Director of Linguistic Validation

About the role:

Are you a strategic thinker with a passion for innovation and operational excellence? We’re looking for a results-driven leader to join our team as the Director of Linguistic Validation (LV) Operations.

In this high-impact role, you will report directly to the Vice President of Operations and take charge of cultivating strong client relationships, ensuring seamless program delivery, and driving sustainable growth. As a key player, you’ll oversee the operations of our Linguistic Validation business unit, with accountability for profitability, client satisfaction, on-time delivery, and quality.

Key Responsibilities:

• Engage with customers as the senior operational leader.
• Analyze and evaluate customer business issues and lead teams to execute on defined solutions across all business unit service offerings.
• Accountable for increasing organic program revenue, managing margin and other KPIs.
• Collaborate with operations leadership to ensure customer satisfaction and implement continual process improvement, measurement/benchmarking, and automation across all lines of service delivery.
• Record, analyze and evaluate the performance of delivery teams and external suppliers to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction, quality, and profitability.
• Responsible for the analysis, evaluation and generation of operational revenue forecast and partners with sales/account management team on the evaluation and generation of sales forecast.
• Provide support as a key interface with clients at the last stage of the sales cycle; provide thought leadership for solution generation; and drive transition and on-boarding of new clients as appropriate.
• Serve as an escalation point for customer accounts in collaboration with account management teams.
• Lead operations discussions with the customer, and proactively monitor and share customer feedback received through the client feedback database ensuring appropriate actions are taken and shared with the customer in a timely manner.
• Lead in formulating, interpreting, implementing, and measuring processes for service offerings.
• Develop and certify programs for operational readiness, support in hiring, and focus on lowering costs related to client solutions and services.
• Accountable for the overall financial health of the accounts, including gross margin performance.
• Collaborate with site and senior business unit leadership to drive teams in improving all areas including process, people and technology. This could include but is not limited to evaluation of the P&L statements, outsourcing performance and behavior, and innovation of process and technology to increase productivity and/or profitability.
• Understands and adheres to company Quality Management System (QMS) requirements. Performs root cause analysis.
• Supervise, set performance standards, and evaluate assigned personnel for the purpose of ensuring their department and individual performance objectives are met.
• Analyze department work levels and receives appropriate approval for changes in staffing levels/positions to meet business unit work needs. Participate in the selection process for new employees, as needed.

Skills & Experience:

• Experience in a similar role at Director or Senior Management role
• Experience coordinating complex projects within the translation/localization industry with preference for background in medical translations.
• Fluent English verbal and written communication skills along with strong presentation skills.
• Successful customer service/account management experience, generally a minimum of five years within the translations industry.
• Successful leadership experience as department or program manager with preference within Linguistic Validation.
• A progressive record of increasing responsibility in management leading up to a senior management position including demonstrated successful performance in operations management.
• Exceptional track record of successfully managing relationships with clients, internal stakeholders, and management team.
• Experience operating in a fast growing international company with revenues at or above $70m.
• PMP Certification a plus.

At RWS, we’re here for one purpose: unlocking global understanding.

As a unique, world-leading provider of technology-enabled language, content, and intellectual property services, we remove the barriers to communication to make global connection possible. Our unrivalled experience and deep understanding of language have been developed over more than 60 years. As we look to shape the future, our ambition is to create a world where understanding is universal for everyone.

We work with over 80% of the world’s top 100 brands, more than three-quarters of Fortune’s 20 ‘Most Admired Companies’ and almost all the top pharmaceutical companies, investment banks, law firms and patent filers. Our client base spans Europe, Asia Pacific and North and South America. Our 65+ global locations across five continents service clients in the automotive, chemical, financial, legal, medical, pharmaceutical, technology and telecommunications sectors.

Over the past 20 years we’ve been evolving our own AI solutions as well as helping clients to explore, build and use multilingual AI applications. With 45+ AI-related patents and more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, we have the experience and expertise to support clients on their AI journey.

If you like the idea of working with smart people who are passionate about breaking down language barriers and giving back to their communities, then you’ll love life at RWS. Our work fundamentally recognizes the value of every language and culture. So, we celebrate difference, we are inclusive and believe that diversity makes us strong.

We want every employee to grow as an individual and excel in their career. In return, we expect all our people to live by the values that unite us: to partner with colleagues and clients, to adopt a pioneering spirit, to be positive in progressing the work we do, and always to deliver what we promise.

RWS embraces DEI and promotes equal opportunity, we are an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind. RWS is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at RWS are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sex, age, disability, or sexual orientation. RWS will not tolerate discrimination based on any of these characteristics.

Recruitment Agencies: RWS Holdings PLC does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward any unsolicited resumes to any RWS employees. Any unsolicited resume received will be treated as the property of RWS and Terms & Conditions associated with the use of such resume will be considered null and void.