Head, English Translation Section

Under the supervision of the Director, Conference Division, the successful candidate will be responsible for managing the work of the English Translation Section.

1. Set the objectives for satisfactory and good performance, and develop work plans, for the English Translation Section (ETS), including establishing priorities, performance standards and delivery targets for the Section’s overall programme of work, in order to ensure the timely, efficient and high-quality provision of English translation, revision, editing and related language services in support of the Organization’s meetings, official documentation and publications. 
2. Provide guidance and advice to ETS staff to help develop their skills and careers. Enhance staff morale and team spirit, carry out performance appraisals for ETS staff. and exercise full managerial responsibility for the supervision, performance management, development and effective utilization of the Section’s staff and other personnel assigned to the Section.
3. Assist with the identification and application of new computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools and technology, for the benefit of efficiency and quality assurance, and lead the assessment, introduction, implementation and monitoring of language technologies, workflow tools and quality-assurance systems relevant to the work of the Section.
4. Develop strong professional relationships with colleagues inside and outside ETS to exchange experience and methodological approaches and liaise as required with colleagues concerned for the production of documents and publications, including advising submitting officers and senior leadership on documentation priorities, scheduling, language quality, drafting requirements and related procedural matters.
5. Supervise and evaluate the work done by ETS in terms of quality and quantity with a view to ensuring that the resources available to ETS are put to the best possible use and ensure that the Section’s outputs meet the Organization’s required standards for accuracy, consistency, clarity, timeliness and cost-effectiveness.
6. Keep under constant review the need for changes in ETS and make recommendations for improvement as needed, including proposals relating to work methods, staffing structures, workflow planning, use of technology, quality assurance and service delivery arrangements.
7. Supervise administrative matters concerning outsourced translation, including quality assurance and timely delivery of the translation work, and ensure that ETS can rely on an adequate roster of contractual translators to reinforce its capacity when the volume of work requires, including the planning and oversight of contractual requirements, monitoring of performance, and recommendation of appropriate use of external capacity within available resources.
8. Tap into the translation market for optimal use of human and financial resources for outsourced translation, keep abreast with developments in the profession and the language-services market, and advise on the most effective and efficient use of internal and external capacity.
9. Recommend action on personnel, budgetary and procedural matters relating to the efficient operation of ETS, and advise the Director, Conference Division, on staffing, resource requirements, operational risks, succession planning, contractual arrangements and policy or procedural issues affecting the work of the Section.
10. Translate (from French and Spanish to English), revise and edit all sorts of IMO documents, particularly those containing complex, difficult, technical or sensitive texts and/or supervise work in this area, and promptly deal with urgent translation, revision or editing as required, with primary emphasis on overseeing, quality-assuring and directing such work within the Section. Coordinate document quality control updates across the language sections (English, French and Spanish) and personally undertake the most complex, sensitive, urgent or precedent-setting assignments as necessary.
11. Organize and coordinate the teams serving the committee and sub-committee meetings (including night shifts), supervise their work and coordinate with the submitting officers and documentation section in order to ensure the smooth and orderly arrival of the documents and the availability of the relevant documents on the last day of the meetings, and ensure the effective management of the Section’s contribution to major meetings and conferences serviced by the Organization.
12. Keep the IMO Style Guide under review and take authoritative decisions for IMO regarding English terminology, style and usage, thereby ensuring organization-wide consistency and serving as the principal authority within the Secretariat on English editorial standards and usage.
13. Keep the IMO Guidance on preparing documents under review through consultation with colleagues in other divisions and provide authoritative advice across the Secretariat on the preparation, drafting and presentation of documentation in English.
14. Manage and evaluate the use of the proofreading tool PerfectIt by colleagues in all divisions and update the IMO-specific style sheet on a regular basis, including promoting and providing training on the effective application of editorial and quality-assurance tools across the Organization and assessing their impact on consistency, efficiency and quality.
15. Advise and provide training for Secretariat staff on drafting in English, including the development and delivery of guidance, training and outreach aimed at improving the quality of drafting documents submitted for word processing and translation in the working languages.
16. Work with the Terminology Specialist on English entries in the United Nations terminology database, UNTERM, and assure the quality of term records relating to IMO, ensuring the integrity, consistency and authoritative status of IMO terminology in English.
17. Make proper arrangements in ETS to assist, where possible, if conference interpretation is required from its staff translators under exceptional circumstances.
18. Answer queries from, and provide assistance to, other UN organizations, IMO Member States and relevant institutions in the profession, as required, and represent IMO, as appropriate, in inter-agency, professional and technical exchanges on matters relating to translation, editing, terminology, language policy and relevant technologies.
19. Provide support to IMO Member States in respect of the English versions of IMO instruments and documents, including on complex or sensitive linguistic and editorial matters requiring authoritative clarification.
20. Provide advice, as requested, to drafting committees that might be established in the course of the diplomatic conferences convened by the Organization, including authoritative guidance on English drafting, style, terminology and consistency in negotiated texts.
21. Provide opportunities for training in translation and editing for junior translators and students.
22. Provide guidance and advice to staff members in the Section to help develop their skills and career and enhance staff morale and team spirit in the Section.
23. Host interns, school students and professionals seeking work experience at IMO in translation and editing. Give them feedback on their work and give them guidance on careers in the United Nations system. 
24. Interact with other United Nations organizations to keep abreast of new technological developments and work methods in the United Nations system and promote the adoption of best practices and innovation relevant to the modernization and strategic development of the Section’s work.

1. Strong leadership, managerial and coordination skills, with a demonstrated ability to work independently under general guidance and effectively manage and develop people and teams, set priorities, allocate resources, take decisions on operational and policy matters within delegated authority, and ensure delivery of services in a high-volume, time-sensitive environment.
2. Proven interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with internal and external stakeholders, at all levels including in an international, multicultural context, and to represent the Section and provide authoritative advice to senior managers, submitting offices, Member States and external counterparts on language, documentation and editorial matters.
3. Proven organizational and time management skills and a high degree of initiative together with the ability to work under pressure and manage conflicting priorities and high volumes of work, while maintaining oversight of section-wide outputs, service standards, staffing requirements and operational risks.
4. Effective oral and written communication skills and ability to draft effectively, provide guidance and explain positions to a variety of audiences, including on complex linguistic, editorial, policy and procedural matters.
5. Take ownership of all responsibilities and deliver high quality outputs within prescribed time and costs., , while ensuring the effective use of staff, contractual and budgetary resources and promoting continuous improvement in service delivery.
6. Consistently demonstrate integrity, tact, discretion and professionalism.

Advanced university degree (masters level)* or equivalent in translation/languages.  

*A first-level university degree with four additional years of experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Proficiency in English to mother tongue standard and proficiency in French and Spanish. Knowledge of other official UN languages would be an asset.