ABSTRACT
Systematic comparative analyses of the profiles and skills required to work for the translation services of international organizations remain scarce. This chapter sheds light on recent institutional needs and expectations by comparing the job descriptors and requirements for translator and reviser positions in a corpus of vacancy notices published between 2005 and 2020, encompassing several representative organizations of varying sizes and domain specializations. The quantitative and qualitative examination of notices was informed by an additional keyword analysis and interviews conducted with translation service managers as part of the LETRINT project on institutional translation. The study identifies key similarities and differences between the duties, competences, and academic and professional backgrounds covered by each institution’s notices, as well as the changes derived from technological advances. The comparative analysis reveals three clusters of profile features in line with the organizations’ varied nature: the larger United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) translation services (with a broad-based approach to qualifying conditions), the international courts (more focused on legal translation profiles) and medium-sized inter-governmental organizations (with tailored specialization requirements and more emphasis on computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools). Finally, the study discusses the implications of the recruitment approaches reviewed.
