European Language Resources Association
(ELRA)
Technical assistant position
The European Language Resources Association (ELRA) invites applications for
the position of a Technical assistant.
ELRA was established in February 1995, with the encouragement of the
European Commission, to promote the development and exploitation of Language
Resources (LR). Language Resources include all data necessary for language
engineering, such as monolingual and multilingual lexica, text corpora,
speech databases and terminology. The role of the non-profit Association is
to promote the production of LR and to collect, validate, and make them
available to users. It will gather information on market needs and
encourage the Commission and other funding bodies to support the development
of the LR most urgently needed.
The Association has members drawn from every country in the European Union
and expects to attract subscribers from throughout the world. At present,
ELRA is financed from membership fees and grants; in the future the
Association will derive income from the sale of licences to users world
wide. After an initial start-up period of four years, it is planned that the
Association will be financially independent and self-supporting.
The Association appointed Dr. Khalid CHOUKRI as its Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) to manage the activities of the Association. The CEO is recruiting a
small team to help him run the technical and contractual activities of the
association.
The CEO first task consisted of setting up the Main Central Distribution
Unit (CDU) in its initial configuration. In order to allow the association
to enter, more easily, in =AB commercial =BB agreements, the CEO established=
a
small company called European Language resources Distribution Agency
(ELDA), in Paris, construed and controlled by the French Laws. It consists
of an SARL (Soci=E9t=E9 =E0 responsabilit=E9 limit=E9e), having its place of=
business at:
87, Avenue d=92ITALIE
75013, PARIS
FRANCE
Tel. +33 1 45 86 53 00
Fax. +33 1 45 86 44 88
Email: elra@calvanet.calvacom.fr
ELDA has immediate opportunities for a Technical assistant position. He will
help manage the activities of the Association contributing to the work of
the small support team, establishing an infrastructure for the collection,
validation, and licensing of LR.
This yields excellent opportunities for young, creative, and motivated
candidates wishing to participate actively in establishing/building the
European Union Language Engineering field.
Responsibilities=20
Under the supervision of the CEO, the technical assistant responsibilities
will cover:
* Contribution to the work of a small support team and creation of an
infrastructure for the collection, validation, and licensing of LR.
=20
* Implemention and negociation of licensing agreements for Language=
Resources
=20
* Interaction with the relevant players (i.e.: producers, owners and users
of LR who may be in the industrial, commercial or academic world; and
governmental and non-governmental agencies) for technical/contractual=
issues.
Qualifications
The successful candidate will have:
=B7 Excellent record in Language Engineering and related fields
=20
=B7 Technical , commercial and/or marketing experience in design and
development of Language Engineering solutions (preference for candidats
with experience in the fields of written text and/or Terminology).=20
=20
=B7 Demonstrated experience in collecting, validating, and marketing=
language
resources, software or other forms of intellectual property is desired.
=20
=B7 Experience in packaging language resources for distribution using=
CD-ROM,
ftp facilities, etc.. will be a plus.
=20
=B7 Candidat will need to negotiate contracts in the field of Language
Engineering, at an international level, previous practical experience is
desirable, as well as knowledge of and experience with intellectual property
issues.
=20
=B7 Citizenship of, or residency papers for an EU country
=20
=B7 Ability to work in at least two European languages is essential/
=20
=20
Terms and conditions of employment will be subject to negotiation but will
be commensurate with the responsibilities of the post, and will include
performance-based incentives.
The position is based in Paris and offer career opportunities for ambitious
candidates.
This is a one year appointment in the first instance, with the strong
likelihood of a further 2 years of employment or permanent position.
Further information is available about the Technical Assistant post and the
Association from the CEO.
Application
Applicants should send a cover letter addressing the points listed above,
together with a current Curriculum Vitae, to:
ELRA - Distribution Agency (ELDA)
Dr. Khalid CHOUKRI
Executive Director
87, Avenue d'Italie, F-75013, PARIS,
FRANCE
(Emails and faxes accepted but with follow up by post).
Closing date for applications: April, 08, 1996.