Translator/Interpreter

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects around the world. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement, and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations. With over 6,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical, and management knowledge they need, where they need it. By implementing around 1,000 projects for our partners at any given time, UNOPS makes significant contributions to results on the ground, often in the most challenging environments.

Background Information - Job-specific 

With presence and experience in Ukraine since 2016, UNOPS has provided management and procurement services to support Ukraine’s national reform and sustainable development agenda, take environmental and climate action, strengthen the rule of law, improve energy and healthcare solutions, as well as address economic and governance institutional weaknesses.

The Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has caused a severe and highly complex humanitarian emergency with global impact not witnessed in Europe for over 70 years. The international response has been significant, with exceptional support provided by many donor countries and organizations. UNOPS, with its ability to add considerable value in its core areas of infrastructure, procurement, and project management services, is part of the response to the ongoing emergency and is expanding its capacity in the country to be able to provide robust and timely support over the long term, through the recovery and reconstruction phases. 

Recognizing the enormity and complexity of the challenges ahead, UNOPS established a dedicated Ukraine Country Office (based in Kyiv), from where its operations will be planned, resourced, implemented, managed, and controlled in the months and years ahead, with the support of the UNOPS Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (based in Geneva) and UNOPS HQ (Copenhagen).

The UNOPS Ukraine Country Office is looking to strengthen its communication function, particularly in aspects that relate to cross-cultural bilingual communication. In this context, it is looking to recruit an in-house full-time Translator/Interpreter. The Translator/Interpreter will work as a cross-cutting expert, providing linguistic and communication support to all UNOPS Ukraine personnel, as required. He/she will be central to the Country Office’s translation and interpreting quality management architecture and will work under the supervision of the Communication Analyst to help ensure that UNOPS Ukraine’s linguistic needs are adequately met.

1. Effective interpretation in support of office functions.

2. Effective translation, recording, and retention of information relevant to office functions.

3. Support to the office team in high-quality communication with stakeholders and partners.

4. Reporting on performed work and analysing key trends/challenges. 

5. Knowledge building and knowledge sharing.

• Completion of Secondary education is required.
• University Degree, preferably in linguistics, translation/interpreting, cross-cultural communication, or another relevant area, or in any other area complemented by formal training in translation/interpreting (English language) is desirable but not required, and may be considered as a substitute for some years of work experience.

• A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience in the field of translation/interpreting, preferably in an international environment is required with a high school degree.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (e.g. Google Suite) is required.
• Experience with UN Agencies/international development assistance projects/international humanitarian aid activities is desirable.
• Experience with technical translation (related to construction, utility systems operation, IT systems architecture and functioning, or other areas relevant to UNOPS activities in Ukraine) is desirable.
• Proficiency in computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools is desirable.

Contract type: ICA
Contract level: Local ICA Support
Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.’

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 

• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.