Principal Terminologist at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

African Development Bank Group (AfDB) – Established in 1964, the African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. There are 80 member states, including 54 in Africa (Regional Member Countries). The Bank’s development agenda is delivering the financial and technical support for transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

In order to sharply focus the objectives of the Ten Year Strategy (2013 – 2022) and ensure greater developmental impact, five major areas (High 5), all of which will accelerate our delivery for Africa, have been identified for scaling up, namely; energy, agro-business, industrialization, integration and improving the quality of life for the people of Africa. The Bank is seeking to build a management team that will lead the successful implementation of this vision.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Principal Terminologist

Reference: ADB/19/002
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50076726

The Complex

The Vice-Presidency, Human Resources and Corporate Services Complex ensures the delivery of efficient, people-centered, client-oriented, corporate services to guarantee overall institutional effectiveness in all aspects of the Bank’s corporate services. The Complex leads efforts to ensure the competitiveness of the Bank as the employer of choice and is responsible for providing leadership in the formulation and implementation of the Bank’s people, IT, general services and institutional procurements, language services, business continuity, and health and safety strategies.

The Hiring Department/Division

The primary role of the Language Services Department is to ensure the accessibility in the two working languages of the Bank (English and French, and on occasion Arabic and Portuguese) of all issues and documents submitted to the Senior Management and governing bodies of the Bank, for efficient decision-making aimed at the achievement of the Bank’s mission.
In this regard, the Department seeks to ensure an accurate and effective flow of communication within the Bank, and also between the Bank, its shareholders, development partners and the public, by providing the highest quality of translation, interpretation and terminological services to the Institution.

The Position

Under the general supervision of the Director, the Principal Terminologist will build, maintain and update all types of terminology and reference databases as well as the translation workflow needed for the smooth linguistic functioning of the organization.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Principal Terminologist will:

Conduct specific terminology research and provide ad hoc assistance as required by linguists (translators, revisers, editors, interpreters) and non-linguists in the Bank.
Set up, manage, enrich and maintain a central terminology and reference database for the Department and the Bank, and evaluate the systems available with a view to recommending the most suitable for the Bank.
Provide standardization and advisory services (research, knowledge generation and deployment).
Prepare and issue terminology updates, recommendations and technical glossaries for linguists and non-linguistic staff of the Bank.
Keep abreast of new developments in the area of language technology (computer-assisted translation and terminology tools), analyze, test and recommend these tools.
Inform and train the Department’s staff in the use of Bank’s terminology and reference databases as well as in the use of computer-assisted translation and terminology tools.
Supervise the Terminology and Reference Section of the Language Services Department.
Coordinate on behalf of Vice-Presidency, Human Resources and Corporate Services and the Bank, all exchanges between the Terminology and Reference Section and counterpart services in sister institutions (United Nations System, OECD, European Union, etc.).
Represent the Bank at inter-institution meetings on terminology and computer-assisted translation tools (e.g. JIAMCATT) and other relevant international workshops organized in this area.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

Hold at least a Master’s degree or its equivalent in Translation or any closely related discipline. Qualifications in any other discipline relevant to the business of the African Development Bank Group would be an added advantage.
Have a minimum of six (6) years practical experience in translation and/or terminology (particularly in economics, finance and/or law), at least three (3) of which should have been spent working in or with an international organization (preferably in multilateral development banks).
Possess broad general knowledge and be able to adapt quickly to a multicultural and complex environment.
Be able to quickly fit into multilingual team and maintain harmonious working relations.
Ability to adjust rapidly to a complex multicultural environment.
Open-mindedness and willingness to learn.
Research and terminology development skills.
Full knowledge of industry-leading computer-assisted translation and terminology tools (e.g. MultiTrans, SDL Trados/Multiterm, MemoQ, etc.)
Proficiency in translation of documents into French/English or English/French.
Ability to work with standard Microsoft software used in the Bank.
Practical knowledge of terminology management applications.
Ability to communicate excellently (written and oral) in English and French.