Contract timeline: 1 March - 31 August 2026. The role is envisaged as an on-demand commitment during this period, with assignments provided according to project needs.
Hours: Services will be provided on an as-needed basis, approximately 2 full working days per week. Compensation will be at a gross rate of USD 5 per hour for platform execution tasks and a gross rate of USD 10 per hour for Language Lead tasks.
Location: This position is home-based. The ideal candidate is based in DRC and speaks the variant of Lingala spoken in DRC.
Travel: None
Reporting
to: Community Engagement Lead
Deadline for applications: 27 February, 2026
CLEAR Global is an equal-opportunity employer, committed to having a diverse team where individuals of all backgrounds collaborate and learn from one another. We believe we can be most effective with diverse experience and expertise in our team. We recruit on merit, actively seek diverse applicant pools and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, age, gender identity and expression, national origin, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, marital or parental status, or sexual orientation, and welcome all types of diversity.
Background
Speech technology holds significant promise for broad societal impact, and in improving access to information and services for marginalized populations, including those with limited literacy, digital access, and disabilities. However, current voice-enabled tools predominantly support a small number of globally dominant languages. High-performing speech systems rely on the availability of annotated voice data, which is scarce for the 3.7 billion people who do not speak a “power language”.
To address this data gap at scale, CLEAR Global launched a voice data collection platform, “TWB Voice”, in December 2024. TWB Voice has functionality to create and validate high-quality, diverse voice datasets in low-resource languages to support the development of speech technologies for social impact. In the platform, users can:
CLEAR Global is now working in partnership with two US–based universities to create 50 hours of voice data in 10 languages. The data will be relevant to crisis response settings. The voice data will be published openly to support research and language technology development for crisis settings.
The role
Under this on-demand agreement, the Lingala Language Lead will support specific tasks in line with CLEAR Global’s language data collection and validation needs, primarily for the TWB Voice platform, but potentially extending to related initiatives. Discrete tasks will be agreed upon case by case before the start of each assignment. The Lingala Language Lead will work closely with CLEAR Global’s internal teams (Community Engagement Lead, NLP, and Project Management) and may collaborate with other stakeholders in the project.
Responsibilities
Key activities may include:
Corpus Development and Linguistic Review
*In this context, a “corpus” means a collection of text samples in the target language which voice data contributors will either read aloud (read prompts) or questions which contributors will answer (spontaneous speech) to create the voice dataset.
TWB Voice platform-based tasks
These tasks will be assigned according to a standard throughput rate estimation based on evidence collected with contributors in previous projects. TWB Voice Platform-based tasks will be compensated at a gross rate of USD 5 per hour of labour. They are detailed as follows:
Community Engagement and Support
Linguistic Advisory and Coordination
The Lingala Language Lead is expected to be available for update calls with prior notice from the internal project team, especially the Community Engagement Lead, respond promptly to communications, and participate in periodic review sessions with CLEAR Global teams as may be needed.
Please note that these responsibilities may evolve over time, depending on project priorities and developments.
Qualifications
The Lingala Language Lead should be a creative self-starter with a strong sense of initiative and enthusiasm about the importance of increasing access to knowledge through language. The right candidate is an energetic team player who agrees with CLEAR Global’s core values and can work remotely to collaborate with partners and team members. The individual should also be proactive and able to identify and flag challenges or blockers for early intervention.
Requirements
Terms and Conditions
Payments will be made as follows:
CLEAR Global will, on a case-by-case basis, specifically request and assign projects to the Lingala Language Lead. For each project, the CLEAR Global line manager will specify a PO number, quantity, rate, and expected delivery dates of services. The currency of this contract is United States dollars (USD). The Lingala Language Lead will submit an invoice in USD, at the end of each month, for work completed that month. Payments will be made within 30 days of submission of the invoice and CLEAR Global's approval of all associated deliverables. CLEAR Global will meet all its fiscal, financial, and legal obligations as part of the contract.
Rates for services will be gross USD 10 or USD 5 per hour, depending on the type of task performed:
The Lingala Language Lead will be expected to provide their own equipment, including a computer and internet access. Access to the TWB Voice platform and relevant documentation will be provided by CLEAR Global.
About CLEAR Global
CLEAR Global exists to help people get vital information, and be heard, whatever language they speak. We believe that everyone has the right to give and receive information in a language and format they understand. We work with nonprofit partners and a global community of language professionals to build local language translation capacity, and raise awareness of language barriers. Our network of over 100,000 community members translate millions of words of life-saving and life-changing information a year.
Core Values
CLEAR Global employees and volunteers are people who believe passionately about the value of this work and take personal responsibility for achieving the mission. CLEAR Global’s mission and organizational spirit embody the core values established in its strategic framework:
Excellence: As the leading voice for communicating humanitarian information in the right language, CLEAR Global is a leader in the translation industry and in the non-profit sector.
Integrity: CLEAR Global believes that every person, whether it is the people who we serve, our volunteers or our staff, has value, deserves respect and has inherent dignity.
Empowerment: CLEAR Global believes in using language to empower people around the world to control their own development and destiny.
Innovation: CLEAR Global recognizes and celebrates the power of innovation to address humanitarian and crisis issues around the world.
Sustainability: CLEAR Global recognizes that meeting our mission necessitates establishment and maintenance of a solid financial and organizational infrastructure.
Tolerance: Our staff and volunteers are highly knowledgeable and skilled; value each other, our partner and our recipients; create a supportive work environment; and conduct themselves professionally at all times.