Head, French Language Section

INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
- ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies, with the mission to connect the world. To achieve this, ITU manages the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits at the international level, works to improve communication infrastructure in the developing world, and establishes global standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communication systems._

**Head, French Language Section**

**Vacancy notice no**: 1849
**Sector**: SG
**Department**: C&P
**Country of contract**: Switzerland
**Duty station**: Geneva

**Position number**: CF20/P5/619
**Grade**: P5
**Type of contract**: Fixed-term
**Duration of contract**: 2 years with possibility of renewal
**Recruitment open to**:External
**Application deadline (Midnight Geneva Time)**: 13 January 2025

ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT

The General Secretariat directs administrative, human and financial resources and activities of the Union, including the implementation of the provisions of the administrative regulations on operational questions, the dissemination of information on telecommunication/ICT matters for operational and other purposes, and the provision of legal advice to the whole of the Union. The General Secretariat coordinates the implementation of the Strategic Plan, monitors the telecommunication/ICT environment and recommends as needed action relating to the Union’s future policies and strategy. The General Secretariat ensures inter-sectoral coordination and cooperation to advance a whole of ITU approach (One-ITU) in headquarters and the field. The General Secretariat provides logístical and information technology support to the Union’s activities including conferences and global forums; the coordination of the work of the Union with the United Nations system, and other international organizations; and the engagement of the Member States, Sector Members, and Academia. The General Secretariat manages corporate governance, and strategic communications and relations with the media, different stakeholder groups as well as the general public.

The Conferences and Publications Department is responsible for ensuring communication between people involved in ITU activities and for the dissemination of ITU products, through its conference services (conference organization and logistics), language services (translation and interpretation in the six official languages, précis-writing, terminology and reference services) and documentation and publications services (text capture and text processing, electronic document management, publication composition, reproduction and distribution of paper and physical electronic products).

**ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT**:
Under the supervision of the Chief, C&P, the Head of French Language Section serves as leader for the team and provides authoritative expertise for all assigned responsibilities to deliver Section outputs within prescribed time, cost and quality standards and foster a collaborative spirit and cooperation to achieve results.

**DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES**:

- Plans the human resources of the Section, based on the workload and the forecast, from recruitment and training to evaluation, as well as the outsourcing of work to translation companies or consultants. Allocates the work of the Section ensuring sufficient human resources at all times, within the available budget. Oversees the compilation of statistics for the work of the Section. Closely monitors and approves overtime work within the Section. Ensures continuous learning and development plans for staff.
- Supervises and monitors the quality of the work done in the French Language Section. Supervises closely and oversees training of new translators. Advises the General Secretariat and Bureaus of the Union on translating, post-editing or text-processing problems. Creates and advises on style guidelines for the French language.
- Participates in discussions and provides input to Department-wide projects such as guidelines, Service Orders, JIU or Internal Auditors’ reports as necessary.
- Participates in the testing and evaluating of new machine translation engines, post-editing tools, speech to text tools and their implementation, evaluating and providing feedback for projects relating to other computer-aided translation (CAT) tools such as eLuna, especially with regard to their applicability and limitations.
- Translates, revises and edits particularly important or sensitive texts.
- Participates in ITU conferences as team leader, reviser or translator; participates in the work of editorial committees when necessary.
- Participates in work relating to terminology and the setting of terminology standards; contributes to the establishment of an accurate multilingual term base.
- Performs other related duties as assigned.

**CORE COMPETENCIES**:
**FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES**:

- Analysis, Judgement and Decision Making- Client and Service Orientation- Innovation