Sign Language Interpreter

Class Concept

Positions in this class provide direct interpreting services for staff and eligible consumers served by other agencies and organizations. Work in this class involves providing interpreting services as a staff interpreter based on demonstrated skill level of the employee and the complexity of the setting. Interpreting services are provided for a wide array of clients of different educational and socio-economic backgrounds that require various methods of communication. Staff interpreters are typically utilized in settings to include office environments and may include more complex situations: administrative, legislative, medical, financial, legal, employment, training, and community meetings or functions. Employees are often required to research and understand terminology specific to assignments. Employees are often utilized in settings where the language dialect and educational levels of the clients may vary widely. Employees may be required to coordinate interpreter services which includes evaluating situations and determining type of skills needed, monitoring the quality of interpreter services, and working with agencies to set up procedures to utilize interpreters. Employees may be utilized to design, develop and/or provide training to sign language interpreters or consumers and to function as mentors to sign language interpreters.

Employees may also be required to perform other related duties as determined by management for a small percentage of time.

Recruitment Requirements

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Working knowledge of interpreting practices and processing models (long term memory, short term memory, visualization, monitoring, language fluency, evaluation, assessment, etc.)
• Working knowledge of State and Federal laws as they relate to communication access.
• Working knowledge of human services agencies which serve the deaf.
• Working knowledge of current developments, trends, and techniques in the field of interpreting.
• Thorough knowledge of deafness and deaf culture.
• Advanced skill in interpreting and transliterating, as well as conveying the thought, intent and spirit of a speaker both sign to voice and voice to sign.
• Ability to assess communication skill level of client and exercise judgment in determining service to be rendered and ability to communicate clearly in writing, orally and in sign language. .
• Ability to interpret and transliterate in a variety of settings and for a variety of consumers with various registers including formal to intimate.
• Ability to maintain high professional standards in compliance with the interpreter code of professional conduct.
• Ability to monitor, assess and evaluate interpreting skills of others and ability to research, develop and present training.

Minimum Education and Experience

Bachelor's degree in an interpreter training program from an appropriately accredited institution and two years of professional interpreting experience in a community, business, or government program; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Necessary Special Requirements

If applicable as defined by GS 90D, meets the requirements for licensure as determined by the North Carolina Interpreter and Transliterator Licensing Board.