Somali Linguist

Position: Somali Linguist

Location: Bronx, NY

Language Requirement: 2+IRL level

Salary: $65,000 to $75,000

*If you are not local and wish to support, we will provide a flight and rental car. Some meals and incidentals are also available!

Position Description:

We are excited to announce new opportunities supporting the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services I (HHS I) in providing critical
language services to unaccompanied minors in refugee programs. We are seeking linguists
who speaks Somali at an Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) Level 2 + or
higher.

About ILR levels:

The Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale is the U.S. government standard
for measuring language proficiency. It ranges from Level 0 (No Proficiency) to
Level 5 (Native or Bilingual Proficiency).

• ILR Level 2+ ("Professional
  Working Proficiency") indicates that a linguist can speak, understand, read, and write
  the language with sufficient accuracy and fluency to participate
  effectively in most conversations on practical, social, and some
  professional topics.

Position Overview:

Linguists will provide accurate, impartial, and confidential interpretation and
translation services at ILR Level 2+ proficiency or higher to support
communication between Care Staff, unaccompanied children (UC), unaccompanied
minors (UAM), and unaccompanied refugee minors (URM). Linguists serve as Communication
Liaisons to ensure all parties can fully understand one another in a
variety of settings.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide in-person, onsite
  interpretation at Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) programs and
  service locations (preferred).
• Deliver remote interpretation
  services via telephone, videoconference, or other virtual means as needed,
  including availability for 24/7 requests.
• Facilitate communication of
  important deadlines, instructions, questions, and other information
  between Care Staff and UC/UAM/URM in their native or preferred language.
• Assist UC/UAM/URM in expressing
  concerns, questions, or needs when they are not fluent or comfortable
  communicating in English or the language spoken by Care Staff.
• Demonstrate a high-level of
  professional judgment, based on the candidate's own experience and
  language proficiency, to mitigate language barriers and ensure effective
  communication between Care Staff and a UC, UAM or URM.
• Support the orientation of
  UC/UAM/URM to available community resources through interpretation and
  translation.
• Translate documents from English
  to the preferred language and vice versa, and occasionally from other
  source languages, as required.
• Help Care Staff build rapport and
  understand the cultural context of the populations served; while linguists
  are not substitutes for case managers or clinicians, they play a vital
  role in establishing a cultural bridge and alleviating stress for the children.

Requirements:

• ILR Level 2+ proficiency in both English (listening and
  speaking) and the target language (listening, speaking, reading, and
  writing) whether obtained through either a specialized academic degree or
  a combination of experience/education.
• Successful completion of a Tier
  2 background check; no security clearance required.
• Consistent exercise of discretion
  and judgment and advanced knowledge in the field of linguistics.
• The linguist is expected to apply
  advanced language skills, cultural expertise, and professional judgment to
  facilitate communication in sensitive and complex situations.
• The work requires autonomy,
  decision-making, and a high degree of responsibility in managing language
  services to meet the needs of ORR programs and the vulnerable populations
  served.