Interpreter (Portuguese) at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Interpreter (Portuguese)

Location: Abuja
Institution: Community Court of Justice, Ecowas
Grade: P5
Status: Permanent
Directorate: Registry
Division: Judicial Certified Translation & Interpretation
Line Supervisor: Deputy Chief Registrar

Role Overview

• The incumbent shall, in accordance with professional standards, provide interpretation services for meetings, deliberations and hearings of the Court, ensuring high linguistic and terminological quality and application of ECOWAS Court jargon.
• He/she shall facilitate the setting-up and updating of terminology database and compilation of glossaries.

Role and Responsibilities

• Services all Court meetings, deliberations and sessions as assigned by the HOD and Management; Provides interpretation in relevant language combination, (simultaneous, consecutive, whispering, liaison) of speeches or statements;
• Routinely assigned to sensitive meetings;
• Language Combination: Portuguese A, English B or French B. (Any proven C language in either of the other two working languages of the Community will be an advantage).
• Functions as language team leader when assigned to a given meeting;
• Assists the Head of Language Services Division, as appropriate, in the screening, training and conduct of examination for prospective interpreters;
• Participates in establishment of terminology database, compilation of glossaries, etc.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Academic Qualifications and Experience

• Master's degree in Conference Interpretation from a recognized university or institute;
• 10 years of experience in Interpretation (four of which should have been as a staff Interpreter)
• Exhibits highest standards of split-second accuracy, consistency and faithfulness to the style and nuances of the original and source languages;
• Demonstrated understating of how to “weigh” Interpretation teams;
• Ability to maintain highest standard of confidentiality;
• Knowledge of terminological and reference research techniques with ability to use wide variety of information;
• Demonstrated professional competence and mastery of subject matter;
• Seeks to develop oneself professionally and personally and keep abreast of new developments in own occupation/profession;
• Demonstrated comprehension of every imaginable accent, in addition to coping with issues of speed and style;
• Ability to find proper cultural equivalents and take cultural context into account, thorough knowledge of both language and culture is thus required;
• Demonstrated capacity to uphold team coherence and booth manners;
• A perfect command of the target language and an excellent knowledge of the source language. Good knowledge of a third language of ECOWAS is an advantage.

Age Limit:

• Be below 50 years old. This provision does not apply to internal candidates.

Ecowas Key Competencies:

• Ability to lead in assigned programs and projects by providing the necessary managerial and operational expertise required for the fulfillment of the organization’s mandate;
• Ability to lead by example and organize teamwork to encourage cooperation to achieve targeted results, champion and build momentum for change and to bring about employee engagement; develops and implements internal controls for pilot program to manage potential barriers to implementation;
• Ability to respect chain of command in an appropriate manner;
• Excellent self-management skills, demonstrating ethics and integrity, confidentiality and displaying due regard for internal controls of rules, delegations and transparency;
• Ability to bring together complementary skills/expertise, assess individual contributions and recognize/address accomplishments and shortcomings in a manner that brings continued success to the organization;
• Knowledge of program management at the level usually acquired from a certification in program management.
• Ability to research benchmarks and trends to bring about the best recommendations for the development and improvement of programs/projects that will best serve the community/organization;
• Well-developed networking and interpersonal skills to seek feedback, information and data from a network of professionals from multiple countries/sectors/organizations and to identify and prioritize the most critical community requirements;
• Ability to manage and co-ordinate client management initiatives and make recommendations;
• Ability to develop and implement best practices in client services;
• Ability to develop and implement stakeholder management plans, programs and initiatives to obtain buy-in on new initiatives, to better understand dissenting views, to obtain resources and to increase perceptions of success.
• Ability to be diplomatic, tactful and respect of other people from varied backgrounds, understanding diverse cultural views especially within West Africa with the ability to convert diversity into opportunities to improve program/operational outcomes;
• Ability to create a diverse and inclusive interactive environment that benefits from diverse strengths bringing together innovative practices;
• Ability to remain objective in managing conflict regardless of cultural differences /positions, gender differences, and encourage other staff to overcome cultural and gender bias and differences;
• Ability and responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work;
• Ability to serve the interest of culturally diverse multinational teams/organizations/communities and persons with disability without prejudice and bias.
• Understanding of the ECOWAS Court organizational structure, associated dynamics and expectations as required to collaborate, participate, contribute and lead effectively;
• Knowledge of the ECOWAS Court’s mandate, strategic plan/priorities as well as the economic, political and social situation and trends in member states, as pertains to own scope of work;
• Knowledge of ECOWAS best practices, program management approaches and research techniques to lead and/or contribute to the development or assessment of programs, projects or initiatives;
• Knowledge of the ECOWAS Court Rules and procedure in order to appropriately interpret and apply directive text, provide technical advice, coach others and assess performance.
• Ability to analyze a situation by using indicators to assess the costs, benefits, risks, and chances for success, in making decisions;
• Ability to pull together information from different sources to identify the cause of problems, consequences of alternative causes of action, potential obstacles and ways to avoid the problem in the future;
• Ability to break down very complex situations/information into simple terms to explain recommendations and conclusions aimed at solving problems or improving operations/programs/projects;
• Ability to develop new insights into situations, apply innovative solutions to problems and to design new methods of addressing issues or disconnects where established methods and procedures are inapplicable or no longer effective.
• Ability to communicate with impact, clearly and concisely in a succinct and organized manner conveying credibility & confidence when making presentations, setting expectations and explaining complex issues;
• Ability to listen intently and correctly interpret messages from others and respond appropriately;
• Accomplished technical writing and editing skills;
• Exhibit active listening skills to encourage stronger communication amongst team members, to show care and make them feel valued and to drive employee engagement in all institutions and agencies;
• Ability to give constructive feedback, provide recognition, address shortcomings and motivate direct reports to work at peak performance;
• Proficiency in information communication technologies (ICT);
• Fluency in oral and written expressions in two official languages of ECOWAS (English, French & Portuguese). Knowledge of a third language will be an added advantage.
• Organizational and project/program management skills with significant experience identifying timelines, targets, costs and resources necessary to deliver on operational/program/project outputs in line with result-based management approach;
• Ability to set effective goals and targets for self, others, and the work unit and adjusting work or project priorities in response to changing circumstances;
• Ability to use participatory approach in project planning and identify gaps affecting the achievement of program/project expectations and to design and implement intervention plans required to build the desired task;
• Ability to implement rigorous monitoring and evaluation practices and to set in place regular reporting schedules relevant to key outputs;
• Ability to plan, organize, control resources, and to comply with policies, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.
• Language Combination: Portuguese A, English B or French B. (ability to translate into C language is an advantage).

Remuneration
Annual Salary: UA 66,123.98 USD 104,330.42.

Application Closing Date
26th September, 2019.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should download the Application Form below, fill it out correctly; attach a Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a Motivation Letter and send to: InterpretePTP5@ecowas.int using the "Job title" as the subject of the email.

Click here to download Application Form (Ms Word)

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