Language Practitioner (South African Sign Language Interpreter) at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Job Purpose

• To manage and provide accurate South African Sign Language (SASL) interpreting and translation services at all SARS events and assist in the development and promotion of SASL and multilingualism in general.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• Bachelor's Degree in Language Practice with applicable majors at NQF 7/ Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) AND 5-7 years' experience as a South African Sign Language (SASL) Interpreter of which 2-3 years is at a technically skilled level as a Language Practitioner in South African Sign Language (SASL) interpreting services.

ALTERNATIVE

• A Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 10 years related experience as a South African Sign Language (SASL) Practitioner interpreting linguistics service of which 2-3 years is at a technically skilled level as a Language Practitioner in South African Sign Language (SASL) interpreting services.

Minimum Functional Requirements

• Sound knowledge of the Use of the Official Languages Act, 2012 (Act No.12 of 2012) and its Regulations. Knowledge of SARS Language Policy. Knowledge and understanding of Deaf culture and SASL grammatical structure. Interpreting and translation skills. Knowledge of correctly interpreting in SASL. Good interpersonal and communication skills. Computer literate. Planning and organisational skills. Strong administration skills. Database development and maintenance. Basic research skills. Conflict resolution. Willingness to accept responsibility. Ability to work under pressure and maintain a high level of confidentiality. Ability to manage time efficiently.

Job Outputs:

Process

• Execute specialist input through investigation and opportunities within the product process including risk concern.
• Identify and resolve queries and problems timeously, apply discretion in line with process guidelines provided and escalate unresolved problems.
• Monitor and engage on possible violations of procedures and standards regarding communication organisational corporate identity.
• Accumulate information to review work progress that provides input to reporting, decision making and the identification of improvement opportunities. (I)
• Apply practical and applied knowledge and act authoritatively on methods, systems and procedures to identify trends and potential risks. (I)
• Communication of situational interpretation and judgement of work outputs and queries in area of specialisation. (I)
• Correctly apply policies, practices, standards, procedures and legislation in the delivery of work outputs. (I)
• Draw on own knowledge and experience to diagnose symptoms, causes and possible effects in order to solve emerging problems. (I)
• Initiate process and procedural change, implement the change and provide guidelines and support related to new requirements as a result of the change. (I)
• Plan for value-added process improvements, initiatives and services to deliver on operational strategy and objectives. (I)
• Provide specialist input through the investigation of opportunities for operational and process, product and risk optimisation. (I)
• Plan and organise own work tasks within specific guidelines given in the said area of work.
• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with peers and SARS role players to achieve predefined objectives.
• Promote and support inclusive SASL communication practices. Attend training in relation to SASL.
• Identify applications and tools that need to be developed for SASL. Support budget processes related to SASL services.
• Translate documents, speeches, or audio content into SASL and/or video formats.
• Coordinate and attend meetings. Conduct research and develop a stakeholders’ databases.
• The incumbent manages and provides SASL Interpreting and translation services in the interpretation schedules. Interpret spoken language into SASL and vice versa in meetings, departmental events and official engagements.
• Research about SASL and producing reports for various stakeholders
• Analyse and interpret information relevant to SASL.
• Provide support towards the promotion, development and use of SASL. Create communication content and notices in SASL.
• Conduct training and workshops to create awareness among employees on SASL and the Deaf culture
• Assist with language policy implementation ie SASL.
• Formulate and implement strategies to ensure compliance with the Use of the Official Languages Act and relevant legislation.
• Assist to develop and maintain a glossary of government-related SASL terminology.
•  Assist in SASL orthography and terminology development.
• Identify applications and tools that need to be developed for SASL.
• Support budget processes related to SASL services. Liaise with relevant stakeholders such as PanSALB, Academic Institutions, Deaf organisations, etc.

Governance

• Ensure that completed work adhere to relevant policies, procedures, governance and legislative requirements and report on deviations & discrepancies.
• Implement and provide input into the development of governance, compliance, integrity and ethics processes within area of specialisation.

People

• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with peers and team members to achieve predefined objectives.
• Search for, integrate and share new knowledge attained through formal and informal learning opportunities in the execution of your job.

Finance

• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures to ensure cost effectiveness and reduction of financial costs.

Client

• Contribute to a culture of service excellence, which builds positive relationships and provides opportunity for feedback and exceptional service.
• Provide authoritative, specialist services, expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders

Behavioural competencies

• Accountability (V) - The acknowledgement and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies within the scope of the role or employment position.
• Adaptability - Adaptability is the willingness to alter behaviour, opinions or actions in the light of new information.
• Analytical Thinking - Understands a situation, issue, and or problem by breaking it into smaller pieces, or tracing the implications of a situation in a step-by-step way
• Attention to detail - The ability to take all relevant details into account to ensure that a task is completed to required standards.
• Commitment to Continuous Learning - Commitment to continuous learning is the commitment to think about current and future development needs
• Communicating with Impact - Communicates effectively in both the written and verbal format. Delivers clear, succinct messages and ensures understanding of others message
• Conceptual Ability - The ability to identify patterns or connections between situations that are not obviously related and to identify key or underlying issues in complex situation.
• Creativity - Degree, to which one analyses problems, makes decisions and thinks innovatively.
• Expertise in Context - Degree to which one possesses definitive technical and or fundamental understanding of the business
• Fairness and Transparency (V) - Build diverse and inclusive workplaces where decisions, practices, processes and transactions are transparent and fair.
• Honesty and Integrity (V) - The quality of being upright, truthful, sincere and freedom from deceit or fraud (H). Guided by values, ability to demonstrate moral judgement and doing the right thing consistently (I).
• Initiative - Refers to the identification of a problem, obstacle, or opportunity and taking action
• Organisational Awareness - Knowledge of own organisations, policies, procedures, services, products and business operating model
• Problem Solving and Analysis - Must be able to systematically identify, analyse and resolve existing and anticipated problems in order to reach optimum solutions in a timely manner
• Trust (V)- Displays commitment to organisational values and personal trust
• Respect (V) - Firm belief in the reliability, truth or ability of someone or something.

Technical competencies

• Business Knowledge - Activities, tasks and practices associated with obtaining and using high level of knowledge in business areas, functions and products.
• Business Writing Skills -Understands and applies advanced forms of business communication Business Writing Skills -Understands and applies advanced forms of business communication
• Corporate Communications Strategy - The ability to plan, implement, manage and review corporate communications to support organisational strategy in terms of vision, values and brand awareness
• Data Collection and Analysis - Ability to determine trends from raw data to assist decision-making in various aspects of work
• Efficiency improvement - Contribution to improving the operational efficiencies within the team, incl. re-evaluation of processes, policies, procedures and provision of recommendations to enhance operational efficiency
• Functional Policies and Procedures - The knowledge and interpretation of the functional policies and procedures, including monitoring their consistent application internally within SARS.
• Quality Orientation - Promotes and maintains high standards of quality at work
• Reporting - Ability to create reports for various SARS stakeholders as relevant, in a lucid and effective manner, keeping in mind the purpose of the reports.
• Research - Conduct research, analyse trends and produce quantitative and qualitative information to inform business decisions
• Risk Management - The examination of the essential elements of risk such as; assets, threats, vulnerabilities, safeguards, consequences and the likelihood of the threats materialising
• Written Communication -Ability to express ideas, request actions, formulate plans, & policies, etc. by means of clear and effective writing, in order to support professional communication internally within SARS and externally

Deadline:20th February,2026