Spanish proofreader and translation coordinator

Background

The Communications Team of UN Women is responsible for the translation of web content, publications and other communications materials into Spanish and French on a daily basis, as well as for the translation of various materials in all UN official languages on an ad-hoc basis. While the Team outsources translation services in all UN official languages to an external multi-language translation vendor, for the proofreading, editing and quality control of the French and Spanish translations it requires the services of two professional proofreaders specifically trained on gender-sensitive, gender-inclusive terminology. Such specific linguistic know-how is crucial to ensure that the UN Women French and Spanish content reflects UN Women’s mandate.

To ensure quality control of all Spanish communications materials, the Communications Unit of UN Women is seeking to recruit a Proofreader/Editor on retainer contract. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Print Production and Branding Specialist, the Proofreader/Editor will be expected to proofread/edit content in Spanish for the UN Women website and UN Women publications, produced by the Communications Unit and occasionally by other units, as needed.

The main tasks for both activities will be as follows:

• Ensure correct grammar and spelling.

• Ensure easily accessible/understandable language in a journalistic style (please note that the French texts do not need to be literal translations of the English texts, but rather fluent "interpretations" of the English original, while still keeping the same meaning. Reformulations are welcome, if the style is improved).

• Ensure correct formatting of translated documents.

• In case a text changes in English after it has been translated, incorporate the edits made into the Spanish version.

• For publications, continue quality control once the text has been incorporated into the design, and prepare corrections/feedback for the designers during the different rounds of revisions.

• As the women's organization in the UN system, it is crucial for UN Women to ensure that all its documents use a gender-sensitive, gender-inclusive language. It is therefore required to always use both the masculine and feminine forms in the translations, and closely follow the UN Women gender term lexicon as well as the UN Women Guidelines for translators/proofreaders to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through language. In addition, the proofreader will need to ensure that the official UN terms be used, including the correct spelling of UN Member States, as per UN Term (https://unterm.un.org/).

Competencies

Integrity:

Demonstrates consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity:

Demonstrates an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrates / Safeguards Ethics and Integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrates corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring:

Self-development, initiative-taking.

Working in Teams:

Team player and facilitates team work.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

Facilitates and encourages open communication in the team, communicates effectively.

Self-management and Emotional intelligence:

Creating synergies through self-control. Conflict Management / Negotiates and Resolves Disagreement.

Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning:

Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others.

Required Skills and Experience

• Masters Degree in Translation, Journalism, Communications, International Relations, Linguistics or equivalent;

• Fluency in English; fluency in Spanish; French is a plus;

• At least 3 years of experience in translation and editing in Spanish;

• Knowledge of gender issues and experience working on translation/editing projects in the field of gender equality and women's empowerment.