Translation Specialist

** This is an onsite role where applicants should reside within the MA area to be considered for this position.**

Role Overview:

The Translation Specialist will join our team at an emergency shelter and be a critical part of our team supporting case managers and clients. The ideal candidate will be proficient in translating critical documents and spoken communication with focus on medical, social services, and shelter-specific terminology. This role will also provide essential administrative support to shelter team members with various tasks to support the shelter’s day-to-day operations. 

This position requires regular on-site presence at the assigned at an emergency shelter within Massachusetts. This position might require occasional travel to various client locations such as schools, doctors' offices,  and other vendors that interact with clients. 

Responsibilities:

• Recognize cultural differences between families and providers and facilitates communication, bridging cultural gaps
• Ability to preserve the tone and emotional level of the speaker, as well as manage the delivery, speed, and length of the statement (projection, pace and pausing) of the speaker
• Maintain professionalism and expectations of interpreting service standards
• Respond to the interpreting sessions promptly and conduct interpretation in a friendly and professional manner.
• Render correct concepts and meanings according to the conventions of established interpretation protocol, avoiding omissions or additions.
• Act as an on-site translator for meetings between clients and case managers, ensuring clear, compassionate communication across language barriers.
• Follow up with internal team members and clients to ensure translations meet their needs.
• Assist assigned families to local resources such as medical, school, employment, transportation or other necessities that could hindrance successful housing placement
• Collaborate with various Case Managers to ensure smooth transitions of family support
• Assist case managers with client intake processes, data entry, and file management to enhance service delivery.
• Coordinate scheduling for client appointments, maintaining up-to-date and organized client records.
• Participate in team meetings to provide insights on client communication needs and support administrative tasks as needed
• Primary focus is to interpret between families and others (eg, with school/daycare providers, MassHealth, DTA, etc).
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Qualifications & Skills:

• Certified translator in Haitian Creole is required prior to starting
• Minimum of High School Diploma is required, Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Previous experience working within Emergency & Family Shelter settings preferred
• Experience working with individuals who have recently immigrated to the US, particularly from Haiti is preferred
• Requires excellent interpersonal skills in order to communicate and work with staff and external partners of all skill and experience levels
• Must be able to work collaboratively and create an atmosphere of trust and respect within project teams and with external partners
• Must be highly organized and self-directed with a proven ability to work with supervision on projects of a diverse nature
• Intermediate Computer skills:  including Excel,  pivot tables, lookup functions, etc and other Microsoft Office products. 
• High sense of diplomacy to recognize politically sensitive issues
• Ability to take personal initiative and work independently, as well as part of a team
• Valid Massachusetts Drivers License as well as consistent, reliable transportation with the ability to travel throughout Massachusetts
• Additional Language Abilities is required (Haitian Creole and/or Spanish) 

Diversity & Inclusion:

At Activate Care, we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, military, and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Activate Care believes that diversity and inclusion among our teammates is critical to our success as a company, and we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.

The Company will not sponsor applicants for work visas at this time.