Principal Court Interpreter

In brief

**Overview** This role is for a Principal Court Interpreter within the Office Of The Chief Justice (OCJ), specifically at the KwaZulu-Natal Division of The High Court in Pietermaritzburg. The position is a Level 08 role with a salary ranging from R413 001 to R486 501 per annum. The successful candidate will be required to sign a performance agreement. **What you will do** Key responsibilities for this role include: * Rendering interpreting services in high profile matters and complex cases. * Interpreting in criminal, civil, Labour Court, and Small claims Court. * Controlling and attending to personnel administrative aspects of Interpreters. * Providing coaching to junior Interpreters. * Managing performance agreement contracts. * Drawing a schedule for the replacement of Court Interpreters. * Translating Legal documents and exhibits. * Studying and analysing source documents. * Conducting necessary research and consulting. * Checking, editing, and revising translated documents. * Procuring foreign language interpreters and casuals in line with PFMA and relevant policy. * Reporting statistics to be generated and escalated to the cluster manager for consolidation. * Authorising payments of foreign and casual language interpreters. * Developing terminology, harvesting terminology, and database development. * Providing terms and their respective meanings in the glossary register. * Supervising and developing staff, allocating duties, and performing quality control on the work delivered by officials. **Requirements (from the original advert)** * **Qualifications:** A National Diploma in Legal Interpreting or an equivalent qualification at NQF level six (6) with 360 credits as recognised by SAQA. * **Experience:** A minimum of two (2) years’ practical experience in Court Interpreting, of which one (1) year should be at supervisory level. * **Knowledge:** Knowledge of Batho Pele and the OCJ Principles, Court proceedings, Cultural diversity, Policies, Prescripts, and Legislation, and Full command of the language. * **Skills:** Communication, computer literacy, listening, interpersonal, customer service orientation, planning and organising, problem solving, and confidentiality. * **Attributes:** Ability to work under pressure and art of interpreting. * **Added Advantage:** A valid driver’s license. **Who should apply** An experienced legal interpreter with demonstrated supervisory capabilities is sought for this position. The ideal candidate should possess a National Diploma in Legal Interpreting (or equivalent) and have at least two years of practical interpreting experience, with one year at a supervisory level. They must have a full command of language, strong communication and interpersonal skills, computer literacy, and the ability to work under pressure. Familiarity with court proceedings, relevant legislation, and the OCJ's principles is essential. **Deadline** Not specified **Reference** Original posting: https://www.govpage.co.za/vacancies/office-of-the-chief-justice-0cj-vacancies-circular-36-of-2026#spani-ref-2026-140-ocj Source: govpage

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