External Translation Unit

The Directorate-General for Translation (DG TRAD) provides the European Parliament with translation and other linguistic services for its communication in all official and working languages of the European Union.

Our mission is:

• To support the Members and administration of the European Parliament by making all content related to Parliament’s legislative, budgetary and scrutiny activities accessible in all official and working languages of the EU, ensuring transparency and legitimacy in these core functions;
• To uphold the European Parliament’s commitment to multilingualism, enabling equal treatment of all official and working languages and ensuring that all EU citizens can access and communicate with Parliament in these languages;
• To deliver high-quality multilingual communication services to the Members and administration of the European Parliament in text, audio and video formats, in a manner that is clear, inclusive and accessible to all citizens, including those with disabilities;
• To ensure that all language services provided by DG TRAD are delivered efficiently and sustainably, integrating innovative technologies and professional standards to meet the evolving needs of the European Parliament.

As a translation trainee in the Placement Team of the External Translation Unit of the European Parliament, you will have the opportunity to work in a multilingual and multicultural environment, gaining a thorough knowledge about outsourcing policies of the EP. On average, the ETU is responsible for outsourcing 30% of the translation work of the European Parliament involving 5 different kinds of tenders with more than 100 external partners (both individual translators and large translation service providers).

As the member of a team of 10 your task will be mainly to place translation requests with external contractors into all official languages of the European Union, and into non-official languages, too. The tasks involve negotiation with both the language units, other in-house units and the external contractors, verifying compliance with contracts and problem solving.

You will have the possibility to learn about the life, tasks and problems of a civil servant in a European institution, the functioning of DG TRAD and all its activities, follow closely new policies in this area and learn the use of in-house IT tools. Your task will also be to suggest any changes that a newcomer might notice which would contribute to a more efficient functioning of the service.

During the traineeship, you will also have contact with the other entities in the Directorate that are involved in the preparation of outsourcing material. In particular, you will liaise with the Terminology Coordination Unit and have the opportunity to engage in communication activities related to terminology, notably via the publication of articles and the management of websites and social media accounts.

As a prospective translation trainee:

• You have excellent command of English, spoken and written;
• You possess strong team-working and communication skills, which will enable you to work as part of a team of operators;
• You are interested in the business side of translation and would like to see it from another perspective, i.e. outsourcing in a European institution;
• You have a sense of responsibility working with external companies and individuals in an activity that involves creating purchase orders;
• You are conscious of the importance of working to and within strict deadlines.
• You are open-minded and flexible;
• You have good organisational and interpersonal skills;

If you are interested in this offer, please submit a motivation letter in English summarising your educational background and your reasons for applying. The motivation letter should not be longer than [600] words.

Please also submit relevant supporting documents (university diplomas, course transcripts, etc.). The motivation letter and the supporting documents are to be uploaded as a single PDF file.

The European Parliament is dedicated to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace. We welcome all candidates, regardless of their geographical, racial or ethnic origin, political or religious beliefs, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, civil status, or family situation.