Language Strategy Manager

City of New York•New York City, NY

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Campaign Finance Board (CFB) is a nonpartisan, independent city agency dedicated to making local democracy more open, transparent, and equitable by empowering New Yorkers to participate more meaningfully in elections. The Public Affairs Division, specifically the Language Access Unit, is responsible for ensuring that all CFB Spanish-language content is accurate, culturally resonant, high-quality, and accessible for Spanish-speaking New Yorkers. This role ensures effective engagement with CFB programs and initiatives, strengthens internal linguistic capacity, streamlines translation workflows, and supports broader strategic language access efforts. The Language Strategy Manager will serve as the agency’s lead Spanish linguist, cultural consultant, and strategist. This role involves managing all Spanish-language content, optimizing translation processes, ensuring linguistic quality assurance, providing cultural insights for creative campaigns, and leading the Language Access Specialist (Spanish) team. The position requires advanced linguistic skills, knowledge of translation management systems, cultural sensitivity, and strong leadership abilities.

Requirements

Knowledge of Spanish grammar, syntax, style, and regional variations relevant NYC’s diverse Spanish speaking communities.
Knowledge of translation, transcreation, localization, and SEO best practices.
Knowledge of cultural sensitivity principles and how cultural context informs meaning, tone, and messaging resonance.
Knowledge of translation management systems (RWS Trados and Smartling), including terminology and translation memory management, workflow configuration and evaluation.
Knowledge of language services best practices, standard operations procedures (SOP) and service level agreements (SLA) development, and operational performance measurement.
Knowledge of spoken interpretation principles and best practices, particularly for virtual and in person events.
Knowledge of linguistic feedback processes, content evaluation methods, and community input implementation.
Knowledge of communications, audience research, multicultural marketing, and campaign planning for Spanish speaking populations
Knowledge of effective people management practices, including goal-setting, performance evaluation, mentorship and professional development.
Advanced translation, transcreation and transcreation skills that produce Spanish language materials that are linguistically accurate and culturally resonant.
Advanced bilingual writing, editing, reviewing, and linguistic approval skills across formats including print, digital, audio, video, and web.
Advanced terminology and style guide development and management skills.
Strong quality assurance and editorial skills, including detailed review, terminology and style consistency validation.
Strong translation management system operational skills, optimizing automated workflows, managing termbases, and maintaining translation memories.
Strong cross functional communication skills for advising internal stakeholders and vendors on integrating meaningful language access into planning and project development.
Strong attention to detail and analytical skills for evaluating translation quality, flagging inconsistencies, and implementing corrective measures.
Skills in evaluating Spanish language campaign performance using qualitative and quantitative linguistic and cultural competency metrics.
Strong leadership and communication skills to set clear expectations, provide actionable feedback, facilitate staff member growth, and drive high-performing, collaborative team environments.
Ability to lead high volume Spanish-language deliverables across formats, maintaining accuracy and consistency.
Ability to establish and maintain SOPs and SLAs that drive towards continuous quality and efficiency improvements.
Ability to design and maintain linguistic QA processes that scale across teams and evolving agency needs.
Ability to communicate complex linguistic or cultural considerations to non linguists in clear, actionable ways.
Ability to assess organizational needs and propose staffing/vending expansions in Spanish and languages other than Spanish.
Ability to lead team operations with agency priorities, ensuring efficient use of resources while fostering creativity, accountability and innovation.
Strong commitment to advancing language justice for Spanish speaking NYC voters, candidates and contributors.
Strong cultural awareness and sensitivity when engaging with NYC’s diverse Spanish-speaking communities.
Adaptability in managing diverse projects, workflows and shifting campaign priorities.
Strong accountability in maintaining quality, meeting deadlines, and upholding operational standards.

Nice To Haves

3-5 years of advanced expertise in Spanish linguistics and cultural competency consultation, including directly managing and building translation teams.
American Translators Association (ATA) certification, or equivalent.
RSW Trados, MemoQ, Phrase or Wordfast training certification.
Experience developing marketing materials for Spanish speaking audiences.

Responsibilities

Lead all Spanish-language translation, transcreation and localization work across print, digital, audio, video, and web content, serving as the agency’s highest-level linguistic approver.
Direct and optimize the Spanish language team’s use of translation management systems (RWS Trados and Smartling) to improve quality and reduce turnaround times.
Support Spanish SEO localization strategies to increase reach and engagement.
Develop and implement SLAs for Spanish-language deliverables to ensure timely and high-quality production.
Administer and update Spanish fluency assessments for internal and external staff supporting Spanish-speaking communities.
Monitor, supervise, or support Spanish interpretation services for virtual and in-person events.
Provide strategic leadership for Spanish-language quality assurance, setting standards for terminology, style, and translation memory governance.
Establish and manage measurable linguistic standards that improve the quality of our Spanish language materials by updating and maintaining glossaries, style guides, and translation memories.
Implement and manage structured linguistic QA processes, including integration of community and partner feedback to strengthen cultural and linguistic accuracy.
Lead end-to-end Spanish-language strategy for creative campaigns, including translation, transcreation, localization, QA, and original content development.
Collaborate with Marketing & Digital Communications, and Public Relations, to shape Spanish-language audience strategy, messaging, creative briefs, and channel approaches from campaign inception.
Offer expert linguistic and cultural insights ensuring that tone, terminology, and messaging are accurate, culturally resonant, and aligned with audience needs.
Lead Spanish-language campaign performance reviews and transform linguistic, cultural, and creative findings into actionable recommendations for future work.
Support the implementation of the agency’s broader language access strategies.
Lead, supervise, mentor and coach Language Access Specialist (Spanish) team member, and lead the expansion of internal and external linguistic resources for languages other than Spanish.