Requisition ID 24384 - Posted  - Professional - General Management / Corporate Management - The Hague - NL

24384 | Registry

Deadline for Applications:   27/04/2026 (midnight The Hague time)
Organizational Unit:   Language Services Section, Division of Judicial Services, Registry
Duty Station:   The Hague - NL
Type of Appointment:   Fixed-Term Appointment
Post Number:   S-6969
Minimum Net Annual Salary :   €109,102.00
Contract Duration:   For initial appointments, the Court offers a two-year appointment with the possibility of extension (six month probationary period) 

A roster of suitable candidates may be established for this post as a result of this selection process for fixed-term appointments against both established posts and positions funded by general temporary assistance (GTA).

Organisational Context

The Language Services Section (LSS) provides high-quality language services to the organs of the Court for the efficient conduct of Court business. Such services include translation, revision and editing of Court documents; consecutive and simultaneous interpretation for meetings, trial hearings, press conferences, specialized seminars, diplomatic briefings and other events, held in-house or away from the seat of the Court; assistance and guidance regarding terminology and references; management of language tools to ensure that consistent terminology is used throughout the Court; recruitment, training and accreditation of interpreters needed for work with Registry officials in the field and/or at the seat of the Court; provision of relevant information to service users to familiarize them with all the language services provided and with the procedures and requirements of the professions in question.

The Head of the Situation Languages Unit reports directly to the Chief of Section.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Chief of Section, the incumbent will manage the Situation Languages Unit and supervise internal and external language staff, as well as managerial and administrative staff, taking ultimate responsibility for all interpretation, translation and customised language service provided by the unit:

- Formulate policies and issue instructions to ensure the smooth functioning of the Situation Languages Unit; in consultation with revisers and other Heads of Unit in the Section as appropriate, take responsibility for the testing and recruitment of unit staff, and freelance translators/field interpreters, overseeing the development and dissemination of style guides and related documents in the relevant languages, organizing translation and operational interpretation workshops/training, and drafting and implementing standard operating procedures in consultation with the Chief of Section;

- Monitor and assess the quality and the efficiency of service delivery, both collectively and individually by evaluating the performance of internal and external staff: take corrective action when quality is unsatisfactory in relation to freelance translators/field interpreters; conduct regular performance conversations with the staff of the Unit to provide feedback with a view to ensuring quality management and staff development; finalise performance assessment workflows within deadlines and in case of performance issues, develop and implement a performance improvement plan;

- Provide expert advice on situation languages matters to senior management and other stakeholders, proactively identifying and resolving potential issues arising from the modalities of service provision;

- Build positive relationships with clients of the Situation Languages Unit and meet their expectations, inter alia by negotiating reasonable deadlines that take full account of requesters’ priorities and, subsequently, providing updated information about their requests; communicate with various stakeholders to resolve complex issues and answer queries concerning situation languages; represent the Situation Languages Unit in meetings with Court staff, external partners, and freelance interpreters, advocating for professional standards and best practices;

- Plan, organize, supervise and monitor budgetary expenditure in accordance with business requirements: prepare the Unit’s yearly budget submission, on the basis of judicial assumptions and service requests for judicial and non-judicial events as anticipated by clients for the next exercise; monitor budget implementation and flag to the Chief of Section any risk of overspending;

- Supervise the outsourcing of translations from and into situation languages, inter alia by organising and overseeing the testing and recruitment of freelance translators with a view to maintaining a pool of reliable freelancers for any situation language of relevance to the Court;

- Collaborate with the Head of the Interpretation Unit when field interpreters for situation languages of lesser diffusion are trained to cover hearings, drafting or approving training programs and enlisting the help of staff interpreters to participate in the training sessions of the para-professional interpreters;-

- Report to the Chief of Section any issues that need escalating, in particular in matters of budget control and implementation; provide regular managerial reports, as requested by the Chief of Section and the higher management of the Registry;

- Participate in Section working groups and perform any other tasks assigned by the Chief of Section;

Essential Qualifications

Education

An advanced university degree in translation, languages, law or a related field. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying work experience is accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Experience

Minimum seven years (nine years with a first-level university degree) of progressively responsible managerial experience in language services or other related field, including at least five years in an international jurisdiction or organisation.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

- Knowledge of specialist subjects relevant to translation and interpretation at the Court; knowledge of languages, cultures and politics of situation countries;

- Knowledge of ICC basic texts and of issues in the field of international criminal justice as they impact on translation and interpretation at the Court; knowledge of legal concepts, in general, and relevant international legal instruments, in particular;

- Knowledge of electronic workflows and project management; proficiency in the effective use of new technologies to support the Unit’s operations, including remote and hybrid interpretation platforms, digital tools, and relevant applications; openness to technical skills development; knowledge of language tools, terminology databases and ICC terminology.

- Knowledge of translation and interpretation standards and procedures;

- Knowledge of budget management processes; knowledge of the ICC’s Financial Regulations and Rules;

- Excellent analytical, organisational, planning, and drafting skills;

- Demonstrated ability to lead a multicultural team; excellent interpersonal skills; tact and discretion; flexibility, proactive attitude and capacity to lead initiatives.

Knowledge of Languages

Fluency in both working languages of the Court (English and French) is required; knowledge of other languages of interest to the Court (Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, Russian, Spanish, or any language related to cases before the Court) will be considered an asset.

ICC Leadership Competencies
Purpose
Collaboration
People
Results

ICC Core Competencies
Dedication to the mission and values
Professionalism
Teamwork
Learning and developing
Handling uncertain situations
Interaction
Realising objectives

Learn more about ICC leadership and core competencies.

General Information

Candidates appointed to posts at a P-5 grade or in the Director category are subject to a maximum aggregate length of service of seven years. This is pursuant to a decision of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP Resolution ICC-ASP/23/Res.2 - ICC-ASP-23-Res.2-ENG) to implement a tenure policy at the Court as of 1 January 2025.

- The selected candidate will be subject to a Personnel Security Clearance (PSC) process in accordance with ICC policy. The PSC process will include but will not be limited to, verification of the information provided in the personal history form and a criminal record check.

- Applicants may check the status of vacancies on ICC E-Recruitment web-site.

- Post to be filled by a national of a State Party to the ICC Statute, or of a State which has signed and is engaged in the ratification process or which is engaged in the accession process. This is pursuant to a decision of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP Resolution ICC-ASP/23/Res.3 - ICC-ASP-23-Res.3-ENG) to introduce a moratorium on the recruitment by the ICC of staff of non-States Parties’ nationality.

- In accordance with the Rome Statute, the ICC aims to achieve fair representation of women and men for all positions, representation of the principal legal systems of the world for legal positions, and equitable geographical representation for positions in the professional category.

- Applications from female candidates are particularly encouraged.

- The International Criminal Court applies the Inter-Organization Mobility Accord and can support secondment of staff from organizations of the United Nations Common System.

At Impactpool we do our best to provide you the most accurate info, but closing dates may be wrong on our site. Please check on the recruiting organization's page for the exact info. Candidates are responsible for complying with deadlines and are encouraged to submit applications well ahead.
Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.