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Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union Jobs

CdT

Provides translation, editing, and language services to EU agencies and bodies based in Luxembourg.

1 open positions Visit Website

Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union is currently advertising 1 open position on our EU Jobs Alert tracker. Every vacancy below is sourced from the official Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union careers portal, normalised into a consistent schema, and refreshed daily so you never miss a deadline.

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The Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union, known by its French initials CdT, is an EU agency that provides translation, editing, and related language services to other EU agencies and bodies. It was set up to meet the language needs of the many specialised EU agencies that do not have large in-house translation departments of their own, and it also contributes to wider EU efforts on shared terminology and language tools. The agency is based in Luxembourg, alongside several other EU institutions and bodies located in the country. As an EU agency it recruits under the EU Staff Regulations, using temporary agent and contract agent posts, and it publishes vacancies through its own careers pages. Its staff include translators and language professionals as well as the technical, project management, and administrative people needed to run a busy language service. Because it serves clients across the whole EU agency landscape, it works in many official languages. Current openings can be reviewed on the jobs board.

Mandate and what it does

The Translation Centre exists to supply language services to the decentralised agencies and other bodies of the European Union. Many of these agencies are relatively small and specialised, covering fields such as medicines, chemicals, intellectual property, aviation safety, and law enforcement, and they need documents translated into and out of the EU official languages without maintaining large translation teams themselves. The CdT fills that gap, handling translation, revision, editing, and related tasks for a wide range of client bodies. Its work covers technical and legal texts, trade mark and design information, reports, and web content, among other material. Beyond producing translations, the Centre plays a part in shared EU language infrastructure, contributing to interinstitutional terminology work and to tools that help maintain consistency across the EU's multilingual output. This client-service character shapes the organisation: it operates rather like a specialised language agency serving public-sector customers, so it must manage workflows, deadlines, and quality across a large volume of requests in many language combinations. That means the internal work blends professional translation with project coordination, technology, and account management. Understanding this helps explain why the Centre employs not only translators but also the people who plan, route, and quality-check work, and who maintain the language technology that modern translation services rely on to handle volume efficiently.

Luxembourg base

The Translation Centre is based in Luxembourg, a city that hosts several EU institutions and bodies, including parts of the Commission, the Court of Justice, and other agencies. Placing the Centre in Luxembourg connects it to this cluster of EU employers and to the interinstitutional language services with which it cooperates. Luxembourg is a small but international country where several languages are in everyday use, and it has a large community of EU staff drawn from across the member states. Staff who relocate for a post benefit from the relocation and expatriation provisions of the EU staff framework. The Centre works across the EU official languages, and English and French are widely used in day-to-day operations, as they are across the Luxembourg EU community. For candidates weighing a move, Luxembourg offers a stable, well-connected base with strong public services, though housing costs can be high, a factor the EU allowances partly reflect. You can browse other roles tied to the city through the Luxembourg location page. The presence of many EU bodies in Luxembourg also means that language professionals and administrators who join the Centre can find a wider public-sector career in the same city, since the shared staff framework makes moves between institutions straightforward for those who wish to change roles.

Role categories

The Translation Centre's staff naturally centre on language work, but the organisation needs a broader mix of skills to function as a service provider. Translators and revisers form the professional core, working across the EU official languages to produce and check texts for client agencies. Around them sit language technology specialists who maintain and develop the tools, terminology, and translation memory systems that support consistent, efficient output. Project managers and workflow coordinators route incoming requests, balance deadlines, and act as the link between clients and translators. Supporting all of this are the standard functions of any EU agency: finance, legal services, human resources, communications, procurement, and information technology. Candidates with strong language qualifications and translation experience are well suited to the professional posts, which typically require excellent command of a main target language and thorough knowledge of others. Those with backgrounds in computational linguistics, IT, or project management fit the technology and coordination roles, while administrative and financial specialists fill the support functions. Because the Centre serves many clients, the ability to work accurately under deadline pressure and to handle technical subject matter is valued across roles. To understand how often particular profiles come up, the consolidated jobs board lists live vacancies that can be filtered by type, which helps candidates judge when a role matching their background is likely to appear at this and comparable EU bodies.

Eligibility and languages

The Translation Centre recruits under EU rules, so most posts require nationality of an EU member state, with the exact condition set out in each vacancy notice. Candidates generally need full citizenship rights, to have settled any national service obligations, and to meet the character requirements for the duties. Language ability is especially central at this agency, given its mission. Translator posts usually require an excellent command of the main target language, normally a language into which the person will translate, together with a thorough knowledge of one or more other EU languages from which they will work. The general EU requirement of thorough knowledge of one official language and satisfactory knowledge of a second applies as a baseline, but language posts set higher and more specific combinations. For non-language roles, English and French are widely used in daily operations, so competence in these is often practical. Educational and experience requirements vary by grade and function: translation posts typically call for a relevant degree and, for more senior roles, professional translation experience, while support roles set their own criteria. As with all EU bodies, the individual vacancy notice is the authoritative source for the exact eligibility, qualification, and language conditions. Candidates should read it closely, since the specific language combination required for a translation post is often decisive and is stated precisely in the notice.

Staff categories, pay and benefits

The Translation Centre employs staff under the EU Staff Regulations, using temporary agent and contract agent contracts. Temporary agents fill posts in the administrator (AD) and assistant (AST) categories, which include many translator and specialist roles, while contract agents are used in the function groups for support and technical tasks. Pay follows the standard EU salary scales that apply across the institutions. As an indicative guide from the current bands, an administrator at grade AD5 earns roughly 4,917 to 5,565 euro per month across its steps, with higher grades paying more. Assistant grades such as AST4 fall around 3,883 to 4,280 euro, and contract agents in function group IV run roughly 3,637 to 8,225 euro while function group III runs about 2,954 to 5,932 euro. On top of basic salary, EU staff may receive allowances, including for expatriation and dependents where they apply, and they are covered by the EU pension scheme and joint sickness insurance. Contracts are commonly fixed term with the possibility of renewal, and some career paths can lead to longer-term engagement. These figures are indicative and depend on grade, step, and personal situation, so the salary stated in a given vacancy notice is the dependable reference. The package is broadly consistent across EU bodies, which makes it easy to compare a Translation Centre role with posts at other agencies in Luxembourg and elsewhere.

How to apply

Vacancies at the Translation Centre are published through its own careers pages, where each notice sets out the profile, category, eligibility conditions, language requirements, deadline, and selection steps. For translation posts in particular, the required language combination is central, so candidates should confirm that their languages match what the notice asks for before applying. The selection process follows the EU model of an eligibility check, an assessment of qualifications and experience against the profile, and interviews or tests for shortlisted candidates, often with placement on a reserve list from which posts are filled as they arise. Translation roles commonly include a practical translation test, so preparing for a language assessment is sensible. An application that maps your qualifications and experience directly to the published criteria stands the best chance, because evaluators score against those criteria rather than against a general impression. Candidates interested in comparable EU employers in Luxembourg or in language and administrative work more broadly can look at other agencies to compare openings and conditions. Tracking the consolidated jobs board is a practical way to see when the Centre and related bodies open new competitions, so you can prepare your CV, supporting statement, and any language documentation ahead of a deadline. Because language competitions can be specific about combinations, watching for the right notice pays off for translators with particular language profiles.

Working with client agencies

A distinctive feature of the Translation Centre is that it works for other bodies rather than for the public directly, which shapes both its output and its internal culture. Its clients are the many decentralised EU agencies and other bodies that need documents rendered accurately across the official languages, and the Centre must manage relationships, expectations, and deadlines with each of them. This client-service character means staff often develop familiarity with the specialised subject matter of particular agencies, whether that is medicines, chemicals, intellectual property, or another field, since accurate translation depends on understanding the material. It also means the Centre pays close attention to consistency, using shared terminology and translation memory tools so that the same terms are handled the same way across documents and over time. For staff, this creates a working environment where language skill is combined with subject knowledge and an awareness of client needs. Project coordinators in particular sit at the meeting point between clients and translators, balancing volume, urgency, and quality. The Centre's contribution to interinstitutional terminology work also connects its staff to a wider European effort to keep the EU's multilingual communication coherent. Candidates who enjoy applying language skills to technical and legal material, and who value accuracy and consistency, tend to find the service-oriented nature of the work a good fit for their strengths.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Translation Centre do?
It provides translation, revision, editing, and related language services to EU agencies and bodies that lack large in-house translation teams, and it contributes to shared EU terminology and language tools.
Where is the Translation Centre located?
The agency is based in Luxembourg, alongside several other EU institutions and bodies, which connects it to the interinstitutional language services it cooperates with.
What jobs does the Centre offer?
Roles include translators and revisers, language technology specialists, project and workflow managers, and the finance, legal, IT, and human resources staff needed to run a busy language service.
What language skills are required for translator posts?
Translator roles usually require an excellent command of a main target language plus thorough knowledge of one or more other EU languages. The exact combination is stated in each vacancy notice.
How much do staff earn at the Translation Centre?
Pay follows EU salary scales. An administrator at grade AD5 earns roughly 4,917 to 5,565 euro monthly across steps, plus allowances, pension, and joint sickness insurance under the EU system.
How do I apply for a role?
Applications go through the Centre's careers pages. Each notice lists the profile, eligibility, language requirements, deadline, and selection steps, and translation posts often include a practical translation test.

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