Freelance Pashto Interpreter and Translator

We are recruiting freelance Pashto interpreters and translators for immigration, legal, healthcare and social care assignments. Clients speak both southern and northern dialects.

Pashto is spoken in Afghanistan and in north-west Pakistan. The main dialect groups, southern (Kandahari) and northern (including Peshawari and Yusufzai), differ in pronunciation and vocabulary, and interpreters should be ready for both. Many Afghan clients also speak Dari, and Pakistani Pashtuns often speak Urdu.

Assignments take place in immigration and asylum interviews, Afghan resettlement support, children's services for unaccompanied young people, health care and court hearings. Translators work on Tazkira identity documents and other Afghan and Pakistani records.

Responsibilities

• Interpret for southern and northern Pashto speakers, including young people in care settings.
• Translate Afghan and Pakistani identity and civil documents, including the Tazkira.
• Keep everything you hear and read on assignments strictly confidential, and remain impartial throughout.
• Build and maintain your own glossaries for the sectors you work in.
• Deliver written translations that are accurate, complete and proofread, on or before the agreed deadline.
• Produce accurate transcripts and English translations of recorded Pashto speech, for example police interviews or research recordings.

Requirements

• Excellent spoken and written Pashto and English, with the ability to switch register for different clients.
• The DPSI (Diploma in Public Service Interpreting), DPI (Diploma in Police Interpreting) or an equivalent qualification is an advantage; CIOL or ITI membership is welcome.
• Dari or Urdu is an advantage.
• Willingness to complete a DBS check for assignments in healthcare, education or with vulnerable people.
• Right to work in the UK if you will take on‑site assignments in the UK.
• A reliable internet connection, headset and quiet, private workspace for remote assignments.

What we offer

• Remote work by video and telephone, plus on‑site bookings.
• Fair compensation for your skills and time.
• Opportunities for professional development.
• Help from our operations team before and after assignments.
• Varied assignments across healthcare, legal, government, finance and more.
• Flexible working: choose the assignments that suit your availability.

Pashto work with SILA Linguists

SILA Linguists is a language services company providing interpreting, translation and transcription across the UK, North America, Australia, New Zealand and beyond, in more than 350 languages and dialects. As a Pashto linguist with us, you can take on the full range of work we offer in Pashto:

• Pashto interpreting of every type: face-to-face, telephone (OPI) 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, video (VRI) through the SILA Linguists app or the client's platform, consecutive, simultaneous, conference and remote simultaneous (RSI), community and escort interpreting.
• Pashto translation of documents into and out of English, from letters, medical reports and school records to contracts, research and websites.
• Certified Pashto translation with a signed statement of accuracy, accepted by UK authorities such as courts, the Home Office, universities and employers.
• Pashto transcription of audio and video recordings, with time stamps, translation of the transcript and subtitling.

Our vetted, trained and qualified linguists work in legal, police and court settings, immigration and asylum matters, NHS and private healthcare, social care, schools and universities, charities and business. Every assignment is covered by confidentiality agreements and UK GDPR.

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