Lead Translator (Spanish)

Background/IRC Summary:

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and gain control of their future. In more than 40 countries and in 26 U.S. cities, our dedicated teams provide clean water, shelter, health care, education and empowerment support to refugees and displaced people.

Job Overview/Summary:

Language Services are a critical enabler of the IRC, increasing our staff and client engagement and inclusion, enabling organizational effectiveness, and ensuring compliance. The Lead Translator (Spanish) will provide crucial support to the Unit Manager by developing a comprehensive Style Guide and Terminology Base in consultation with stakeholders across the relevant departments, with a focus on services provided to the Latin America Region. The role requires significant expertise in translation and/or interpretation, including extensive experience with CAT tools, Translation Memories and corresponding QA processes, as well as excellent project management and communication skills. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the foundational activities of the Unit in its aim to build a more connected and collaborative workplace through a unified and informed approach to translation and interpretation.

Major Responsibilities:

Development of Core Resources (Style Guide/Terminology Base)

• Lead development of Core Unit Resources beginning with comprehensive Style Guide and Terminology Base in Spanish language
• Liaise with multiple departmental stakeholders to compile and synthesize existing translation resources
• Identify IRC style, tone and other preferences that will fall within the scope of the Style Guide; survey and analyze stakeholder responses to revise and refine product
• Draft and supervise peer-review of finalized draft document, assisting internal communications teams with formatting and final proofreading
• Glossary creation + maintenance, including integration with GEDI Lexicon and other unit-specific language
• Establish central terminology bases that can be uploaded to vendor and internal translation software programs

Operational Support and Unit Strategy

• Support Unit Manager in cataloguing and classifying major departmental translation projects and the creation of standard operating procedures and quality assurance practices for translation

• Assist in overall unit strategy and recruitment for subsequent departmental leads in other IRC languages

• Contribute to planning of interdepartmental events and communications that raise IRC community awareness of best practices for translation and interpretation

• Advise on translation software adoption and the selection of machine translation tools for internal use by IRC staff

• Engage with existing multilingual staff and employee resource groups to identify internal resources and develop best practices for translation and interpretation

• Dialogue with country and regional counterparts to improve upon current translation practices and share unit resources

• Participate in Operational Leadership meetings at the discretion of the Unit Manager

• Provide expert guidance on overall considerations for Spanish language translation needs

Position Reports to: Language Services Provision Manager

Minimum Requirements

• 6-8 years related work experience
• Collaborative, humanitarian-first mindset
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, especially with diverse audiences
• Experience working in multi-lingual, highly complex global organizations or settings
• Self-starter and a critical thinker who can work independently and drive projects forward
• High level of emotional intelligence (e.g. empathy, self-awareness, self-management) and ability to maintain high levels of confidentiality
• Positive outlook, team player and seeks feedback for continuous improvement
• Adaptable and comfortable juggling a range of tasks in a fast-moving environment
• Spanish language speaking and writing abilities at a professional level

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

IRC et les employés de IRC doivent adhérer aux valeurs et principes contenus dans le IRC WAY (normes de conduite professionnelle). Ce sont l’Intégrité, le Service, la Responsabilité, et l’égalité. En conformité avec ces valeurs, IRC opère et fait respecter les politiques sur la protection des bénéficiaires contre l’exploitation et les abus, la protection de l’enfant, le harcèlement sur les lieux de travail, l’intégrité financière, et les représailles.