support on travel entitlements and related administrative matters to facilitate smooth settlement. At separation, oversees return travel arrangements, processes travel-related clearance forms, and liaises with customs and government authorities for clearance of personal effects and the release or disposal of duty-free vehicles, ensuring full compliance with organizational procedures and host country regulations. Manages all travel operations, ensuring timely, efficient, and compliant services for all staff and delegations. Responsibilities include certifying and approving travel requests, authorizations, tickets, invoices, and travel claims in line with UNRWA travel rules and regulations. Oversees official, emergency, medical evacuation, and VIP travel, ensuring prompt ticketing, accurate claims, and proper approvals. Monitors travel agents’ performance, certifies their bills and financial transactions. Provides guidance to staff on travel entitlements and maintains records to ensure accountability, transparency, and effective service delivery. Oversees the full lifecycle management of Travel documents, UNLPs, including issuance, renewal, replacement, and cancellation, in close coordination with UNOG/UNHQ. Maintains accurate custody records and reporting controls for both active and cancelled UNLPs, ensuring secure handling, accountability, and compliance with UN travel document policies. Manages customs clearance processes for official shipments, office equipment, and vehicles, as well as personal effects of international staff during onboarding and separation. Coordinates all aspects of duty-free privileges, including VAT refund, the purchase, clearance, registration, and sale of vehicles; renewal of vehicle registrations; and facilitation of driving license issuance and renewal, ensuring full adherence to host government regulations and organizational procedures. Develops and implements standardized onboarding plans, welcome-SOPs, and protocols, providing initial induction, and communicating with new hires after job offer acceptance. Ensures a seamless onboarding process by connecting new hires to respective departments or field offices, facilitating their proper installation at the duty station, and leaving them with a positive impression. Provides operational and managerial support to the supervisor by: Securing of visas, permits, ID cards, exemption cards, driving licenses and other official documents for UNRWA HQ(A) staff (International and Area) and dependents, as applicable, from host government authorities, including record keeping and ensuring return of documents on completion of assignments; secures visas and permits as applicable for official UNRWA travelers including consultants, official visitors and eligible family members as well as domestic workers of UNRWA HQ(A) staff from relevant embassies and/or host government offices. Following up with UNOG to ensure appropriate and timely issuance of visas and UNLPs. Ensuing that travel and accommodation arrangements are made for official travelers in accordance with security requirements and, where applicable, their dependents, including handling and processing of tickets and hotel accommodation invoices and ensures requests for land transport. Reviewing official communications as required and maintains working relationship with the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Department for Palestinian Affairs, local police authorities and foreign embassies located in Amman; acts as a member of the Protocol Issues Working Group to provide Agency input on a variety of protocol-related matters. Ensures the receipt and preparation of required travel documentation, including issuance of travel authorizations (TT8) in coordination with requesting staff members and offices for proper record and reimbursement process. Drafting official communications as required to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, foreign embassies and other official departments in Amman; prepares circulars on travel, visa and UNLP issues as requested. Provides the supervisor with the following strategic support: Drafting procedural office instructions for approval; revises and where required, develops Agency-wide Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in coordination with the administrative/travel teams in the UNRWA Field Offices in their daily operations. Ensures compliance and provides technical guidance to Field offices for complicated matters and support. Preparing input for reports and enquiries from internal and/or external stakeholders. Preparing all requisite reports to audit, inspection and other governing and oversight bodies in consultation with Compliance and Policy Monitoring Section. Preparing all management reports and statistics on the work of the unit. Monitoring quality and accuracy of outputs made by the Unit staff members. Be responsible for the Agency-wide automation of travel process and functioning of Travel Management System (TMS), including further development of TMS functions and screens for use at all Agency locations to ensure effective and efficient services for internal clients. Prepares and submits monthly operational reports covering travel statistics, financial data, and compliance indicators. Ensures inclusion of carbon emission tracking for all official travel; supports the Agency’s “Greening the UN” initiatives, and monitors adherence to sustainable travel practices in line with UNRWA’s environmental commitments and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Provides analysis and recommendations to management on reducing environmental impact and improving efficiency of travel processes. Promotes continuous learning within the Travel Unit by providing functional guidance and on the- job training to staff. CompetenciesUN Core Values of Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for Diversity, and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default. Relating and Networking. Planning and Organizing. Leading and Supervising. Accountability. Client orientation. Teamwork. EducationA first university degree from an accredited educational institution in Business/Public Administration, International Relations, Transport/Travel Management, or related field. Job - Specific QualificationNot available. Work ExperienceA minimum of Six years of progressively responsible relevant work experience in travel, visa, protocol, or related administrative services, including at least two years in an international or large multi-cultural organization. is required Experience in handling official travel documents, certification of transactions, travel claims, and liaison with government authorities such as ministries, customs, and embassies. is required Proven experience in supervising staff and managing contracts, as well as knowledge of ERP systems such as SAP, is required. Are you a registered Palestine refugee? If yes, please provide your Ration Card Number. It is highly recommended to respond to this question in order to assist us in further assessing your application. Please explain below? Is required. Do you have close relative(s) in UNRWA (mother, father, daughter, son, sister brother)? If yes, please provide full name(s) and relationship. It is highly recommended to respond to this question in order to assist us in further assessing your application. Please explain below. Is required Candidates are required to make a declaration as to whether they have any current or past affiliations with non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, political organizations, military, or have/are engaged in activities or have made any public statements, that could be seen to impact their neutrality, objectivity or independence in the performance of their duties for the UN / UNRWA. Any declaration will not necessarily disqualify candidates from consideration for this post. Proficiency in the use of MS Office and Excel is desirable. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this job opening, English and Arabic are required. The table below shows the minimum required level for each skill in these languages, according to the UN Language Framework (please consult https://languages.un.org for details).