Director of Language Services

Localizationacademy; New York (NY); On-site; USD 80,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of New York's Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) seeks a Director of Language Services to lead the unit, shape strategy, and assure accessible language support across agencies.

You will oversee daily operations, manage staff and budgets, drive procurements for translation tools, and collaborate with Mayoral Offices to implement best practices in language access citywide.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 4+ years managing, building, and scaling teams in language services, operations, or a related field.
• Experience with translation/localization workflows and new translation technologies.
• Professional fluency in another language.

Responsibilities

• Set and drive the strategic direction for MOIA's Language Services unit.
• Oversee day-to-day operations, including staff, projects, and vendor relationships.
• Own the unit's budget and lead language services and technology procurements.
• Evaluate service quality and implement improvements and best practices.
• Serve as the point person for urgent and rapid language access needs.
• Lead strategic planning for team growth, including hiring and supervising project managers and language specialists.
• Monitor performance, provide feedback, and conduct appraisals.
• Create internal guides and best practices for the Language Services team.
• Oversee day-to-day operations, coordinating events and liaising with clients and linguistic resources.
• Ensure quality, consistency, and continuous improvement of language services.
• Assess technological needs to improve team operations.
• Manage the unit's budget and lead procurements of language services and technology tools.
• Collaborate with Mayoral Offices and City agencies to share best practices.
• Serve as on-call for after-hours language access needs.
• Lead data management and reporting for internal and external audiences.

Skills

Team leadership

Language services

Budget management

Vendor management

Project coordination

Data analytics

Power BI

Smartling

Trados Studio

MultiTerm

Fluency in another language

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Power BI

Smartling

Trados Studio

MultiTerm

Job description

The Agency Youu2019ll Join

The New York City Mayoru2019s Office is responsible for overseeing city services throughout the five boroughs, coordinating public agencies and departments, and managing public property. The administration is leading the fight in making the city more affordable, reducing inequality, improving public safety, ensuring delivery of efficient and effective services, and working to make New York Cityu2019s economy stronger. We value leadership, transparency, fairness, and efficiency as we actively seek diverse talents from various sectors to join our team. For current job opportunities, visit our careers page.

The Team Youu2019ll Work With

The Mayoru2019s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) was established in 1984 and incorporated into the New York City Charter in 2001 to promote the economic, civic, and social integration of immigrant New Yorkers, expand access to justice, and advance policies that strengthen immigrant communities across the city.

MOIA serves as a bridge between city government and immigrant communities by advising on and supporting the development and implementation of policies and programs that improve access to services for immigrant New Yorkers and speakers of other languages. The office partners with City agencies and community organizations to strengthen language access, expand equitable access to services, and advance initiatives that support immigrant communities citywide.

To learn more, visit: https://www.nyc.gov/site/immigrants/

The Problems Youu2019ll Solve

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.

Specifically, The Director Will

• 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.

Strategic Leadership And Team Management

• 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.

Operations And Quality Oversight

• 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.

Budget And Procurement

• Manage the unit's budget and make sourcing and budgetary recommendations to improve operations.
• Lead key language services and technology tool procurements.

Interagency Coordination And Rapid Response

• 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.

Flexibility And Additional Duties

• Perform other duties as directed to support evolving agency and unit priorities.

About You

The ideal candidate is an experienced operations and team leader with a track record of managing, building, and scaling teams in a fast-paced environment. They bring strong judgment, diplomacy, and the ability to balance long-term strategic planning with urgent, time-sensitive demands.

They should also be a creative problem-solver who is comfortable implementing new technologies and workflows, and who communicates effectively with stakeholders at all levels, from frontline staff to City agency partners.

Specific Skills

• 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.

Minimum Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 4+ years of professional experience managing, building, and scaling teams, preferably in language services, operations, or a related field.

RESEARCH PROJECTS COOR(MA)-MGR - 0527A

Minimum Qualifications

• Do you have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university?
• Do you have an associate degree from an accredited college or university along with two (2) years of experience with administrative, analytic, coordinative, supervisory or liaison responsibilities?
• Do you have a four-year high school diploma, or its educational equivalent approved by a state's Department of Education or a recognized accrediting organization along with four (4) years of experience as described in question '2' above?
• Do you have a satisfactory combination of education and/or experience equivalent to that described in questions '1,' '2,' and '3' above?

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Educationu2019s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

Residency Requirement

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of the interview.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.

, $80,000.00 u2013 $95,000.00