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Position Description and Application Information for the IFAP Interpreter Program:
Winter & Spring 2016________________________________________________________________________________________
Title: IFAP Interpreter Context
· Founded in 1996 as a partnership between Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) and the University of Washington School of Law, the Immigrant Families Advocacy Project (IFAP) trains and matches law students with pro bono attorneys and immigrant survivors of domestic violence.· IFAP volunteers assist immigrants who are eligible to self-petition for legal permanent resident status under the Violence Against Women Act or petition for other types of relief as victims of criminal domestic violence (U-visas) or special immigrant juvenile status. Impact
· IFAP interpreters provide essential interpretation and translation services to some of the most vulnerable members of our community. By assisting with the completion of U-Visa applications, IFAP interpreters help clients obtain work authorization and legal status in the United States. · With a large number of consistently available interpreters, IFAP is able to serve a larger number of clients.
Duties
· IFAP interpreters work closely with a team of law students, a supervising attorney and a U-Visa applicant. In addition to interpreting for client meetings and phone calls, interpreters also translate birth certificates and other documents. · IFAP interpreters will also aid in strengthening the interpreter program through designing training materials for the following year, translating commonly used forms, and expanding a translation bank of words that are used commonly during client meetings.
Support and Training
IFAP interpreters receive oversight and guidance from Interpreter Liaisons, two UW Law students serving on the IFAP Steering Committee. The role of Interpreter Liaison is to make sure that interpreters have the best experience possible with their law student/attorney groups, establish guidelines for IFAP groups to follow when working with interpreters and help
interpreters find solutions to scheduling issues. The Interpreter Liaisons hold monthly check in meetings with interpreters.
Interpreters also receive trainings in basic interpretation and translation skill sets, domestic violence awareness, cultural competencies and country-specific knowledge.
Time Commitment
Students who decide to enroll in the program as a volunteer and not receive credit will still be required to attend all trainings and their time commitment will be established with the interpreter liaisons. A U-Visa case usually takes ten hours of interpreting over five months to complete and IFAP interpreters should be prepared to commit to the program until the middle of June 2016. Interpreters are also expected to participate in monthly check-ins.
Location
Trainings will take place at the University of Washington campus. The location of client meetings will be arranged among the IFAP groups based on convenience.
APPLICATION INFORMATION
A successful applicant will have the following:
● 300-level coursework in the Spanish language or equivalent. (This includes, at a minimum, effective use of conditional and subjunctive tenses, effective use of future and past tenses, and ability to comfortably hold a conversation in Spanish that spans a variety of topics.)
● Capacity to hold a telephone conversation in Spanish.● Availability to attend all trainings in January and February● Emotional maturity and ability to demonstrate sensitivity towards victims of domestic
violence.
Application Requirements and Deadlines:
Please electronically submit your answers to the application questions listed below to Steve McKevett, Olga Barajas, and Christina Weidner—the IFAP Interpreter Liaisons—at [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected].
Application Questions
1. Why are you applying for an IFAP interpreter position?2. Describe your Spanish ability. How did you obtain your current Spanish language abilities?3. Describe your experience working with survivors of domestic violence and/or underrepresented populations.
4. What are some skills or experiences that you will bring to the position that might not necessarily be reflected in your resume or transcript?5. Is there anything we should know about you, or your application?
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the position, please contact either Steve McKevett, Olga Barajas, or Christina Weidner at [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].
