Job Description
Functional Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Explosive Hazard Management Team Lead (EHM TL), the incumbent will be responsible to:
- Produce timely, high quality, professional written English-Arabic and Arabic-English translation of official correspondence for UNMAS Iraq Explosive Hazards Management (EHM) counterparts, implementing partners, and other stakeholders;
- Translate documents for high-level official government correspondence including Mine Action technical documents, partner’s implementation plans, weekly (EHM) reports, and letters;
- Produce timely, high quality, professional written English-Arabic and Arabic-English translation of the National Mine Action Standards (NMAS), the National Authorities’ Internal / Standard Working Procedures, Process Charts and other official documentation as part of her/his support to the UNMAS-Iraq Technical Advisory Panel (TAP);
- Produce high quality, professional written translation from English to Arabic of the Deputy Minister of Health and Environment (DMoHE)/DMA (Directorate of Mine Action) bi-weekly reports and the EHM Weekly Work plans shared with governorate offices, JCMC and DMA;
- Work closely with the EHM TL and the Information Management TL to produce translation work of EHM written products;
- Develop effective filing systems to file incoming/outgoing UNMAS correspondence on a regular basis; as well as a management system to track when correspondence is received, who is responsible for formulating responses and by when, and when those responses are sent;
- Draft and review the compilation of all translated materials related to EHM i.e. Standards Working Practices (SWPs) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs);
- Preform any translation tasks required by the EHM TL, IM TL, Head of Projects Office as required;
- Travel with the EHM TL to Baghdad and/or fields locations to support field missions based out of Erbil for Arabic/English interpretation;
- Provide accurate simultaneous interpretation during meetings, trainings, workshops, conferences and other relevant activities and events. In particular, high level meetings such as, the Coordination meetings for Mine Action Actors in Iraq (CMMAI) and the Technical Working Group (TWG) including supporting UNMAS Senior Programme Manager (SPM) with donor visits upon request;
- Provision administrative and operational support to EHM Team associated to leave planner management, on-boarding of new EHM personal and other administrative tasks as required;
Preform other interpretation/translation tasks as needed.
Education/Experience/Language Requirements
Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply!
Persons with no UN experience are encouraged to apply!
This position is open to nationals or persons with a valid residence and/or work permit.
Education
- Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) with two years of relevant experience; OR
- First-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) with four years of relevant experience is required.
Experience
- Relevant experience is defined as experience in translation/interpretation from English to Arabic language or vice versa.
Language
- Fluency in English (Speaking, writing, reading) is required.
- Fluency in Arabic (Speaking, writing, reading) is required.
About the Organization
Background - UNMAS
Established in 1997, UNMAS leads, coordinates and implements mine action under United Nations legislative mandates of both the General Assembly and the Security Council, which include explicit references to remnant IEDs. UNMAS supports the UN's vision of "a world free of the threat of landmines and unexploded ordnance, where individuals and communities live in a safe environment conducive to development, and where mine survivors are fully integrated into their societies."
UNMAS is a unit within the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). UNMAS operates under UN legislative mandates of both the General Assembly and the Security Council, or at the request of the UN Secretary-General or his designated official. When instructed by the Security Council or called upon by Member States, UNMAS deploys under humanitarian, peace and security mandates. UNMAS main headquarters is in the UN Secretariat, New York with a sub-office in Geneva. UNMAS provides direct support and assistance in the areas of explosive hazard threat mitigation to 18 countries/territories/missions, has a standby rapid response capacity and global technical advisors in the field of IEDs and Weapons and Ammunition Management. As an office within DPKO, UNMAS supports peacekeeping and special political missions in accordance with Security Council mandates.
Background – UNMAS Iraq
The UNMAS Iraq programme was formally established in June 2015, at the request of the UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Iraq, to lead the UN efforts to mitigate explosive threats in the country, as well as to support the enhancement of national and regional mine action capacities. UNMAS is supporting multiple layers of operations under the UNMAS Iraq Strategic Plan which focusses on three main components: 1. Explosive Hazard Management; 2. Capacity Enhancement, and 3. Risk Education.
UNMAS Iraq is committed to gender mainstreaming its and its Implementing Partners’ operations and has initiated some specific actions towards this aim.
