Job Description

USAID West Africa Energy Program

COVID-19 Webinar Series Interpreter

Deloitte Consulting is implementing the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) West Africa Energy Program (WAEP), a four-year Power Africa project to expand supply of and access to affordable and reliable grid-connected electricity services in West Africa through a range of technical assistance, capacity building, and transactional support. WAEP brings together technical and legal experts, the private sector, and governments from around the world to work in partnership to increase the number of people with access to power in Africa with the goal of advancing development priorities including inclusive economic growth, security, and improved health and education outcomes.

As utilities grapple with the ongoing and pervasive effects of the COVID-19 crisis, they are in critical need of additional operational and technical support to maintain continuity of service delivery and ensure business viability. WAEP and the Association of Power Utilities of Africa (APUA) have the unique opportunity to lead a regionally coordinated effort by providing lessons learned and best practices to navigate the current crisis and become more resilient to future crises.  

From September 2020 – December 2020, WAEP and APUA will partner to disseminate resources and trainings to benefit utilities in West Africa responding and recovering to COVID-19.  WAEP and APUA will employ the use of webinars as a key tool and strategy to develop virtual programs, adapt training, and skills development formats to meet the COVID-19 challenge to ensure continuing technical assistance to counterparts. For this purpose, the WAEP team is developing webinar plans to provide capacity building sessions to enhance APUA member utilities capacities in the power sector effectively

Position Description
The COVID-19 Webinar Series Interpreter will support the execution of the series by providing real-time French-English translation and interpretation services during each webinar.

As directed by the OC3 Lead, OC3 Deputy, and COVID-19 Webinar Series Activity Manager, the Employee shall perform, oversee, and support the performance of the following specific tasks:

• Review presentation materials in advance of each webinar to familiarize him/herself with content
• Translation from French to English and vice versa;
• Whisper/ consecutive/ simultaneous translation during webinars
• Responsible for providing high quality and accurate translation to all project and counterpart staff engaged in dialogue

Required Skills or Experience

• Professional or native fluency in English and French
• Minimum 3 years of relevant work experience in translation and interpretation; 5 years preferred
• BA/BS in translation, interpretation, English Literature, communication, or related field
• Experience working in similar context as West Africa
• Ability to think and problem-solve creatively
• Previous or desired experience in energy sector
• Previous or desired work experience with USAID or other international organizations
• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills and ability to solve complex problems
• Ability to engage in project ASAP through December 2020