Bilingual Communications Officer

POSITION TITLE

Bilingual Communications Officer

POSITION LOCATION

Remote (Canada or Francophone Africa preferred)

REPORTS TO

Manager, Strategic Communications

POSITION LEVEL

Canada: PRO 1 ($50,000 to $56,400)

Other locations: depending on country

CONTRACT TERM

Full-time, indeterminate

APPLICATION DEADLINE

April 9, 2023

LANGUAGES

Fluency in both English and French

WUSC is a Canadian non-profit organization working to create a better world for all young people. We bring together a diverse network of students, volunteers, schools, governments, and businesses who share this vision. Together, we develop solutions in education, economic opportunities, and empowerment to overcome inequality and exclusion for youth around the world, particularly young women and young refugees. WUSC currently works in 25 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, with an annual budget of approximately CAD $40 million. We have over 90 staff in our Ottawa office, and over 200 people overseas implementing 16 development projects in collaboration with donors such as Global Affairs Canada, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the MasterCard Foundation, and the African Development Bank.

Under the supervision of the Strategic Communications Manager, the successful candidate is the team lead on French content production (translation, coordination, proofreading, writing) for corporate communications, websites, social media channels and other pieces. The Bilingual Communications Officer will work with diverse teams across the organization to translate, review, proofread and adapt written and spoken communications from English to French. Translation, review, proofreading, and adaptation of French materials into English occasionally required. The content of translated material ranges in complexity and tone, depending on the intended audience, from gender inclusive and accessible marketing language to technical development speak. In addition, the bilingual communications officer will also generate original french content, primarily for social media and internal communications.

• Translate a variety of written material (e.g social media, newsletters, blog posts etc.) from English to French and French to English, maintaining the content, context and style of the original material to the greatest extent possible. Prioritize the clarity of the message and call to action, and inclusive and empowering writing principles, over literal word-by-word translation.

• Research, write and produce short, original high-quality content in French about WUSC’s work and thematic issues of focus for a variety of channels (e.g. social media, newsletter, internal communications)
• Perform quality control checks (proofreading) of documents written and translated by colleagues, external translation consultants and using DeepL software to avoid errors in final products to ensure all French language material meets communication and brand standards. When possible, provide quality control for all French internal communications (including policies and resources.)

• Ensure the ongoing prioritization of translation requests, negotiating deadlines with other departments as required and coordinating additional support from machine translation and external translators when necessary. Assist in the coordination of machine translation and external translators as required, including managing invoices and payments.
• Research and recommend new digital solutions to assist in the translation of materials across the organization, such as translation project management tools and terminology databases.

• Conduct terminological research for translations and the preparation of lexicons.
• Advise on French language style guides, particularly to ensure writing is inclusive and does not perpetuate harmful stereotypes.
• Act as an advisor on translation and French language communications by responding to inquiries and requests from colleagues and external consultants.

• Other duties as required.

• University degree in translation or international development (or a related field) with a proven track record in providing high quality translation.
• Certified translator preferred..
• Three to five years of experience in communications and translation (English to French, with demonstrated capacity for French to English translation). Subject matter expertise/familiarity with WUSC programming areas preferred.
• Experience working for a non-profit is preferred.
• Advanced computer skills in Google Workspace.
• Exceptional project-management skills including managing production to tight deadlines and ability to multitask
• A proven self-starter; able to work under minimal supervision
• Share in WUSC’s commitment and approach to advance gender equality and social inclusion for all young people.
• Ability to contribute to WUSC’s organizational culture that respects differences, including sex, age, ability, refugee or migration status, race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and other identity factors.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills.
• Very organized with a keen eye for detail.
• Ability to work with and protect confidential information.
• Must be motivated, creative, hardworking, optimistic, and a team player.
• Must be available for occasional weekend and evening work. Time in lieu will be provided.

Languages: English-French bilingualism is required and will be tested in the selection process. Translation experience in Arabic and Spanish, an asset.

Join Us. Our work is important, cutting-edge, and rewarding. We encourage curiosity, innovation, and flexibility.

WUSC offers a dynamic international work environment with a diverse intercultural workforce. We offer employees exciting opportunities to apply their skills and gain experience all while making a difference in the lives of youth around the world. Employees at WUSC work hard to create lasting change in education, economic opportunities and empowerment.

WUSC’s activities seek to balance inequities and create sustainable development around the globe; the work ethic of our staff, volunteers, representatives and partners shall correspond to the values and mission of the organization. WUSC promotes responsibility, respect, honesty, and professional excellence and we will not tolerate harassment, coercion, sexual exploitation or abuse of any form. Successful applicants will be required to undertake an enhanced criminal record check where appropriate.

WUSC is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No telephone calls please.