TechnoServe works with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses and industries. We are a nonprofit organization that develops business solutions to poverty by linking people to information, capital and markets. Our work is rooted in the idea that given the opportunity, hardworking men and women in even the poorest places can generate income, jobs and wealth for their families and communities. With more than five decades of proven results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.

PRIMARY PURPOSE:

The Translator will be responsible for supporting the Ethiopia’s Coffee Practice programs by handling a wide range of responsibilities involving written texts review and translations and contextualization to make them practical for training. The translator will also provide administrative support for the training function as deemed necessary.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

TechnoServe Coffee Programs provide agronomy and business training, helping farmers to grow more coffee, keep better records of their revenues and expenses and better understand the nutritional needs of their families. The primary objective of the coffee agronomy program will be to increase production of the coffee trees for coffee farmers through both yield improvement and behavioral shifts due to price incentives. This production improvement will be achieved through educating project farmers on agronomy and environmental best practices, farm management, and assisting them in applying those techniques at an individual farm level. TechnoServe will use two-year farm college training and individual farm visits to improve farmer knowledge of agronomy techniques and oversee implementation.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

• The translator is responsible for using his/her knowledge of two or more languages and cultural meanings to translate training materials and other documents from one language to another.
• Their duties include consulting with the coffee project experts to determine meanings, completing translations within set deadlines and using word processing software with special features to aid their progress. The translator should be capable of working with a variety of projects within the coffee program who have different needs.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Under general supervision, translates documents/texts from one language to another; and/or translates spoken passages from one language to another during workshop, and/or meetings.
• Reads and rewrites technical documents in specified language, following established rules pertaining to factors such as word meanings, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
• Reads the target language as if it were the source language of the written material. To do that, the translator must be able to maintain or duplicate the written structure and style of the source text while also keeping the ideas and facts accurate.
• Carefully reading and comprehending the context of the given material, utilizing specialized dictionaries and translation tools, and meticulously proofreading the final translations.
• Support logistics planning, training material translation and production, e.g. quality control/formatting, copying, collating, etc.
• Oversee the distribution of training materials including filing, inventory and organization with in the coffee projects.
• Maintain electronic/paper records of training data, e.g. Data entry, training files, etc.
• Perform other related duties as required and assigned by Senior Training Advisor.

Job Requirements

• Translators typically need at least Diploma or a bachelor’s degree in social science and related field to enter the occupation.
• Proficient in English, Amharic and Afan Oromo languages, as well as the translation service they intend to provide.
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience with Degree and 4 years’ experience with Diploma in a role that involved training/capacity building/interpretation and translations or as a training officer or training materials production.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to communicate effectively across a range of seniority levels.
• Good verbal and written communication skills,
• Excellent computer skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural skills.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and meet deadlines