European Commission Seeks Policy Officer for Master’s in Translation Program

As of June 6, 2023, the European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for Translation (DGT) has ceased accepting applications for “an interesting and diversified job” — official title, Policy Officer for Development of translation profession; (capitalization as per the original).

As the EC vacancies page explains, DGT, entrusted with upholding the European Union’s policy of multilingualism, is the world’s largest provider of public language services, specifically translation and linguistic advice in all of the EU’s official languages.

The EMT network falls under Unit R.4, part of DGT’s Resource Directorate, staffed by about 20 professionals in Luxembourg and in Brussels, where the Policy Officer would be based. The job post describes DGT’s office culture as “informal, friendly, and cooperative.”

The Policy Officer’s responsibilities center on coordinating the European Master’s in Translation (EMT) network, including related programming, such as the Visiting Translator Scheme and traineeships, as needed.

Beyond the EMT selection procedure, follow-up, and implementation, the Policy Offer will organize biannual EMT network events, draft internal and external communications, liaise with participating universities, and maintain the EMT webpage and social media presence. 

According to the job post, the ideal candidate will possess good project management skills (a requirement for many roles in the language industry), as well as strong linguistic abilities in both French and English — CEFR levels C1 and C2, respectively — since the Policy Officer will be expected to draft in both languages.

They should also be a “proficient user of corporate IT tools,” such as Microsoft Suite — not including generative AI (at least, not yet).

While the duties have been ongoing for at least 15 years, the job description states simply that “an official/temporary agent” will supervise the Policy Officer’s work.

DGT posted the vacancy on May 30, 2023, with a deadline of June 6, 2023. The tight window begs the question: Does DGT have an internal candidate in mind for the post? Outside observers will only know once the role is filled. 

Editor’s Note: This article was updated to clarify the DGT unit staffed by 20 professionals and to include a history of the role’s duties.