Foreign Language Interpreter - Spanish
- Employer
- University of Virginia
- Location
- Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
View more categoriesView less categories
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Institution Type
- Four-Year Institution
Job Details
This position offers experienced medical interpreters the opportunity to work across an academic health system and support encounters spanning virtually every medical specialty. You will bring linguistic accuracy, cultural awareness, sound judgment, and a strong commitment to interpreter ethics and patient advocacy.
The Role
As part of Interpreter Services, you will facilitate accurate, complete, and culturally responsive communication among Spanish-speaking patients, families, and healthcare professionals. Your work may range from routine outpatient visits and patient education to complex conversations involving treatment options, goals of care, transplantation, and end-of-life decisions.
Interpreters rotate among UVA Health locations and specialties, creating a varied workday that requires adaptability, discretion, and command of medical terminology. Services are delivered both in person and through telemedicine.
In this role, you will:
- Provide professional Spanish interpretation for inpatient and outpatient encounters.
- Interpret medications, diagnoses, procedures, treatment plans, and discharge or follow-up instructions with accuracy and neutrality.
- Support sensitive conversations, including goals-of-care and end-of-life discussions.
- Facilitate patient and family education across a wide range of clinical specialties.
- Participate in education sessions for heart, lung, liver, and kidney transplant programs.
- Help clinical teams recognize and navigate relevant linguistic, cultural, and dialect differences.
- Advocate for clear communication while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries and confidentiality.
- Travel among University Hospital, Fontaine, Northridge, Moser, the Battle Building, and other UVA-associated clinical locations.
- Manage a typical schedule of approximately 8 to 11 appointments per day, with higher volumes possible in busy clinics such as Prenatal Services.
The regular schedule is Monday through Friday, with shifts of either 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. There are no routine weekends or after-hours requirements. Team members may voluntarily join a callback list for evening or weekend Spanish interpretation needs.
Successful candidates will bring prior medical interpretation experience, completion of a 40-hour Medical Interpreter Training Program, strong Spanish and English fluency, and working knowledge of healthcare terminology and procedures. National medical interpreter certification is preferred. Candidates who are not yet certified must be eligible to obtain certification within one year.
Why UVA Health
At UVA Health, medical interpreters are essential members of the care team. Your expertise helps strengthen patient understanding, informed decision-making, safety, and trust across encounters ranging from preventive care to highly specialized treatment.
You will join a collaborative, close-knit Interpreter Services team known for open communication, mutual support, and long-term employee retention. Team members work independently during patient encounters while remaining connected to colleagues who understand the judgment, resilience, and precision that professional medical interpretation requires.
UVA Health offers:
- The scope and complexity of a nationally recognized academic health system.
- Exposure to diverse patient populations and nearly every medical specialty.
- Opportunities to contribute to advanced clinical programs, including transplantation, cancer care, trauma services, women’s health, and pediatric care.
- A mission-centered environment that integrates patient care, research, education, and community engagement.
- A culture focused on safety, compassion, collaboration, and continuous learning.
- Meaningful work that directly supports equitable access to care and gives patients a clearer voice in their healthcare experience.
- A professional environment where experienced interpreters can continue strengthening their clinical knowledge and cultural competence.
This is an opportunity to apply advanced language skills where they have immediate clinical impact, supporting patients and families during some of the most important conversations of their lives.
Why People Love Living in Charlottesville
Charlottesville combines the energy of a university community with convenient access to the Blue Ridge Mountains and Virginia’s scenic countryside. Healthcare professionals and their families can enjoy outdoor recreation, local restaurants, arts and cultural events, historic destinations, and a connected community. The area offers a compelling setting for building a meaningful career while maintaining an active and well-rounded life outside of work.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
Education: High School or equivalent required. Bridging the Gap Interpreting Course or 40-hour equivalent course required.
Experience: One year of medical interpreting experience required. Two or more years of medical interpreting experience preferred.
Ability to perform consecutive interpreting (written and sight) required. Simultaneous interpretation preferred.
Licensure: Required within 1 year of employment from one of the following certifying organizations.
NBCMI: National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters
CCHI: Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
Job requires frequently traveling (distance: minimum 1 mile/daily). Proficient communicative, auditory and visual skills; Attention to detail and ability to write legibly.
Ability to lift up to 20 pounds maximum with frequent lifting and/or carrying of objects weighing up to 10 pounds. Even though the weight lifted may only be a negligible amount, a job is in this category when it requires walking or standing to a significant degree.
The pay range for this role is $16.97 - $33.94 hourly. Individual compensation will be determined by the selected candidate's qualifications, previous work experience, and/or education.Benefits
- Comprehensive Benefits Package: Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- Generous Paid Time Off
- Retirement Savings
- Long-term and Short-term Disability
- Health Saving Plans, and Flexible Spending Accounts
- Certification and Education Support
The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.
Organization
In 1819, the University of Virginia established a new model for intellectual exchange and cross-disciplinary collaboration in higher education. Two hundred years later, as a major research institution, we continue to challenge conventions, lead with ingenuity and advance knowledge for the common good.
What began as an innovative idea has become one of the nation’s leading public research universities, with over 21,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UVA also has over 3,000 full-time faculty offering more than 400 degrees.
Each of the University’s eleven schools has its own distinctive mission, working together to garner consistently high rankings—including #2 Best Value Public College (Princeton Review, 2016), #3 Public University in the Nation (U.S. News & World Report, 2016), and #3 Best Value Among Public Colleges (Kiplinger’s, 2016).
As we invest in and strengthen our research capabilities, UVA seeks new faculty ready to uncover new insights, rewrite old rules and collaborate on intellectual discoveries.
RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS THAT CROSS DISCIPLINES
As an R1 institution, the University’s research centers, consortia and laboratories are on the leading edge of discovery and technology, offering collaborative spaces for students and faculty to solve global problems.
Our professors are recognized members of major national scholarly and professional organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Our faculty’s engagement in interdisciplinary research is being facilitated by new research institutes specializing in everything from big data to brain functioning, and by cluster hires across schools.
NATIONALLY RANKED HEALTH SYSTEM
UVA is also home to a nationally renowned academic medical center and the UVA Health System, which serves a three-part mission to treat patients, conduct translational research and train medical practitioners in a wide variety of disciplines.
Established as the nation’s 10th medical school in 1825, the institution has since grown to include a 612-bed hospital and a Level I trauma center, nationally recognized cancer and heart centers, a Children’s Hospital, and primary and specialty clinics throughout Central Virginia.
The UVA Medical Center is consistently ranked among the nation’s best hospitals by the U.S. News & World Report magazine and has been named among the top 25 percent in seven specialties.
INSPIRING STUDENTS, INSPIRED TEACHING
The vast majority of UVA students come from the top 10% of their high school class, as well as from all 50 states, over 142 countries and a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite their diversity, all UVA students share a love of learning and a drive to achieve.
One of the reasons students choose Virginia is our unique residential culture. At UVA, the community of students, faculty and staff personifies the Jeffersonian idea that living and learning are connected. The Academical Village was constructed to support a unique residential experience, with faculty living in the Pavilions, students occupying Lawn rooms and the world-famous Rotunda at its heart. The University’s residential culture continues to support this experience today—strengthened by students, faculty and staff rich in backgrounds, ideas and perspectives. Our unique culture is also paying dividends in innovation: UVA’s faculty have generated more than 130 patents since 2010.
Perhaps most importantly, faculty come to UVA knowing that instruction is as important as research, and they pride themselves on their many teaching awards. Our best professors look for ways to encourage, mentor and develop tomorrow’s leaders inside and outside the classroom.
LIFE IN CHARLOTTESVILLE
Living in Charlottesville you’ll find sophisticated restaurants, world-renowned wineries and breweries, cosmopolitan arts and music, friendly urban and suburban neighborhoods and a Piedmont landscape that has lured adventurous souls for centuries. No wonder the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research named Charlottesville the “happiest city in America” in 2014.
In addition to UVA and its health system, several major employers have facilities in Charlottesville, including State Farm, Northrop Grumman, the U.S. Department of Defense, GE and others. Charlottesville is also becoming a center for innovative start-up businesses. The University also actively helps spouses and partners of faculty members build their networks and pursue employment opportunities with a wide variety of area employers.
The University of Virginia is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply including veterans and individuals with disabilities.
- Telephone
- 434-985-4532
- Location
-
2420 Old Ivy
Charlottesvle
Virginia
22911-7433
United States
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