Staff Interpreter - The Department of Theory and Practice in Education - UTK

Responsibilities

• Deliver interpreted ASL messages to faculty and staff with cultural and linguistic equivalence expected in higher education settings, while monitoring for comprehension and feedback.
• Provide spoken English to non-ASL users with cultural and linguistic equivalence expected in higher education settings while monitoring for comprehension and feedback.
• Work as a team with second interpreter, as needed.
• Facilitate communication access via ASL and English across a wide variety of situations.
• Provide leadership-level ASL interpreting and coordination of ASL interpreting services within the department and in a limited capacity to the college, including providing federally mandated interpreting, scheduling that is aligned with institutional accessibility standards.
• Interpret, make decisions related to interpreting services, coordinate with multiple stakeholders, and oversee service delivery.
• Facilitate communication access via ASL and English across a wide variety of situations.
• Engage in language perception, comprehension, translation, and production operations to create an effective and accurate interpretation of the source message for the target audience.
• Utilize academic register and discipline-specific language to convey concepts expressed in American Sign Language or spoken mainstream English for in-person academic lectures, department/college meetings, research discussions, classroom discussions (including virtual/remote work, if requested), community events, faculty-student advising sessions and the like.
• Work as a designated interpreter for Deaf Studies faculty team.
• Demonstrate capability and willingness to work both collaboratively and interdependently as a member of an interpreting team to accomplish the participants' goal of message and dynamic equivalence.
• Troubleshoot any issues that arise in interpreted situations and debrief with faculty and staff.
• Use independent judgment to ensure access and resolve problems in the moment: take in interpreter requests from department members and coordinate interpreting schedule.
• Provide ASL interpreting coordination for relevant department activities and events.
• Participate in professional learning; support ASL curriculum and program development; working with faculty to support the planning of activities and events for the academic year.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree or commensurate field experience; Registry of interpreters of the Deaf (RID); Certification of BEI Advanced level.
• Experience: Minimum of 3 years of experience as an ASL interpreter or 8 years experience in lieu of bachelors degree.
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: Highly proficient American Sign Language skills as demonstrated by RID certification or BEI Advanced or Level V certification as an ASL Interpreter or Advanced Plus rating on SLPI or Level 4 on ASLPI. Knowledge of Deaf culture and the process of interpretation. Excellent listening skills and demonstrated ability to identify essential components of information presented. Ability to work comfortably in an academic setting with diverse populations. Knowledge of Microsoft 365 applications, Google Docs/Google Drive, and Zoom.

About the Role

The Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education (TPTE) is seeking a full time Staff Interpreter to provide federally mandated accommodations within the department: deliver interpreted ASL messages to faculty and staff with cultural and linguistic equivalence expected in higher education settings, while monitoring for comprehension and feedback, and Provide spoken English to non-ASL users with cultural and linguistic equivalence expected in higher education settings while monitoring for comprehension and feedback. Work as team with second interpreter, as needed. This position works closely with faculty and staff to facilitate communication access via ASL and English across a wide variety of situations. Provides leadership-level ASL interpreting and coordination of ASL interpreting services within the department and in a limited capacity to the college, including providing federally mandated interpreting, scheduling that is aligned with institutional accessibility standards.