Jobs · KwaZulu-Natal · Office of the Chief Justice
Principal Court Interpreter
Closes Friday 23 October 2026
The circular is the only authoritative source. Open the PDF at page 60
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Principal Court Interpreter at the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg. Suits an experienced court interpreter who can also supervise and coach other interpreters.
- Interpret in high-profile and complex cases in criminal, civil, Labour and Small Claims Courts, and translate legal documents and exhibits.
- Supervise and coach junior interpreters, allocate their duties, and carry out quality control on work delivered by officials.
- Must have a National Diploma in Legal Interpreting or an equivalent NQF level 6 qualification (360 credits) recognised by SAQA.
- Must have at least 2 years of practical court interpreting experience, including 1 year at supervisory level. A valid driver's licence is an added advantage.
- Based at the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court in Pietermaritzburg. The successful candidate must sign a performance agreement.
- Send applications by email to 2026/140/OCJ@judiciary.org.za, quoting reference 2026/140/OCJ. The closing date is not stated in the text.
Generated by claude-haiku-5-5 from the text below; it may be wrong or incomplete. Original wording, page 60
Requirements
- Applicants should be in possession of a National Diploma in Legal Interpreting or equivalent qualification at NQF level six (6) with 360 credits as recognised by SAQA.
- A minimum of two (2) years’ practical experience in Court Interpreting of which one (1) year should be at supervisory level.
- A valid driver’s license will serve as an added advantage.
- Knowledge and skills:
- Knowledge of Batho Pele and the OCJ Principles, Court proceedings, Cultural diversity, Knowledge of Policies, Prescripts, and Legislation and Full command of the language.
- Skilled in communication, computer literacy, listening, interpersonal, customer service orientation, planning and organising, problem solving and confidentiality.
- Along with the following attributes:
- Ability to work under pressure and art of interpreting.
Duties
- Render interpreting services in high profile matters, interpret in complex cases, interpret in criminal, civil, and Labour Court.
- Interpret in Small claims Court, control and attend to personnel administrative aspects of Interpreters, provide and coaching to junior Interpreters, manage performance agreement contracts, draw a schedule for replacement of Court Interpreters, translate Legal documents and exhibits, study and analyse the source documents, conduct necessary research and consult, Check, edit and revise the translated documents, procure foreign language interpreters and casuals in line with PFMA and the relevant policy.
- Report statistics to be generated and escalated to the cluster manager for consolidation, authorise payments of foreign and casual language interpreters, develop terminology, harvest of terminology and database development, provide terms and their respective meanings in the glossary register, supervise and develop staff and allocate duties and perform quality control on the work delivered by officials.
How to apply
Applications can be sent via email to 2026/140/OCJ@judiciary.org.za
New to the Z83 form? Read the application guide.
Enquiries
Technical Related Enquiries: Mr MN Zondi Tel No: (033) 345 8211 HR Related Enquiries: Ms SZ Mvuyana Tel No: (031) 493 1723
Notes from the department
The Organisation will give preference to candidates in line with the Employment Equity goals.
As printed in Circular 36 of 2026 · page 60 · open the PDF
POST 36/62: PRINCIPAL COURT INTERPRETER REF NO: 2026/140/OCJ SALARY: R413 001 – R486 501 per annum (Level 08). The successful candidate will be required to sign a performance agreement. CENTRE: KwaZulu-Natal Division of The High Court: Pietermaritzburg REQUIREMENTS: Applicants should be in possession of a National Diploma in Legal Interpreting or equivalent qualification at NQF level six (6) with 360 credits as recognised by SAQA. A minimum of two (2) years’ practical experience in Court Interpreting of which one (1) year should be at supervisory level. A valid driver’s license will serve as an added advantage. Knowledge and skills: Knowledge of Batho Pele and the OCJ Principles, Court proceedings, Cultural diversity, Knowledge of Policies, Prescripts, and Legislation and Full command of the language. Skilled in communication, computer literacy, listening, interpersonal, customer service orientation, planning and organising, problem solving and confidentiality. Along with the following attributes: Ability to work under pressure and art of interpreting. DUTIES: Render interpreting services in high profile matters, interpret in complex cases, interpret in criminal, civil, and Labour Court. Interpret in Small claims Court, control and attend to personnel administrative aspects of Interpreters, provide and coaching to junior Interpreters, manage performance agreement contracts, draw a schedule for replacement of Court Interpreters, translate Legal documents and exhibits, study and analyse the source documents, conduct necessary research and consult, Check, edit and revise the translated documents, procure foreign language interpreters and casuals in line with PFMA and the relevant policy. Report statistics to be generated and escalated to the cluster manager for consolidation, authorise payments of foreign and casual language interpreters, develop terminology, harvest of terminology and database development, provide terms and their respective meanings in the glossary register, supervise and develop staff and allocate duties and perform quality control on the work delivered by officials. ENQUIRIES: Technical Related Enquiries: Mr MN Zondi Tel No: (033) 345 8211 HR Related Enquiries: Ms SZ Mvuyana Tel No: (031) 493 1723 APPLICATIONS: Applications can be sent via email to 2026/140/OCJ@judiciary.org.za NOTE: The Organisation will give preference to candidates in line with the Employment Equity goals.