Translation Project Managers
What is the role of a Project Manager in a translation project?
A translation Project Manager is in charge of supervising the overall organization of translation projects for their clients.
The purpose of a translation Project Manager is to connect the client’s needs with the translators that are best suited for the project at hand.
They handle everything from multilingual translations for international use to managing quality control on large-scale translation projects.
The translation project manager is the primary person in charge of escalating issues for resolution as they occur during the project.
Project management mainly requires coordination, collaboration, planning, and organizing techniques throughout the translation lifecycle.
What Do Translation Project Managers Do?
Essentially, project management in translation and localization projects calls for understanding requirements, creating a plan, and coordinating resources to deliver a polished project successfully.
The level of complexity and difficulty typically differs depending on the project.
As said before, a Project Manager has several tasks they must perform. These tasks include:
- Evaluating and analyzing the source documents to determine the number of elements involved.
- Outlining and creating a project plan for the other staff members involved in the translation.
- Keeping the client updated on the progress of their translation.
- Describing technical issues or industry lingo to the client.
- Ensuring the translations being delivered are complete and yield to original project terms.
These are great ways for a translation company to maintain viable business relationships.
How Much Do Translation Project Managers Earn?
There is a large range of compensation for project managers in the translation industry.
While smaller translation companies may pay as little as $30,000 per year, larger language service providers and Fortune 500 corporations may pay as much as $60,000 per year with increased salaries over time.
The five factors that positively impact a translation project manager’s salary:
- years of experience
- ability to create lasting relationships with key clients
- knowledge of different translation management systems
- knowledge of different translation-support tools
- ability of helping close high ticket sales
Why Project Management is Essential
It is important to note that there are numerous steps in the translation process where communication could potentially deteriorate or create errors.
Professional project managers in translation companies can prevent these mistakes and problems. The skill and experience of a project manager are vital to producing successful translations.
Sometimes, the translation project manager is considered a “smoke detector” because they recognize early signs of problems that could greatly affect the project’s budget or deadline.
- Project management is a service that is highly important not only to the translation company but to the client as well.
When a company is selecting a translation company, they should ask to meet their possible project manager.
This essential staff member will be the main contact for a business from the beginning of the translation process until the end.