Meetings and Travel Office Administrator

AFL-CIO; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 48,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

AFL-CIO in Washington, DC is seeking an Administrative Travel Coordinator to support the Meetings and Travel Department with planning, logistics, and supplier coordination. You will report to the Director of Meetings and Travel and help ensure events run smoothly.

Responsibilities include coordinating room reservations, negotiating hotel rates, arranging flights and ground transportation, processing invoices, and supporting staff training on travel tools.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 2 years’ experience in a similar role.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Professional, courteous, and tactful; able to work in a team.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support to the Director and Deputy Director.
• Coordinate all aspects of room reservations, including booking, tracking, and liaising with hotels.
• Research and compare hotel rates in different cities; maintain a rate list.
• Arrange direct billing, reconcile hotel folio and invoices; resolve billing issues.
• Train staff on travel booking site; assist with flights, hotels, trains and rental cars.
• Coordinate ground transportation (buses, vans, shuttles) for events and meetings.
• Act as liaison with other departments and affiliates.
• Backup reconciling department’s credit card accounts; prepare supporting documentation and scan/archive reports.
• Use the Internet for basic information gathering and respond to inquiries.
• Understand AFL-CIO function for internal/external audiences and assist as needed.
• Occasionally travel for events, several times per year.

Skills

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Teamwork

Self-starter

Time management

Travel industry knowledge

Tools

Microsoft Office

Google Suite

Job description

Are you passionate about economic fairness and social justice? Do you want to improve the lives of working people and strengthen the labor movement? If you answered, “Yes!” then the AFL-CIO may be the right place for you. We are the largest federation of labor unions in the United States, and our team of dynamic professionals is dedicated to growing worker power and

ensuring every working person has a voice on the job. When you work at the AFL-CIO, you’re

more than just an individual employee—you’re helping to lead a movement with a proud history

and a bright future ahead.

The Meetings and Travel Department (M&T) manages all contracts, planning, and logistics for the Federation’s meetings, events, and travel arrangements, continuously focusing on maximizing value and efficiencies, minimizing cost and oversights, and revising processes and procedures. M&T plans and assists with approximately 100 meetings, trainings, and ancillary event activities annually.

This position will report to the Director of Meetings and Travel.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support to the Director and Deputy Director;

• Coordinate all aspects of room reservations, including booking, tracking, managing extensive changes, being the liaison with the hotel and monitoring room block quota;

• Work directly with the hotels to negotiate extended stay room rates and concessions;

• Research and compare hotel rates in different cities where staff are assigned, and maintain a detailed hotel negotiated rate list as a resource for staff and affiliates;

• Arrange direct billing, reconcile hotel folio and invoices and resolve billing issues;

• Train staff on travel booking site, assist staff with booking flights, hotels, trains and rental cars, maintain user account lists and status of union hotels;

• Coordinate ground transportation (buses, vans, shuttles) for events and meetings, including booking and processing of bills;

• Act as a liaison with other departments and affiliates;

• Serve as a backup reconciling department’s credit card accounts, prepare supporting documentation, resolve discrepancies, process charges for departments’ signatures, and scan and archive reports;

• Utilize the Internet as a basic research tool for information gathering;

• Prepare responses to inquiries and other correspondence, pro-actively gather information for decision-making and advance work through follow-up and outreach;

• Understand, and be able to communicate, the function of the AFL-CIO to both the internal and external audiences;

• Process incoming correspondence and materials;

• Screen, manage and prioritize visitors, calls and mail;

• Maintain office supplies;

• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 2 years’ experience in a similar role

• Positive attitude and excellent communication and interpersonal skills;

• Professional, courteous, and tactful;

• Demonstrated ability to work within a team;

• Highly motivated and a self-starter;

• Demonstrated proficiency in all Microsoft Office and Google Suite;

• Demonstrated experience with contracts relating to room blocks, transportation and concessions;

• Demonstrated experience in the meeting and travel industry;

• Demonstrated experience with excellent problem-solving skills;

• Demonstrated ability to work in a high-pressure environment and meet unpredictable deadlines;

• Experience processing check requests and reconciling invoices;

• Demonstrated ability to work independently;

• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks;

• Demonstrated experience with confidentiality and discretion;

• Demonstrated strong ability doing web-based research;

• Demonstrated proficient proofreading skills;

• Ability to work overtime if needed;

• Ability to travel sporadically, usually several times a year.