EU Integration Linguistic Specialist

The Specialist ensures the legal and linguistic integrity of translated EU legislation by developing conformity standards and providing expert technical guidance to national institutions on acquis preparation and terminology management.

The Project “Support to European Integration of North Macedonia” supports North Macedonia’s EU accession negotiations and strengthens the country’s capacity to manage the overall European Union (EU) integration process. The Project is funded by Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the Ministry for European Affairs, and is implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

The Project’s goal is to enhance the country’s preparedness for EU membership by strengthening institutional capacities, coordination mechanisms, good governance, and public engagement in the EU reform process. In this context, the Project supports the Government to further strengthen its institutional, technical, and administrative capacity to advance EU accession priorities.

The Project will support the preparation of the national version of the EU acquis through institutional, technical, and capacity-development support including analysing regional and European practices and developing recommendations for coordination of translation, legal and expert revision, and terminology management. It will also help define institutional arrangements for verifying translated texts and strengthen capacities, tools, and systems to ensure a more efficient, consistent, and sustainable acquis preparation process.

Under the supervision of Project Manager, the EU Integration Linguistic Specialist is responsible for ensuring that translated EU legislation is legally accurate and linguistically consistent. The primary goal is to create and maintain a high-quality manual for legal-linguistic conformity while advising national institutions on how to prepare the national version of the EU acquis. 

The main focus is to develop and maintain a high-quality manual on legal-linguistic conformity, while providing technical advice to national institutions on the preparation of the national version of the EU acquis. The role also includes providing technical guidance on the legal and expert review of translated texts and on terminology management, in close cooperation with relevant institutions. 

1. Technical Maintenance and Alignment of the Translation Manual

• Update the existing Manual for Translation of EU Acquis, ensuring its alignment with EU legal drafting principles and best practices in legal-linguistic harmonisation. 
• Apply methodological standards within  the Manual to provide clear guidance on preserving legal meaning, normative structure and legal effect, in line with the principle of legal equivalence. 
• Provide expert validation of technical approaches to  ensure their applicability across different sectors of the acquis. 
• Maintain the manual to be accessible and easily navigable for users and as a quality assurance framework for legal-linguistic review. 
• Ensure translated laws keep the same legal meaning and effect as the original EU acts through the consistent application of manual standards. 

2. Expert Legal-Linguistic Review and Quality Control

• Review translated acquis-related legislation for legal and linguistic accuracy, ensuring compliance with relevant standards and regulations
• Identify and correct errors in translation, grammar, syntax, and legal terminology.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts and stakeholders to gather input and ensure the manual's accuracy and relevance.
• Verify  that translated legislation is consistent with the original source text and accurately reflects the intended meaning.
• Maintain a record of all reviewed legislation and track any identified errors or issues.

3. Technical Support and Coordination

• Provide technical support to the design  coordination models for translation and terminology management. 
• Support the international expert and relevant national institutions in building operational coordination models for translation and revision. 
• Contribute to the consistent application of legal-linguistic standards across institutions, with a view to promoting a coherent and harmonised approach to Acquis translation and revision.
• Provide expert input, local context, and practical insights to support the international expert in addressing complex issues related to legal interpretation, terminology, and legal transposition.

4. Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing

• Design and lead at least two advanced training sessions and one workshop for translators and legal professionals.
• Provide ongoing technical support and guidance to strengthen national institutions.
• Create user-friendly guides and case studies that highlight common translation challenges and their solutions.