Senior Translator (French) at African Development Bank - AfDB

Position Number: 50001477

The Complex

• The Vice-Presidency, Technology and Corporate Services (TCVP) is responsible for the design, development and delivery of efficient, people-centered, client-oriented, corporate services and information-technology solutions to ensure overall institutional effectiveness in all aspects of the Bank’s corporate services.
• The Complex provides leadership in the formulation and implementation of Bank’s strategies, policies, controls and approaches on organizational information technology systems, software applications, cyber security, IT support and infrastructure systems.
• The Complex is also responsible for management of the Bank’s real estate assets, institutional procurement, language services and business continuity.

The Hiring Department / Division

• The Language Services Department is responsible for ensuring quality translation of major Bank documents primarily into English and French, but also into Arabic and Portuguese, as well as other languages as required; providing high standard interpretation in English and French or Arabic and Portuguese, editing documents meant for publication and ensuring quality; analyzing and evaluating strategic choices and making relevant recommendations on the use of English and French within the Bank Group; reviewing, updating and implementing practical guidelines and procedures for the efficient delivery of language services; and assisting partner organizations eliciting the Bank’s assistance in establishing, restructuring or improving their language services; promote bilingualism so as to enhance communication among staff and with the Bank’s clients and partners.
• Within the Language Services Department, the mandate of the French and English Translation Division is to provide high-level translation services by ensuring quality translation of all Bank documents primarily into and from the Bank’s working languages (French from English), and occasionally Arabic and Portuguese, as well as editing key documents such as the Bank Group's Annual Report in English and French.

The Position

• Under the general supervision of the Manager, French and English Translation Division, and the technical supervision of the Lead Reviser, the Senior Translator (French) will Translate from English to French all types of documents needed for the smooth functioning of the organization and work with client departments to build up and compile terminology during the translation process

Key Functions
The Senior Translator (French) will:

• Translate from English to French, alone or as part of a team (with other in-house or freelance translators), using the Bank’s preferred computer-assisted translation tools, specialized and general dictionaries and glossaries, various documents (policy, administrative, budgetary, financial, legal and economic, social, technical, etc.) prepared or received by the Bank.
• Post-edit texts pre-translated using neural machine translation or other relevant artificial intelligence-enabled tools.
• Check the texts to be translated to assess their difficulty and length, determine the reference documents and persons to be consulted, as well as the relevant tools to be used.
• Conduct related research and documentation.
• Consult with authors/requesting services and/or experts for clarification or details in case of difficulties of interpretation of a text or explanation of certain technical terms.
• Typeset the entire translated text including tables, charts, figures, etc. in workable format.
• Undertake research and documentation with reference to the Bank’s documentation and archiving services, external organizations, consultation of other translators or interpreters.
• In collaboration with the Terminologist, create terminology files and glossaries on all areas of Bank activities.
• Contribute to the development and sharing of terminology within the Division (terminology consultation meetings with all members of the Division, non-discriminatory glossary of terms).
• Perform alignment of legacy translations for the purposes of terminology extraction and text-base development for computer-assisted translation tools
• Participate in meetings organised within the Department or Institution.
• Inform, guide (presentation of documentation and archiving services), advise, and provide tips to new freelance translators to help them improve.
• Coordinate and harmonize translated texts in collaboration with other in-house translators.
• Establish and maintain smooth professional relations with authors/requesting entities.
• Where necessary, participate in the annual meetings of the AfDB Group as part of the translation team

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• At least a Master's Degree in Translation or a closely related discipline.
• Qualifications in any other discipline relevant to the business of the African Development Bank Group would be an added advantage.
• At least five (5) years of practical experience in translation (particularly in economics, finance and/or law), three (3) of which should have been spent working in or with an international organization (preferably in multilateral development banks).
• Ability to rapidly adjust to fully using the Bank’s preferred computer-assisted translation and information technology tools in daily work.
• Ability to adjust rapidly to a complex multicultural environment.
• Ability to fit into a multilingual team and maintain harmonious working relations.
• Proficiency in translation from English into French, documents produced by various Bank departments with a high level of accuracy.
• Ability to consult with clients/authors of documents, and to handle sensitive issues.
• Ability to work independently with little supervision and as part of a multicultural team.
• Excellent writing skills and a sound mastery of various language standards.
• Ability to use all standard Microsoft applications deployed in the Bank and practical knowledge and optimal use of computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools.
• Adequate knowledge of emerging technological trends, especially in artificial intelligence and neural machine translation.
• Ability to translate from Arabic, Portuguese or other languages to French would be an added advantage.
• Ability to communicate excellently (written and oral) in French and English.