Occ. Code 2263500

TRANSLATOR, GRADE 14	2263500
TRANSLATOR (MANUAL COMMUNICATIONS), GRADE 14	2263510

New York State Department of Civil Service

Classification Standard

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CLASS SERIES

            Positions in this series translate verbal and written communication from one language to another (i.e., English to Spanish, Spanish to English).  Incumbents must be able to communicate ideas using proper syntax and grammar; accurately and precisely edit materials; analyze and research abstract pertinent material; and may coordinate the translation of other languages with other State and local agencies. 

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

TRANSLATOR: proficiently translates verbal and written communication between English and another language; interprets ideas conveyed in verbal and written language; is proficient in and reflects the cultural context and nuances of the source and target languages of the languages involved in the translation or interpretation.

ILLUSTRATIVE DUTIES

· Translate official, technical, medical, and legal documents, certificates, letters and other written material, and audio recordings into English or another language.

· Translate, edit, and proofread rules, regulations, and policy brochures and manuals for use by patients, consumers, inmates, and employees.

· Translate correspondence, letters, notes, and conversations between patients, consumers, inmates, their families, and health care providers.

· Translate research documents, including surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and patient, consumer, inmate, and employee satisfaction surveys.

· May use translation skills to assist people filling out applications, forms, and other documents.

· May represent agency management in the administration of examinations in another language to patients, consumers, inmates, and employees, including the administration of foreign language proficiency examinations.

· May interpret for clinical staff conducting clinical evaluations to assist them in reaching diagnoses, treatment plans, and medication interventions.

· May interpret details of patient treatment, clinical staff instructions for treatment planning, medication administration, education, and discharge planning to patients, families, and caregivers.  This may include translating and interpreting complex and confidential medical and mental health information.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Open competitive and Non-competitive:

            Bachelors degree in a language other than English; or a bachelors degree in any field supplemented by 12 credit hours in a language other than English and one year of full-time experience translating from that language to English and from English to the other language.

Attachment

Date:  3/13

NOTE: Classification Standards illustrate the nature, extent, and scope of duties and responsibilities of the classes they describe.  Standards cannot and do not include all of the work that might be appropriately performed by a class.  The minimum qualifications above are those which were required for appointment at the time the Classification Standard was written.  Please contact the Division of Staffing Services for current information on minimum qualification requirements for appointment or examination.

Parenthetic Attachment

Translator (Manual Communications): coordinate sign language interpreting services for individuals who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing; and translate, communicate, and interpret from a verbal spoken language (i.e., English into American Sign Language (ASL) and from ASL into a verbal spoken language.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Non-competitive: Certification by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. (RID); or a passing score on the written portion of the RID certification examination and two years of experience providing sign language interpretive services; or a rating of intermediate or above on the Sign Communication Proficiency Interview conducted by the national Technical Institute for the Deaf.