Interpreting Services Coordinator

About Deaf Services of Palo Alto  Deaf Services of Palo Alto, Inc (DSPA) is a small agency that provides sign language interpreters for technical companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and other markets across the US and Internationally.    Position Summary  DSPA is looking for a new Interpreting Services Coordinator preferably located in the Pacific or Mountain time zone to join our team. Working remotely, the Interpreter Coordinator will use a variety of soft skills and industry knowledge to process requests and schedule jobs, with particular emphasis on personalized service. Familiarity/knowledge of the Deaf community, the interpreting profession and conversational American Sign Language (ASL) is required.    Essential Duties and Responsibilities  ● Answer texts, emails and calls to schedule services while maintaining highest standards of customer service and confidentiality within the company’s timeframe expectations.  ● Communicate with clients and requesters to obtain necessary information for scheduling and confirming interpreters  ● Collaborate with DSPA team members as needed to coordinate services, while maintaining the highest standards of customer service and confidentiality  ● Resolve scheduling conflicts as they occur  ● Address and resolve issues and complaints  ● Answer client and interpreter questions as needed    Other Duties  ● Collaborate with team members to develop and update procedures and protocols  ● Recruit new interpreters as appropriate from language evaluations and internal referrals  ● Devise ways to improve customer service and client relationships  ● Solicit client and customer feedback and present reports as needed to the Director and team during team meetings  ● Use DSPA’s online scheduling system to schedule and confirm interpreters, update job information details and track Interpreter availability ● Willingness to travel for team meetings if needed   Minimum Qualifications (Skills, Knowledge, Abilities)  ● Thorough understanding of the interpreting field, the RID Code of Professional Conduct, and familiarity of the ADA  ● Knowledge/familiarity with Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing people and their linguistic and cultural variations  ● Excellent written communication skills  ● Basic fluency in ASL, with the ability to adjust communications to match the needs of the receiver. Applicants without this will not be considered.  ● Ability to interface with fellow coordinators and contract interpreters with patience, empathy and professionalism  ● Ability to troubleshoot personnel challenges with diplomacy and tact  ● Ability to work well with individuals at all levels of the organization and work collaboratively in a team environment  ● Ability to solve problems and identify solutions  ● Ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive information  ● Ability to remain calm under pressure, apply sound judgment, respond to on-call needs, and to accommodate last minute requests  ● Ability to establish and maintain excellent client relationships, exhibit exemplary interpersonal skills and exercise sound judgment and professionalism in business and personnel matters  ● Detail oriented with excellent organizational skills and ability to process several tasks simultaneously    Preferred Qualifications  ● Knowledge/familiarity with Missive, and Google Workspace products: GMail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Hangouts/Meet ● Familiarity with or willingness to learn online meeting technologies such as Zoom,, GoToMeeting, Blue Jeans, Webex and Whereby  ● Familiarity with VRI setup and knowledge of items to consider when confirming interpreters for VRI assignments  ● Knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area or ability to understand Bay Area traffic patterns and distances between locations    Strongly Preferred Additional Skills  ● Effective leadership skills  ● Time management aptitude  ● Willingness to learn new technologies   Time Commitment  40 hours per week. Initial onboarding and job training will be Mon-Fri 8am-4pm PT after which the job will convert to Sunday-Thursday covering California hours 11am -8pm PT. Additional weekend hours to cover any incoming texts or phone calls for last minute scheduling needs due to sickness, last minute meetings or personal needs of the clients or interpreters, may be required. Physical Demands and Work Environment  This job operates in a professional environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers and phones.  The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.  Note:  This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments.  All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills or abilities.  Application Process  To be considered for this position, please submit your resume and a cover letter that includes answers to the following questions: 1. How did you hear about this position? 2. Is it better to do work that is perfect but late, or good and on time? How do you go about deciding? 3. What motivates you to do your best work?    All applications must be received by Friday February 9, 2024 to be considered.