Linguist Recruiter and Interpreter

Role Overview

This Nairobi-based position carries two connected mandates: expanding Piedmont Global's roster of interpreters and translators in African and lesser-diffusion languages, and personally handling interpretation and translation assignments in your own language pairs. The recruiting side of the job builds capacity where it is thinnest, while the delivery side keeps you close to the actual work and helps newly recruited linguists become productive quickly. The role was created around a concrete gap — roughly 17% of African-language volume currently goes to an outside partner, and in the clearest case, Somali, 124 calls were offered over one three-month window with almost none answered, not because interpreters were missing but because the ones recruited never finished platform registration. Closing that gap from inside the Nairobi office is the core purpose of this job.

Key Responsibilities

• Source, screen and onboard interpreters and translators across African and lesser-diffusion languages, with Somali and Swahili as the first priorities.
• Build sourcing channels tailored to specific geographies and diaspora communities — the networks that conventional job boards and generic advertising never reach.
• Own an assigned language portfolio under Piedmont Global's language-expert model, typically pairing a high-volume language with a harder-to-find one.
• Keep a live, accurate record of every linguist in your portfolio — sourced, onboarded, registered on the platform, and actively scheduled — and work with Interpretation Operations to convert missed and unfilled requests in your languages into covered sessions.
• Deliver over-the-phone and video remote interpreting in your qualified pairs, plus written translation and localization assignments, as scheduled by Interpretation Operations, working on-site from the Nairobi office.
• Meet availability and reliability commitments for every accepted booking and hold to professional interpreting standards of accuracy, impartiality, completeness and confidentiality in each session.
• Run the full onboarding checklist for each linguist you bring in — independent contractor agreements, tax documentation, background screening, credential verification and retention of international qualifications — and confirm platform registration is completed end to end, since an interpreter who cannot be reached is not capacity. Escalate missing, expired or incomplete documentation before assignments are offered, and follow client-specific and jurisdictional data protection rules including Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019 and applicable healthcare privacy obligations.
• Report week over week on linguists onboarded, fill rate, missed and unfilled requests, and time to fill; contribute to quarterly bench reviews that retire inactive linguists without eroding coverage in scarce languages; and bring evidence-backed supply, scheduling, training and incentive issues to the VP of Staffing.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Professional-level fluency in English plus at least one in-demand African language; Somali is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated interpreting or translating experience, and the ability to pass Piedmont Global's language qualification standards.
• Two or more years in recruiting, sourcing or talent acquisition, or comparable evidence that you can find talent which is genuinely difficult to locate.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience preferred.
• Valid Kenyan work authorization, or eligibility to obtain the authorization this role requires.
• Working knowledge of Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019 and of confidentiality obligations in a language services setting.
• Ability to work on-site at the Piedmont Global Nairobi office during assigned coverage hours; remote or work-from-home delivery is not permitted for this position.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to run two concurrent workstreams without dropping either.
• Proactive communication style, strong problem-solving instincts, and a high degree of ownership when working with limited direct supervision.
• Exceptional integrity, discretion and professionalism.