Country: Nigeria
Closing date: 06 Jun 2018
Translators without Borders is a unique non-profit organization that helps humanitarian organizations communicate more effectively with vulnerable populations in the right languages. TWB created the first translation and language program specifically for crisis response and is now deploying that program in north-east Nigeria.
Contract length: initially 3 months, with the possibility of extension
Hours: 50%
Location: Maiduguri
Travel: some travel in north-east Nigeria and between Maiduguri and field sites
Application deadline: 6th June 5pm Nigeria time
About Translators without Borders
Translators without Borders (TWB) envisions a world where knowledge knows no language barriers. The US-based non-profit provides people access to vital knowledge in their language by connecting non-profit organizations with a professional community of translators, building local language translation capacity, and raising awareness of language barriers. Originally founded in 1993 in France (as Traducteurs sans Frontières), TWB translates millions of words of life-saving and life-changing information a year.
Background
TWB conducted an initial assessment of language support needs in the humanitarian response in north-east Nigeria in July 2017. This found very significant levels of need: in a context where people affected by the conflict and food crisis speak dozens of first languages, humanitarian communication is overwhelmingly in English and Fulfulde. Organizations lack basic information about the languages spoken and understood by affected people, and struggle to hire either language professionals or national staff and volunteers with the right language skills. So far TWB has developed a protection glossary app, conducted comprehension testing with IDPs, worked with partners on collecting and mapping language data, and carried out training on the basics of interpreting.
The next step is to prepare the groundwork for setting up a full program of activities in support of affected people and the humanitarian community working with them. This entails developing a community of volunteer translators for relevant languages of north-east Nigeria, identifying skills development needs and carrying out initial training, and leading and coordinating translation and terminology development activities in support of and in liaison with humanitarian organizations.
The role
The Fulfulde Community Team Leader will lead on recruiting, capacity building, and managing a community of translators in Fulfulde, from among qualified translators and suitably skilled bilinguals in Nigeria and the wider region. The role will identify capacity building needs and coordinate training and support measures to respond to them. The post-holder will be responsible for delivering high-quality Fulfulde language translation, terminology development, and training services to humanitarian organizations in north-east Nigeria and will provide research, administrative and logistical support to other TWB activities as needed.
Responsibilities
Recruitment and management of the Fulfulde language team
Research and report on the existing capacity of professional language service providers (LSPs) for Fulfulde in north-eastern Nigeria, identifying their training and support needs
Recruit a team of qualified translators and suitably skilled bilinguals for training and recruitment into a TWB community of translators (posting vacancies, shortlisting, interviewing, reaching out to universities, LSPs, community groups)
Test Fulfulde applicant translators to ensure high-quality applicants are selected
Train and coach new Fulfulde translators to improve their skills and ensure they know how to use TWB translation platforms and glossaries
Manage and support the Fulfulde language the pool of translators to encourage exchanges of experience, sharing of learning, mutual support and a sense of belonging to a TWB team
Manage the volunteer and translator incentive program in collaboration with the Crisis Response Translations Project Manager
Management of translation and language services
Liaise between partner organizations, Fulfulde translators and TWB’s wider translation team to take full responsibility for delivering high-quality translations on time
Lead for Fulfulde in the provision of multilingual terminology support to humanitarian partner organizations, including terminology harvesting, collaborative development of sectoral terminology in relevant languages, and support to field testing
Working with the CD, coordinate training activities, including liaising with partner organizations on needs, timings and venue; identifying suitable trainers with the right skills and languages; collecting evaluation forms; and maintaining a register of trained Fulfulde translators and interpreters
Support TWB in the implementation of field activities, including comprehension studies, needs assessments and wider research on language
Working with the Crisis Translation Manager, make sure that alternative workflows are in place and available to members of the Fulfulde translator pool who cannot access and/or use TWB’s web-based translation platform
Research, contribute to and/or write language factsheets guides, dos and don’ts, etc.
Participate in research and monitoring, evaluation and learning activities
Test interpreters to assess language competency levels
Identify needs for new translation technology tools and assist with the development and roll-out of new tools as they emerge (including online testing modules and audio translation)
Support a peer network of interpreters and translators in north-east Nigeria
Other activities
Provide administrative and logistical support to TWB’s activities in Nigeria as needed
Support TWB in scaling up operations in Nigeria, particularly with recruiting other language team leaders
Attend occasional meetings of humanitarian organizations to relay TWB messaging and report on discussions or decisions, as directed by the Humanitarian Program Manager/Country Director
Produce regular reports
Any other duty as required
Reporting lines: The post holder will be reporting to the Crisis Response Translations Project Manager
Please note that these roles and responsibilities are approximate and may change over time.
Qualifications
Professional translation or interpreting qualifications and experience
Excellent quality written and spoken Fulfulde
Fluent written and spoken English
Resourcefulness and ability to innovate to find creative solutions
Integrity and professional verbal and written presentation
Team player; experience managing volunteers a plus
Previous experience with non-profit organizations, particularly in development and/or humanitarian action, a plus
Training experience a plus
Familiar with office management (financial, logistics) routine is a plus
experience of Computer Assisted Translation tools
Track record of working with and managing volunteers and small teams
Requirements
3+ years’ experience in translation or interpretation into Fulfulde, ideally from English
Experience in team work management/facilitation
Mother tongue Fulfulde speaker with superb Fulfulde writing skills
Willingness to travel to insecure locations for work
Core Values
Translators without Borders employees and volunteers are made of people who believe passionately about the value of this work and take personal responsibility for achieving the mission. Translators without Borders’ mission and organizational spirit embody the core values established in its strategic framework:
Excellence: As the leading voice for communicating humanitarian information in the right language, Translators without Borders is a leader in the translation industry and in the non-profit sector.
Integrity: Translators without Borders believes that every person, whether it’s the people who we serve, our volunteers or our staff, has value, deserves respect and has inherent dignity.
Empowerment: Translators without Borders believes in using language to empower people around the world to control their own development and destiny.
Innovation: Translators without Borders recognizes and celebrates the power of innovation to address humanitarian and crisis issues around the world.
Sustainability: Translators without Borders recognizes that meeting our mission necessitates establishment and maintenance of a solid financial and organizational infrastructure.
Tolerance: Our staff and volunteers are highly knowledgeable and skilled; value each other, our partner and our recipients; create a supportive work environment; and, conduct themselves professionally at all times.
Translators without Borders is an equal-opportunity employer, committed to diversity and inclusion, and encourages qualified candidates of all genders and from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization.
How to apply:
Click here to apply: https://twb.bamboohr.co.uk/jobs/view.php?id=26