Jurilinguist (French to English)

Important messages

We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process. If you need to be accommodated during any phase of the evaluation process, please use the Contact information below to request specialized accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Assessment accommodation

Giving you the best chance to succeed! Applications for employment must be submitted ONLINE in the Public Service Resourcing System. You must provide responses to screening questions and your resume. Normally, applicants will not be solicited for incomplete or possible missing information.

Persons who are unable to apply on-line must contact prior to the closing date.

Duties

Jurilinguists are an integral part of the process of preparing judgments and orders of the Supreme Court of Canada and, as such, participate at various points in that process. They are primarily responsible for revising translations of judgments and orders to ensure consistency of meaning and linguistic and jurilinguistic quality. Their duties also include the provision of other services (editing of original texts, writing assistance, and linguistic and jurilinguistic advice).

As a jurilinguist, you will therefore be required, among other things,

• to compare the French and English versions of complex and sensitive legal texts that are to be published, with a view to identifying discrepancies between the two versions and making appropriate corrections and improvements to the translation;

• to produce, when needed, faithful and idiomatic translations — from French to English — of legal and other texts; and

• to propose linguistic improvements to a variety of texts written in English, including complex and sensitive texts that are to be published.

Work environment

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) is Canada’s final court of appeal. The SCC is a bilingual institution that hears cases in French and English, in all areas of the law, such as family, criminal, and tax law. It decides cases from Canada’s two major legal traditions, common and civil law. Its decisions affect the lives of all Canadians. The SCC recognizes that a key element necessary in achieving and retaining a representative workforce is providing a supportive work environment and fostering a corporate culture that is welcoming to all employees, including designated group members. According to the most recent public service employee surveys, the SCC is one of the best places to work in the federal public service. Given that the SCC is not served by Pay Center, it has its own compensation team responsible for administering the full range of pay and benefit transactions in Phoenix and MyGCHR.

Intent of the process

This advertised process will be used to fill a vacancy at the EC-07 group and level. Should no candidate qualify at the EC-07 level, a candidate who has qualified at the EC-06 level may be recruited at that level to participate in an internal development program whose purpose is to prepare such employees to attain the autonomy needed to qualify for the EC-07 level. Please note that the merit criteria are the same for both levels; the level of competency demonstrated by candidates throughout the recruitment process will determine whether the successful candidate is recruited at the EC-06 or the EC-07 level.

Candidates already at level (or equivalent) may be considered for a deployment.

This process may also be used to create a partially or fully qualified pool of candidates and may be used to staff future vacancies for identical or similar positions (indeterminate, deployment, specified period appointment, acting, assignment or secondment) where the linguistic profile, tenure and security clearance may vary according to the position being staffed.

Positions to be filled: 1

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

A covering letter "in which you clearly identify how you meet the essential education and experience criteria as well as any asset experience (if applicable) outlined on this job advertisement. You must provide clear and specific examples and provide sufficient information to allow for the selection committee to assess the depth and breadth of experience against the sought after qualifications (what, where, when, how, etc.). The examples you provide should clearly explain what your role and responsibilities were in those situations. Failure to provide an appropriate cover letter could result in the rejection of your application. Your résumé may be used as a secondary source to validate your examples. You will not be solicited for incomplete or possible missing information."

In order to be considered, your application must clearly explain how you meet the following (essential qualifications)

EDUCATION:

Degree in law from a recognized university and acceptable combination of education, training and experience in translation and revision.
OR
Degree in translation or in a related field of study (e.g. English language or literature) from a recognized university and acceptable combination of education, training and experience relevant to the field of law.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE:

Extensive experience* in legal translation and revision from French to English.

* “Extensive experience” means at least six (6) years of experience translating and/or revising legal texts, with such activities representing at least 80% of everyday tasks.

The following will be applied / assessed at a later date (essential for the job)

Bilingual - Imperative (PPB/PPB)
This position requires the use of both official languages. The requirements are an expert proficiency (P) in reading and writing in English as well as in French, and an intermediate level (B) in oral interaction.

Information on language requirements

KNOWLEDGE:

Command of the English language.
Knowledge of legal terminology and of jurilinguistics.
Knowledge of the principles and practices of translation and revision.
Knowledge of legal and language research tools and techniques.

ABILITIES:

Ability to compare the French and English versions of complex and sensitive legal texts that are to be published, with a view to identifying discrepancies between the two versions and making appropriate corrections and improvements to the translation.
Ability to produce, when needed, faithful and idiomatic translations — from French to English — of legal and other texts.
Ability to propose linguistic improvements to a variety of texts written in English, including complex and sensitive texts that are to be published.
Ability to work under pressure.

PERSONAL SUITABILITY:

Judgment
Attention to detail
Effective interpersonal relations
Reliability

The following may be applied / assessed at a later date (may be needed for the job)

ASSET EXPERIENCE:

Experience translating and/or revising translations of judicial decisions.

Selection may be limited to members of the following Employment Equity groups: Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, women

Information on employment equity

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENT:

Willingness and ability to work overtime on occasion.

Conditions of employment

Secret security clearance

Other information

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians we serve. We promote employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the designated groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

A random and/or top down selection of candidates may be used in the determination of those to be given further consideration in the assessment process.

Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language of their choice.

All communication and information obtained throughout the selection process, from the time of application to the close of process, may be used in the assessment of qualifications.

Our intention is to communicate with candidates via email. Candidates who apply on this selection process must include in their application a valid e-mail address and make sure that this address is functional at all times and accepts messages from unknown users (some email systems block these types of email). It is the candidate’s responsibility to provide any changes to their personal information to the contact indicated on this job advertisement.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans first and then to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, with the exception of a job located in Nunavut, where Nunavut Inuit will be appointed first.

Information on the preference to veterans

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.