Director of Localization

Overview

From extreme to mainstream, GoPro’s HERO® line of wearable and gear-mountable capture devices are transforming the way consumers, professional athletes, and video production professionals capture, manage and share meaningful photo and video content.

What You Will Do:
Harmonize localization processes across diverse GoPro customer-facing properties and related activities, eventually including, but not limited to:
Creative,
Marketing,
Ecommerce,
Website,
User documentation
Software and hardware;
Interact with current localization service requestors to understand their needs and timelines;
Interact with recipients/users of localized properties (e.g. regional Sales managers and representatives, managers in production and fulfillment, regional distribution partners) to gain understanding of past and current issues with quality and timeliness of delivery;
Centralize all localization activities under one internal organization that serves all internal requestors and recipients of localization services and properties;
Gradually take ownership of and responsibility for all localization activities within the company with a view towards improving quality and reducing costs where possible;
Refine the localization vendor strategy to optimize expenditure, improve quality, and mitigate risk;
Choose, purchase, and deploy appropriate tools to manage localization activities;
Collect, collate, and harmonize translation memories and terminology databases;
Establish best practices for source-language terminology management, coupled with localization of key terms, phrases, tag lines, etc., and in-country validation thereof;
Establish a process for efficient in-country review of key localized content;
Establish workflows and timelines for requesting localization services;
Together with the Sr. Director of Globalization Operations, build a team of linguists to best serve GoPro’s needs for localization services;
After hiring of a Manager of Translation Services who will be responsible for the day-to-day project flow, the longer-term mandate for this role will shift to more strategic activities such as:
Planning of and overseeing adherence to the localization expenditure budget;
Interacting with Sales Management, Product and Development Management, Marketing, Documentation, and Fulfillment to optimize mid- to long-term scheduling of localization activities;
Together with Marketing, taking on management of localization of SEO keywords, establishing and deploying analysis of metrics to measure effectiveness and ROI of localized marketing initiatives, geolocation analysis of Website page views, planning of localized microsites or other such initiatives;
Overall management of the Europe-based localization services entity after the existing Sr. Director of Globalization Operations (S. Baumer) returns to the United States;
Performance reviews of the localization team.

Company:

GoPro

Qualifications:

Skills We’re Stoked About:
Minimum seven years’ of experience in a senior localization management position (10 years or more is an asset);
Minimum five years’ team management experience;
Minimum five years’ localization project management experience;
In-depth knowledge of localization processes across multiple content types (Web sites, database-driven Websites, marketing content, product documentation, software/hardware);
Experience with and/or understanding of transcreation;
Understanding of the SDLC, waterfall/agile methodologies, and the software developer mentality;
Hands-on experience with translation tools (e.g. Trados, memoQ, Plunet, WorldServer);
Vendor management experience;
Understanding of principles and usage constraints of machine translation;
Excellent verbal and written English;
Fluency in at least two languages;
Familiarity with SEO principles;
Familiarity with HTML, XML, XLIFF, TMX, TBX, etc. (IDML, MIF are assets);
Familiarity with cost accounting principles.
Ability to travel: approximately 25%

Soft skills:
Ability to listen and to accurately rephrase the views of others;
Ability to build consensus among stakeholders with sometimes conflicting agendas and needs;
Ability to articulate benefits and risks of corporate decisions both verbally and in written or presentation form (public presentation experience is an asset);
Analytical orientation, problem-solving ability, solution focus;
Ability to work with minimal supervision;
Ability to multitask under pressure;
Driven to achieve highest possible quality within pragmatic constraints;
Love of technology and passion for the localization mission.

Level of experience (years):

Senior (5+ years of experience)

Tagged as: Industry, Localization, Machine Translation, Netherlands, Tagging