On Tuesday 2 November, RSCE staff members of the International Benefits and Payroll Service Line (IBPSL) received recognition for their outstanding service to their clients, the Regional Service Centre Entebbe (RSCE) as well as the United Nations as a whole.

The International Benefits and Payroll Service Line of RSCE processes all the benefits and entitlements for all UN staff members employed by the African peacekeeping and special political missions. The clients of IBPSL are International Civilian personnel, a very diverse group of people with often complex entitlements and benefits. On top of that comes the fact that they are spread out across several countries and regions in Africa.

During our unreserved work for the United Nations, very few of us are aware of and are recognized for the often-daunting work that our Travel, Human Resources and Finance colleagues perform to support the peace operations in Africa.

On very few occasions, you can hear anything other than the clicking of computer mice and the repetitive stroking on keyboards. Seldomly, IBPSL colleagues are spotted anywhere else besides behind their desks or inside meeting rooms. Systems and processes are constantly reviewed under the watchful eye of the Service Line Manager, Mr. Manaswee Vaidya, who continually thrives on making services more efficient at no expense to quality.

“It took many years, a lot of sacrifices and constant team-building effort to get us where we are today,” said Mr. Vaidya. Today, the IBPSL provides support to twenty UN entities and conducts over ten thousand transactions per month, assisting its clients to focus on their mandates.

Mr. Vaidya realizes that none of this would be possible, without his, and the RSCE’s most valuable asset – its people. This year, like other years as well, Mr. Vaidya, together with the RSCE Director a.i. Mr. Djomo and RSCE Service Delivery Manager Mr. Agha Shaheen decided to recognize this work of IBPSL colleagues.

Various awards were handed out, including recognitions for the best performing teams, for the best performing individuals, and service par excellence for those wearing multiple hats in the Service Line.

While outstanding awards were handed out by their manager, Mr. Manaswee Vaidya, RSCE colleagues were exhilarated. The other RSCE colleagues at the event felt euphoric, invoking the vivid memories of all the comradeship that IBPSL colleagues exhibited while delivering the service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout the ceremony, one feeling was present among all the staff. Regardless of the fact if you were the recipient of the award or just attending the event, people felt recognized and appreciated, and above all, proud to be working for the RSCE and the United Nations.

Some pictures of the award ceremony were published on LinkedIn.