International Criminal Court
Freelance Translator
- Duty station
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
- Country / area
- Netherlands
- Region
- Europe
- UN system
- International Court
- Vacancy Number
- 3861
- Deadline for Applications
- Open
- Organizational Unit
- Language Services Section, Division of Judicial Services, Registry
- Duty Station
- Various Duty Stations
- Type of Appointment
- To be determined
- Contract Duration
- Variable length
About this role
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking freelance translators to join a roster for the Language Services Section within the Registry. This role involves providing high-quality translation services for the Court's organs, covering legal, political, military, medical, forensic, technical, administrative, and financial documents, as well as human rights topics. Translators must ensure accuracy, clarity, and conformity with ICC standards, while collaborating with revisers and contributing to terminology databases. The position requires proficiency in specific language combinations involving English or French as source or target languages, including Bengali, Burmese, Cebuano, Dari, Filipino, Hebrew, Pashto, and Rohingya. Candidates must possess a university degree in translation, languages, law, or a relevant field, along with two years of relevant work experience, though this may be waived for exceptional recent graduates. Essential skills include knowledge of international legal instruments, IT proficiency (MS Office, CAT tools), and the ability to meet deadlines. Successful candidates will undergo a translation test and security vetting. The appointment type is variable, potentially for fixed-term or general temporary assistance posts, with duty stations varying. The ICC aims for fair representation and encourages applications from women and nationals of State Parties.
Key requirements
- University degree in translation, languages, law or relevant subject
- Two years relevant translator experience (waivable for exceptional grads)
- Mother-tongue proficiency in listed language combination
Nice to have
- Experience in translation with international organisations
- Knowledge of ICC situations and cases
- Knowledge of terminology relevant to international organisations
Requirements at a glance
- Min. experience
- Two years of relevant work experience as a translator; for recent graduates with relevant advanced university degree who perform particularly well in the translation test, the experience requirement could be waived.
- Required degree
- A university degree in translation, languages, law or any relevant subject.
- Languages
- English, French, Bengali, Burmese, Cebuano, Dari, Filipino, Hebrew, Pashto, Rohingya
3861 | Registry
| Deadline for Applications: | Open |
| Organizational Unit: | Language Services Section, Division of Judicial Services, Registry |
| Duty Station: | Various Duty Stations |
| Type of Appointment: | To be determined |
| Minimum Net Annual Salary (Single Rate): | To be determined |
| Contract Duration: | Variable length |
A roster of suitable candidates may be established for this post as a result of this selection process for both fixed-term established and general temporary assistance posts.
Organisational Context
Provision of high quality language services for efficient conduct of Court business:
The Language Services Section (LSS) provides language services to the organs of the Court, i.e. translation, revision and editing of Court documents; consecutive and simultaneous interpretation for meetings, trial hearings, press conferences, specialised seminars, diplomatic briefings and other events, held in-house or away from the seat of the Court; assistance and guidance in terminology and references, management of language tools to make sure that consistent terminology is used in all the organs of the Court; recruitment, training, and accreditation of interpreters needed for work with Registry officials in the field and/or at the seat of the Court; provision of relevant information to service users to make them familiar with all the types of language services provided and with the procedures and requirements of the professions in question.
Language combinations required according to working language
ENGLISH
FRENCH
Source
Target
Source
Target
Bengali
English
Bengali
French
English
Bengali
French
Bengali
Burmese
English
Burmese
French
English
Burmese
French
Burmese
Cebuano
English
Cebuano
French
English
Cebuano
French
Cebuano
Dari
English
Dari
French
English
Dari
French
Dari
Filipino
English
Filipino
French
English
Filipino
French
Filipino
Hebrew
English
Hebrew
French
English
Hebrew
French
Hebrew
Pashto
English
Pashto
French
English
Pashto
French
Pashto
Rohingya
English
Rohingya
French
English
Rohingya
French
Rohingya
Duties and Responsibilities
Freelance translators working into these target languages are normally required to:
- Translate documents covering a wide range of topics including but not limited to: legal, political, military, medical, forensic, technical, administrative and financial matters, and human rights;
- Ensure accuracy, clarity, cohesion and conformity with ICC standards, practice and policy;
- Consult with LSS revisers and translators to clarify ambiguities;
- Observe established terminology and in-house usage, identify new terminology and actively contribute to terminology and reference databases;
- Use MS Office Suite and CAT Tools.
Essential Qualifications
Education:
A university degree in translation, languages, law or any relevant subject.
Experience:
- Two years of relevant work experience as a translator;
- For recent graduates with relevant advanced university degree who perform particularly well in the translation test, the experience requirement could be waived; Experience in translation with international organisations would be an asset.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Ability to translate documents covering a wide range of topics including but not limited to: legal, political, military, medical, forensic, technical, administrative and financial matters, and human rights;
- Solid academic knowledge of the required languages;
- Knowledge of legal concepts in general, and of international legal instruments and ICC basic texts in particular; knowledge of terminology relevant to the context of international organisations; basic knowledge of ICC situations and cases;
- Knowledge of relevant IT and a high level of proficiency in the use of word processing programs and CAT Tools;
- Ability to work effectively to deadlines and, as necessary, as part of a translation team;
- Knowledge of the style and usage of source and target languages; acute sensitivity to nuance and attention to detail; good analytical skills;
- Good organisational and time management skills;
- Openness to skill development.
Knowledge of Languages:
Mother-tongue proficiency in one of the languages in the listed language combination and a high level of proficiency in the other.
Assessment Method
Candidates will be required to sit an ICC translation test.
Successful Candidates will be required to undergo a security vetting procedure.
ICC Core Competencies
Dedication to the mission and values
- Acts consistently in accordance with the mission and values of the Organisation;
- Maintains confidentiality, acts with integrity and shows respect for diversity;
- Shows commitment to the organisation;
- Presents a positive image of the organisation during external discussions.
Professionalism
- Applies professional and technical expertise;
- Keeps abreast of organisational issues;
- Produces workable solutions to a range of problems;
Teamwork
- Listens, consults and communicates proactively;
- Handles disagreements with tact and diplomacy;
- Recognises and rewards the contribution of others;
Learning and developing
- Identifies development strategies needed to achieve work and career goals and makes use of developmental or training opportunities;
- Learns from successes and failures;
- Seeks feedback and gives feedback to others to increase organisational effectiveness;
- Seeks opportunities for improvement of work;
- Has an open mind and contributes to innovation.
Handling uncertain situations
- Adapts to changing circumstances;
- Deals with ambiguity, making positive use of the opportunities it presents;
- Plans activities and projects well in advance and takes account of possible changing circumstances;
- Manages time effectively.
Interaction
- Expresses opinions, information and key points of an argument clearly;
- Handles contacts with diplomacy and tact;
- Communicates in a transparent and open way with internal and external contacts while complying with confidentiality requirements.
Realising objectives
- Accepts and tackles demanding goals with enthusiasm;
- Keeps to agreements with others;
- Focuses on client needs;
- Takes responsibility for actions, projects and people;
- Monitors and maintains quality and productivity.
General Information
- The selected candidate will be subject to a Personnel Security Clearance (PSC) process in accordance with ICC policy. The PSC process will include but will not be limited to, verification of the information provided in the personal history form and a criminal record check.
- Applicants may check the status of vacancies on ICC E-Recruitment web-site.
- Post to be filled preferably by a national of a State Party to the ICC Statute, or of a State which has signed and is engaged in the ratification process or which is engaged in the accession process, but nationals from non-state parties may also be considered.
- In accordance with the Rome Statute, the ICC aims to achieve fair representation of women and men for all positions, representation of the principal legal systems of the world for legal positions, and equitable geographical representation for positions in the professional category.
- Applications from female candidates are particularly encouraged.
- The Court reserves the right not to make any appointment to the vacancy, to make an appointment at a lower grade, or to make an appointment with a modified job description.
- The International Criminal Court is a member organization of the Inter-Organization Mobility Accord and is interested in secondment of staff from organizations of the United Nations Common System.
Why this role may fit you
UNlockit's AI Match scores every open UN-system role against your CV across four axes — semantic similarity, keyword overlap, skill overlap, and domain overlap — and flags the must-have requirements and any gaps. Sign in and upload a CV to see the personalised verdict for this listing.
See my match for this role