Director of Language Services

City of New York•New York City, NY

13d

About The Position

The Director of Language Services leads MOIA's Language Services unit, which provides high-quality translation and interpretation services to MOIA, Mayoral Offices, City Hall, and the Mayor. Reporting to the Deputy Commissioner of Operations, the Director sets the strategic direction for the unit, oversees its daily operations, and ensures that limited English speakers across the city have reliable access to the language services they need. The Director plays a central role in the unit's budget, staffing, and procurement decisions, and works closely with Mayoral Offices and City agencies to share and implement language access best practices citywide. The role requires balancing long-term strategic planning with responsiveness to urgent, time-sensitive requests in a fast-paced environment.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required.
4+ years of professional experience managing, building, and scaling teams, preferably in language services, operations, or a related field.
Experience providing technical assistance to stakeholders on language services.
Experience implementing translation and localization workflows and new translation technologies.
Strong time management skills and experience working with multiple stakeholders to resolve problems.
Experience with data analytics and visualization tools, such as MS Power BI.
Experience with localization tools, such as Smartling, and CAT tools, such as Trados Studio and MultiTerm.
Professional fluency in another language.

Responsibilities

Set and drive the strategic direction and growth plan for MOIA's Language Services unit.
Oversee day-to-day operations, including managing staff, projects, and vendor relationships.
Own the unit's budget and lead key language services and technology procurements.
Evaluate service quality and implement improvements, industry best practices, and workflow optimizations.
Serve as the point person for urgent and rapid response language access needs.
Lead strategic planning for team growth, including hiring and supervising project managers and language specialists.
Set and monitor performance expectations, provide feedback, and conduct formal appraisals to ensure team members meet performance goals.
Create internal guides, presentations, and best practices for the Language Services team, which can also be shared with Mayoral Offices and City agencies.
Oversee day-to-day operations of the Language Services unit, including managing projects and staff, coordinating events, and liaising with clients, partners, and linguistic resources.
Oversee the quality, consistency, and continuous improvement of language services.
Evaluate and monitor language services delivery to identify opportunities for improvement and implement industry best practices and workflow optimizations.
Assess technological needs to improve team operations.
Manage the unit's budget and make sourcing and budgetary recommendations to improve operations.
Lead key language services and technology tool procurements.
Collaborate closely with Mayoral Offices and City agencies to share and implement language access best practices.
Serve as the point person for urgent and rapid response requests that may occur after hours and during weekends, possibly in rotation with other Language Services team staff.
Lead data management and reporting for internal and external audiences.
Perform other duties as directed to support evolving agency and unit priorities.