About CIVICUS
CIVICUS is a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world. Established in 1993, since 2002 we have been proudly headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with additional hubs across the globe. The Alliance currently comprises over 15,000 members in more than 175 countries.
Description of the role
The purpose of this consultancy is to provide interpretation services across a range of external and internal meetings organised by CIVICUS. The consultancy will be coordinated by the Communications department, but will involve working with a wide variety of departments in the organisation. The consultant will provide translation for selected content in the following language pairs:
- English to Spanish
- Spanish to English
On average, it is estimated that the interpreter will be required to provide live interpretation for between 3-5 events per months. The average length of events will be 90 minutes. The successful applicant will be added to CIVICUS' Preferred Supplier List and may receive additional requests which can be assessed based on relevance and availability.
- Location: Remote
- Duration: July 2026-June 2028
- Type of contract arrangement: Services commissioned on an as-needed basis. Volume of work can fluctuate over course of consultancy.
- Application deadline: 24 April 2026
Specific tasks and responsibilities
- Provide live interpretation of online events.
- Acting as Interpreter between a wide range of people with diverse voices, accents, speaking tempos and personalities.
- Providing audiences with clear translations of presentation materials, and interpretations of verbal communication.
- Providing interpretations of questions, answers, statements, arguments, explanations and other forms of verbal communication.
- Prepare subtitles for videos and online presentations.
- Other tasks to support translation of content, as assigned.
Requirements
- Fluency in English and Spanish and excellent communication skills in both languages.
- Minimum of three years work experience as an interpreter, ideally in the civil society sector.
- Previous experience of working with civil society, civic space and human rights issues and demonstrated understanding of current dynamics of closing civic space will be considered an asset.
- Ability to work under pressure and in live environments
- Ability to work as part of a team and to work remotely across time zones.
Location and timeframe
This is not a location-specific consultancy; however, the interpreter is required to be online and available for a portion of the day which overlaps with other members of the team working. Specific arrangements in this regard are to be agreed between the successful candidate and the Communications Department. The interpreter will also be required to undertake electronic communication through email, instant messenger and online call services, and other platforms commonly used by remote teams.
This is a consultancy beginning from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2028. There will be a review of the work of the interpreter after three months to ensure the system is working according to expectations. The consultant will be paid on a monthly basis, based on the number of events that have been interpreted in the month and according to a fixed fee per hour to be agreed in advance.
Reporting
There is no formal reporting requirement envisaged as part of this Agreement. Instead, the interpreter will be required to provide oral updates during calls with a member of the Communications Department, during team calls and by email, as required and as agreed jointly with a focal point from the Communications Department.
How to apply
Interested candidates should email with their CV, a cover letter and at least two examples illustrating their interpretation experience. The deadline for applications is 24 April 2026. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates may also be required to undertake a short interpretation exercise.
To submit proposals
To submit an expression of interest, please submit the following, with the subject line "Interpreter proposal- Your Name"
- Budget/cost estimate. As this will be a regular working relationship, a hourly rate is encouraged.
- CV and portfolio/examples of similar interpretation assignments.
