Interpretation and Translation Officer

West Sussex County Council; England; Hybrid; GBP 29,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in the UK seeks an Interpretation and Translation Officer for a full-time role. The candidate will support non-English speaking families, requiring strong interpersonal skills and a relevant interpreting qualification. This position offers a salary of £29,540 to £32,061 annually, with benefits including 25 days leave and a local government pension scheme.

Benefits

25 days annual leave

Local government pension scheme

Employee discounts through West Sussex Choices

Qualifications

• Experience in interpreting within a formal setting.
• Demonstrable experience delivering interpretation services professionally.
• Ability to comprehend detailed instructions and draft documents.

Responsibilities

• Foster connections between professionals and clients through effective translation.
• Work closely with the Refugee, Resettlement, and Migration Service team.
• Maintain confidentiality during interpreting sessions.

Skills

Interpreting

Translation

Interpersonal skills

Literacy and numeracy skills

General IT skills

Education

Level 3 Certificate in Community Interpreting

GCSEs including Maths and English

Tools

Word

Excel

Job description

Do you have a background in interpretation and translation within a professional context?

Do you possess excellent interpersonal skills, along with a strong understanding of professional boundaries and safeguarding?

If so, we would love to hear from you!

We are seeking an Interpretation and Translation Officer to collaborate closely with colleagues from the Refugee, Resettlement, and Migration Service, based in transitional accommodation. The role involves providing support to adults, children, and families who do not speak English as their first language.

Salary: £29,540 to £32,061 per annum

Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract for 12 months.

Working Pattern: Full-time (37 hours per week)

Location: Your base location will be Chichester or Crawley with required countywide travel.

Interview Date: Week commencing 01 September 2025

Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.

This role requires the successful candidate to travel throughout the county for visits. Regular attendance at your designated base location will also be necessary, and there will be opportunities for remote work. Final arrangements will be confirmed with the successful candidate.

The role involves engaging confidently with families in person. Occasionally, the work may involve interacting with individuals experiencing significant trauma or difficult circumstances, requiring genuine empathy, professionalism, and resilience to provide appropriate support.

You will need to be able to travel independently around the county, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport. Pool cars and pool bikes available.

About the Job

Our work in the Refugee, Resettlement, and Migration Service, is truly dynamic, and each day can bring something new and different! There are certain key responsibilities that are likely to be a vital part of this role, including:

• Responsible for fostering meaningful connections between professionals and clients, by passionately and precisely translating across languages to ensure clear, professional, and efficient communication.
• Work closely with teams in Refugee, Resettlement, and Migration Service as well as with key partners such as Home Office and Department for Work and Pensions.
• Undertake both written and verbal translation with dedication, including translating leaflets, posters, letters, notices, consultation and policy documents, publications, and other literature or publicity materials whenever needed, ensuring clear and impactful communication in every task.
• Ensure that interpreting sessions are conducted in accordance with the GDPR framework, maintaining the confidentiality of the service user.

If you enjoy working in a fast-paced environment and value being part of a close-knit team dedicated to supporting colleagues in achieving improved outcomes for the residents of West Sussex, we would like to hear from you!

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Level 3 Certificate in Community Interpreting
• Four GCSEs with A-C passes, including Maths and English, or an equivalent qualification or relevant experience demonstrating equivalent levels of numeracy and literacy.
• Literacy and numeracy skills to comprehend detailed written instructions for tasks, draft documents, or interpret complex messages.
• Experience in interpreting within a formal setting.
• Demonstrable experience in delivering interpretation services in a professional manner consistent with established standards.
• General IT skills, including proficiency in Word and Excel (or equivalent software), for word processing, data management, creating basic presentations, maintaining simple computer databases, and producing fundamental statistical data.

For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

Rewards and Benefits

We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role. You will benefit from 25 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 5 years' service plus the opportunity to buy additional leave and an excellent local government pension scheme

A range of discounts give our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform.

For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CPP01182.

For issues or queries regarding your application please contact .

Does this sound like the opportunity for you? Click apply below, upload your CV, and complete the application form, explaining how you meet the key skills in the attached job description and experience you can bring to the role. Please ensure all that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV.

Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to right to work within the UK, enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, satisfactory references, and a health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.

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