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Recruitment at the Northern Ireland Assembly

Interpreter/Translator (Irish Language) Recruitment Opportunity

Candidate Information Booklet

Download as a PDF (13 pages, 892KB) ""

Assembly Grade: 6

Salary: £44,039 – £45,318

Deadline: Completed Application Forms must be submitted no later than 12 noon (UK time) on Wednesday 25 November 2026.

Please retain a copy of this booklet for your reference throughout the selection process (you can download a PDF version of this booklet using the link above).

Foreword

Thank you for your interest in the position of Interpreter/Translator(Irish Language) AG6 in the Northern Ireland Assembly (the Assembly).

The Assembly operates in a dynamic political and parliamentary environment, and as a newly appointed Interpreter/Translator(Irish Language) you will be provided with an excellent opportunity to make an important and valued contribution to the work of the Assembly at Parliament Buildings.

Working at the Assembly offers a rewarding career. This is an exciting opportunity to join a high-profile organisation with a dedicated and inclusive team.

In turn, we offer a competitive salary and an excellent pension provision where you contribute 5.65% of salary and the Assembly Commission will contribute a further 34.25%.We offer an annual leave allocation of 25 days, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30 days. In addition, we offer 12 days of public and privilege holidays. We also offer a range of other employee benefits listed on the Recruitment website.

Please read the information provided in the candidate information booklet carefully and if you would like to find out more about the post before making an application please contact Luke Gibbons at  [email protected] or telephone 02890 521456.

Gareth McGrath, Director of Parliamentary Services.

Gareth McGrath, Director of Parliamentary Services

 

About Us

The Assembly is at the heart of political and public life as the democratically elected parliament that represents the interests of Northern Ireland and its people.

Established as a key element of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, the Assembly comprises 90 Members and has three main functions – making legislation, scrutinising the work of the Executive and representing constituents. It is the prime source of authority in respect of all devolved responsibilities.

In accordance with the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the staff, services and facilities which are needed to support the work of the Assembly are provided by the Assembly Commission, a corporate body comprising the Speaker and five Members.. The day-to-day running of the Assembly is delegated to the Clerk/Chief Executive and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).

The Assembly Commission therefore provides the infrastructure (including Parliament Buildings), facilities and staff to allow the Assembly and its Committees to meet and to encourage public awareness of, and engagement with, the parliamentary process. It also pays the salaries of Members and reimburses the expenses which enable them to undertake their duties both at the Assembly and in their constituency offices.

The Assembly Commission is a high-achieving and professional organisation providing impartial support to the Assembly and its Members. The Assembly Commission is independent of the Executive and the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

The Assembly Commission has approximately 400 staff and an annual budget of approximately £70m. Our organisational structure is illustrated on the Northern Ireland Assembly Recruitment website.

Contents

About the Role

The Interpretation and Translation Service is part of the Office of the Official Report (Hansard), which is responsible for producing the official reports of Assembly plenary and Committee business, and a range of other reporting and editorial services.

An official report is a substantially verbatim transcript of proceedings; it records what was said as well as what was decided. Hansard reports proceedings in the language used by those speaking, and staff in the Interpretation and Translation Service provide a simultaneous passive interpretation service to ensure that a person without Irish is not placed at a disadvantage during Assembly plenary and Committee meetings. In addition, the Interpretation and Translation Service provides text translation and other miscellaneous services in respect of Irish.

The Assembly Commission wishes to appoint an Interpreter/Translator (Irish Language) with excellent interpreting, text translation and editorial skills in respect of the Irish language.

The person appointed will be expected to undertake simultaneous interpretation and text translation duties and may also be expected to provide parliamentary reporting and editorial services in Irish and English.

The Person

As a an Interpreter/Translator (Irish Language), you will be able to work effectively within a busy team, showing excellent attention to detail and first-rate Irish/English interpretation and translation skills. You will be able to communicate clearly and confidently. You will have an interest in the politics of and political system in Northern Ireland, as well as an appreciation of how and where the Northern Ireland Assembly sits within the wider political landscape.

You must also be willing and keen to adopt a customer-facing focus, as you engage with a wide range of people involved within business at Parliament Buildings.

Core Responsibilities

The main duties of the role include:

  • provide Irish to English, and on occasion vice versa, simultaneous interpretation fluently, confidently and accurately for Assembly plenary sittings, Committee meetings and any other events/functions as required;
  • provide a written report of any Irish used during Assembly plenary sittings, Committee meetings and other events/functions as required;
  • provide miscellaneous parliamentary reporting and editorial services and advice in respect of Irish and English, including the translation of text, production of subtitles etc;
  • work independently and as part of a wider team to produce excellent results;
  • act on advice and direction from managers and undertake any reasonable task as and when required;
  • manage your own performance and take the initiative to identify your personal development needs and how those needs can be met;
  • perform the duties in line with the scheduling and timing of Assembly business, which can mean working, without notice, unsocial hours and being unable to take leave other than during recess periods, which are themselves subject to change.  
  • Comply with all of the Assembly Commission’s staff policies and procedures including Equal Opportunities and Dignity at Work policies and procedures and all mandatory training requirements.
  • Manage information and records in accordance with established policies and statutory requirements.
  • Carry out other duties that the Assembly Commission may reasonably require of you.

Essential Criteria

Applicants must, by the closing date for applications, have:

Route One

  • GCSE/GCE ‘O’ level passes at grades A to C in four subjects, other than English language, plus a GCSE/GCE ‘O’ level pass at grade A or A* in English language. AND
  • A recognised qualification in respect of the Irish language that is equivalent to or higher than A-level. AND
  • *Two years’ experience of simultaneous interpreting and translation in respect of the Irish language. AND
  • Excellent oral and written Irish and English knowledge and skills.

Applications will be considered from applicants with formal qualifications of an equivalent or higher standard to those stated. 

OR

Route Two

  • A recognised qualification in respect of the Irish language that is equivalent to or higher than A-level. AND
  • *Four years’ experience of simultaneous interpreting and translation in respect of the Irish language. AND
  • Excellent oral and written Irish and English knowledge and skills.

*Two or four years’ experience does not have to be continuous 

Assembly Commission Leadership Strengths (Leadership Strengths)

The role is a Leader and the following Leadership Strengths will be assessed during the selection process: Continuous Growth, Judgement, Building Effective Networks.

Equal Opportunities Statement

The Assembly Commission is committed to equality of opportunity in employment and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified applicants irrespective of religious belief, political opinion, race, age, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or people with dependents or without. All applications for employment will be considered on the basis of merit.

Location

The successful applicant will be based in Parliament Buildings, Belfast.

The Assembly Commission operates a Hybrid Working Policy. Within the Interpretation and Translation Service, the balance between working in Parliament Buildings and working at home is dependent on business and service need. In this role, you must be present in Parliament Buildings on days on which the Assembly is conducting plenary business, as well as on days on which an Assembly Committee is conducting business in the Irish language.

Completing the form

Only the information presented in the application form will be considered by the selection panel. CVs or other supplementary material will not be accepted in place of, or in addition to, completed application forms. Completed online forms must be submitted by 12 Noon (UK time) on 25 November 2026.

Launch the application portal and complete the application form.

Application forms submitted after the closing time and date will not be accepted.

Recruitment and Selection Framework

There are five elements within the Recruitment and Selection Framework:

The elements that will be assessed for this role are Experience, Ability, Technical and Leadership Strengths and the selection method(s) that will be used are detailed below. Further information on the Recruitment and Selection Framework are included in the Guidance on Recruitment and Selection for Applicants.

Stages of the Selection Process

Eligibility Sift

The essential criteria reflect the experience and knowledge that an applicant must possess in order to be able to undertake the role. An eligibility sift will be carried out on the basis of the information contained in the essential criteria section of the application form. You must therefore demonstrate clearly in your form how, and to what extent, you meet with the essential criteria for the post.

 Assessment Stage

Following a sift of applications to determine eligibility, applicants will be subject to testing in respect of their Irish to English interpreting skills; their Irish to English and vice versa translation skills; and their use of English. Only those applicants who meet the minimum standard and who score highest in the tests, will be considered for the next stage of the selection process: the interview.

Assessments are planned for week commencing: 30 November 2026

Interview Stage

Applicants invited to interview will be assessed using the Essential Criteria, and Leadership Strengths as outlined above.

Interviews are planned for week commencing: 07 January 2027

Further Interview Stage

The Selection Panel reserves the right to hold a further interview stage if deemed necessary. 

Disability Confident

The Assembly Commission is a Disability Confident Committed Employer and for our recruitment, we have committed to:

  • ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible;
  • communicating and promoting vacancies;
  • offering an interview to disabled people who meet the essential criteria for the job (the Guaranteed Interview Scheme); and
  • anticipating and providing reasonable adjustments as required.
The Guaranteed Interview Scheme

The Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) supports applicants with disabilities or those with a long-term impairment or health condition, that is expected to last for at least 12 months by offering an interview to disabled people who meet the essential criteria for the job. If you are applying under GIS it is therefore important that you include all relevant information in your application form. You should refer to the Guidance on Recruitment and Selection for Applicants for more information.

Where a Shortlisting Criteria is included, applicants applying under GIS will not be required to complete this section of the application form.

Where a job related assessment or test forms part of the selection process, all applicants must complete and meet the minimum standard required for that assessment or test, including those applying under GIS.

Reasonable Adjustments

If you require adjustments to assist you to participate in any part of the selection process, please indicate this on the application form or contact us at [email protected].  Please note that you will be required to provide written confirmation of your disability from a general practitioner or an appropriate specialist when requested by the Human Resources Office. If you do not have written confirmation available at the time of submitting your application, please arrange to obtain it at the earliest opportunity so that you can provide it promptly when requested to do so.

You can get advice or assistance with making an application from your local Jobs and Benefits Office – contact details are available on nidirect:

Find contact details for your local Jobs and Benefits Office.

Key Employee Benefits

We offer a competitive salary, excellent pension provision and generous annual leave allowance.

We also offer a range of non-salary benefits which include hybrid working, subject to business need; supportive family friendly policies; flexi-time; health and well-being initiatives, including an Employee Assistance Programme; supported learning and development; Cycle to Work Scheme; Payroll Giving; and volunteering opportunities.

The successful applicant will be given suitable training, including formal specialised courses as necessary.

As an equal opportunities employer, we are happy to talk about the possibility of flexible working in this role with the successful applicant.

View further details of our employee benefits.

Terms and Conditions of Appointment

All appointments are subject to the satisfactory completion of pre-appointment checks which will include security vetting to Counter Terrorism Check (CTC) level.

The successful candidate will first be required to satisfactorily complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks and, as part of this process, candidates will be required to provide documentation and information to verify:

  • your identity.
  • your right to work in the UK.
  • *Your employment, academic history and/or qualifications where applicable for the previous three years; and
  • information required to complete an unspent criminal record check i.e. AccessNI basic check.

*As part of the BPSS process, applicants who have lived, worked, or studied overseas may be required to provide additional documentation to verify their employment, academic or residential history.

Following satisfactory completion of BPSS, a CTC clearance application will be initiated. To allow meaningful enquiries to be undertaken as part of the vetting process, applicants would normally be expected to have been resident in the United Kingdom for at least three of the previous five years. Applicants who have spent significant periods overseas may be asked to provide additional information or supporting documentation as part of the clearance process.

Each application will be considered on its own merits and a lack of UK residency for the full three-year period will not automatically exclude an applicant from obtaining clearance.

The successful candidate will also be required to satisfactorily complete a six-month probationary period.

The standard working week is 37 hours, (excluding meal breaks). Working hours will be dictated by the mode of operation of the Assembly and will involve work into late evenings and on occasions, at weekends and on public holidays.

The taking of annual leave will be influenced by the parliamentary timetable.

You must also be willing to undertake and successfully complete appropriate training which will be delivered by Assembly staff shortly following appointment. Refresher training will be provided as appropriate.

Equality Monitoring

Under Fair Employment legislation, we are required to monitor the community background and gender of those applying for jobs. You must therefore complete the equal opportunities monitoring section of the application form when applying for the post.

Merit List

The merit list of applicants deemed to be appointable will normally remain “live” for 18 months from the date it is signed.

Communication during the recruitment process

The Assembly Recruitment Team will issue most communication electronically. You should therefore regularly check your email account to make sure you do not miss any important communication. Please note, sometimes the Recruitment Team emails are automatically filtered as spam by email providers.

Further Information

If you require more information on the recruitment process, please contact the Assembly Recruitment Team on 02890 521741 or email us at [email protected].

Further information about the Assembly can be obtained on the Northern Ireland Assembly website.

The Candidate Information Booklet does not constitute any term or condition of employment.