Have you ever considered working as a translation project manager?
As project managers work outside of the spotlight, many language professionals aren’t even quite sure what project managers do.
However, project managers in the translation industry have a coveted position. They can build relationships with stakeholders at every stage of the translation workflow process, including translators and translation clients.
Often, a translation project manager can be exposed to dozens of languages, and dozens of industry verticals in the space of a week! It is a great position for people who like to learn and explore new subject domains.
But it is also not for the faint of heart. This role involves navigating delicate situations, providing constructive feedback, and often, working under tight deadlines.
Would you ever consider providing project management services?
We’ll explain more about how translation project managers work, and you can decide for yourself!
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What Does a Translation Project Manager Do, Anyway?
The duties of a translation project manager can vary from company to company, but generally, a translation project manager oversees the full life-cycle of a translation project.
This means:
- receiving the request from the client
- helping the client understand what they need
- providing a quote
- assigning the job to the right team of specialized translators, editors, and/or formatters
- overseeing the timeline and questions that arise
- delivering the file, and finally,
- implementing feedback.
Depending on the size of the company, the project manager might not be responsible for all of these steps. In some cases, account or sales managers communicate with the client and provide quotes. In those cases, the project manager is only responsible for managing the vendors.
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Why Should You Work as a Translation Project Manager?
If you are reading our blog, you are probably interested in the translation industry. Perhaps you are a freelance translator looking to diversify your income. Or maybe you are looking for a way to enter the translation industry despite not yet having the training to become a translator.
Or perhaps you are just interested in a job that lets you be exposed to a variety of languages and cultures every day!
A project manager can benefit from all of the above. Unlike translation work, there are many more in-house positions available. These positions are often (but not always) better paid, because it does involve learning several specialized skills.
Since project managers work with dozens of languages instead of just one or two, this role is less prone to the “feast and famine” cycle that plagues freelance translators.
And finally, many people find project management to be an exciting, challenging rol. It is certainly never boring! Project managers must juggle teams of several translators, solve problems on the fly, and communicate effectively with global teams hailing from very different cultures.
It is a job where you learn a lot every day.
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The Job Is Not for Everyone
However, not everyone is cut out to be a project manager. In this role, you become peacemaker, mediator, and coach: managing egos, managing expectations. Clients may have unrealistic demands. Freelancers may fall short. Translation project managers must be quick thinkers, skilled multi-taskers, and resilient under pressure.
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What Do You Need to Become a Project Manager?
Project managers can come from a variety of backgrounds. If you are managing translations, it definitely helps to have experience with the translation industry, whether you have worked as a translator in the past or whether you have purchased translations.
However, many project managers start out with no industry experience, just a strong desire to learn!
You don’t actually even need to know a foreign language to work as a project manager, although it certainly helps.
Most importantly, you need to be a people person: with good interpersonal skills and a sensitivity to the needs of the people you work with.
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What Kind of Tools or Software Do You Need to Work as a Translation Project Manager?
At most companies, project managers will need at least basic familiarity with certain tools. These include:
Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) Tools
Word counting tools
OCR tools
E-mail tracking tools
And more!
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What else do you need to know?
Finally, translation project managers need to be good at calculating timezone differences, calculating turnaround times (how many words a team of translators can handle by a client deadline), negotiating rates, and providing constructive feedback.
Does this sound like a role you would be interested in taking on?
If you’d like to learn more, check out our short online course, “How to Work as a Translation Project Manager”. This course teaches you everything you need to prepare for and find jobs as a Translation Project Manager, including translation workflow procedures, translation management tools and software, quality assurance, negotiation techniques, cross-cultural communication, and more.