Head of Global Language Services (LSE)

Job Posting Organization:
INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, established in 1923, with 196 Member Countries. Its mission is to facilitate cross-border police cooperation and support organizations, authorities, and services in preventing and combating international crime. INTERPOL actively encourages applications from women and nationals of member countries that are currently unrepresented among its staff, promoting diversity and inclusion within its workforce. The organization operates globally, providing a platform for international collaboration in law enforcement.

Job Overview:
The Head of Global Language Services is responsible for providing strategic leadership and operational oversight of all multilingual services and institutional document and archive management across INTERPOL. This role ensures the timely, accurate, secure, and consistent delivery of linguistic support in the Organization’s four working languages: Arabic, English, French, and Spanish. The incumbent will transform Language Services into a digitally empowered, revision-centric, and automation-driven unit, leveraging INTERPOL’s vast repository of previously translated documents, standardized terminology, and institutional style guides. The position also involves integrating machine translation as a pre-translation tool, ensuring that all linguistic outputs meet the highest standards of accuracy and cultural appropriateness, while managing the archival and retrieval of institutional records in compliance with INTERPOL’s policies.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Strategic leadership and digital transformation of Language Services and Document Services: Lead and coordinate the Department, ensuring alignment of objectives and quality standards across all functions. Drive the digital transformation of Language Services, transitioning to AI-assisted revision workflows. Collaborate with Heads of Language Services to implement AI and machine translation tools, define translation revision protocols, and establish quality metrics. Develop and implement a Global Language Services Strategy with strategic KPIs.
• Outsourcing, Administrative and Financial Management: Prepare and manage the annual budget for Language Services, conduct cost-benefit analyses for new tools, and coordinate with Procurement for language technology solutions.
• Team Management, Performance Oversight and Resource Optimization: Lead and develop a multidisciplinary team of language professionals, manage performance, and align staffing capacity with operational demand.
• Client Engagement and Institutional Representation: Act as the primary liaison between Language Services and client departments, collect and analyze client feedback, and represent INTERPOL at international forums.
• Document and Archive Management Oversight: Oversee the implementation of INTERPOL’s Archive and Document Management Policy, ensuring proper recording and archiving of documents.
• Other tasks as required by the hierarchy.

Required Qualifications:
Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Translation, Linguistics, International Relations, Information Management, or a closely related field. Minimum of eight years of progressive experience in language services within an international organization or high-complexity multilingual environment, with at least three years in a managerial role overseeing translation teams or language technology initiatives. Proven track record in leading AI/machine translation implementation, managing terminology governance, and overseeing document management systems in a regulated environment.

Educational Background:
Candidates must possess an advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in relevant fields such as Translation, Linguistics, International Relations, or Information Management. This educational background is essential for understanding the complexities of language services and the operational needs of INTERPOL.

Experience:
Candidates should have a minimum of eight years of progressive experience in language services, particularly within international organizations or high-complexity multilingual environments. At least three years should be in a managerial or leadership role, demonstrating the ability to oversee translation teams and language technology initiatives effectively.

Languages:
Fluency in English is required, and proficiency in a second official working language of the Organization (Arabic, French, or Spanish) is considered an additional asset. This linguistic capability is crucial for effective communication and service delivery within the multilingual context of INTERPOL.

Additional Notes:
The position is a fixed-term contract for a duration of 36 months, with the possibility of extension subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funds. The role requires a basic level of security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security-screening" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security screening and involves managing a multidisciplinary team. Selected candidates are expected to report for duty approximately two to three months after receiving an offer of employment. The recruitment process is merit-based, and candidates must provide official proof of employment for their professional experience.