Interpreting and Translating Services, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Interpreting and Translating Services

for the U.S. State Department’s Program of Technical Cooperation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The Regional Procurement Support Office in Frankfurt, Germany intends to issue a multi-award, firm-fixed price, indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) type contract for interpreting and translating services required by the Program of Technical Cooperation (PTC-US), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  It is contemplated that the awarded contract’s period of performance will include one base year plus four option years.

The performance work statement requires the successful contractor to provide qualified linguists for translating / interpreting from English into Arabic (written language: Gulf Arabic; spoken language Gulf Arabic) and from Arabic (the same standards) into English.

The required services include:

• Translating training course materials;
• Interpreting training courses during classroom presentation and interaction between students and instructors;
• Performing simultaneous or consecutive interpretation in a variety of settings ranging from private meetings with two or more American or Saudi interlocutors to events in a conference room, auditorium, or other open area with one or more principal speakers and/or interactions with multiple participants;
• Performing voice-over translation of government provided audio-video material.

Place of performance is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (primarily, but not solely, in Riyadh).

The resulting contract shall include the following qualifications for all interpreters and translators to be assigned to this project:

• For native speakers of Arabic, the minimum educational requirement is a Kingdom of Saudi Arabia secondary education diploma or other international equivalent to the American High School Diploma and evidence of successful completion of professional interpreter/translator training.
• For non-native speakers of Arabic who shall have native-level Arabic language proficiency, the minimum requirement is a university-level bachelor’s degree in Arabic language studies and evidence of successful completion of professional interpreter/translator training.
• English Language Full professional proficiency (Interpretation and Translation Level 3) in English documented with relevant degrees, professional training and certifications.
• Three (3) years of experience in translation or consecutive/simultaneous interpretation. Previous employments shall be referenced, description of the work done and information on previous employers provided.
• Good knowledge of the Middle Eastern geography and culture and adequate knowledge  of the American culture
• Basic computer skills with Microsoft Word and Outlook

All interpreters and translators assigned to this project by the contractor shall be eligible to receive a security clearance from the Ministry of Interior and/or the State Security Presidency of Saudi Arabia.  It is the U.S. Government’s experience that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will issue the required security clearances only (but not exclusively) to Saudi nationals.

The Solicitation is planned to be issued in late July 2025. The solicitation package will be posted on SAM.GOV under solicitation number 19GE5025R0110. 

Firms shall be knowledgeable in written and spoken English.

In accordance with DOSAR 652.242-73 AUTHORIZATION AND PERFORMANCE (AUG 1999), it will be necessary for your organization to possess authorization to operate and do business in the country in which this contract will be performed. Furthermore, authorization shall include the requirement to be registered to do business in Saudi Arabia:

a.   A thorough description as to what steps you have taken to investigate all requirements to obtain authorization to perform in the given country, and to obtain in-country business registration;

b.   Details of your findings and a description of what your organization will actually be required to undertake to obtain licensing; and

c.   Specific information concerning the period of time you anticipate it will take to obtain appropriate authorization.

You will be required to provide information that clearly shows you are able to perform work in Saudi Arabia.  Any entry or work visa issues requirements must be clearly discussed with a plan to mitigate any risk clearly identified. 

Registration of the offeror in SAM.GOV is mandatory to be considered for award. The registration must be in “ACTIVE” status.  Offerors may obtain information on registration and annual confirmation requirements at the help tab of https://www.sam.gov and the Federal Service Desk: www.fsd.gov. (The FSD is a free technical support service desk for user assistance.)  

Solicitation and award will be subject to the laws and regulations of the United States of America. This requirement is being competed utilizing full and open competition procedures.

The Contract Specialist for the administration of this contract is Mr. David Machen, Tel. +49 69 7535 3306, email machendd@state.gov.