Summary
Job Description
We are looking for a highly organized and detail-oriented Localization Vendor Manager / Recruiter / HR Generalist to source, onboard, and manage translation vendors, freelance linguists, and localization specialists. In this role, you will play a key part in building and maintaining a high-quality localization talent pool while ensuring smooth operations across recruitment, contract negotiations, and vendor performance management. If you have experience in vendor management, localization workflows, and talent acquisition, this is a great opportunity to make an impact in a fast-paced, global environment.
Key Responsibilities
- Vendor & Freelancer Management
- Identify, recruit, and onboard translation vendors, freelance linguists, and language service providers (LSPs).
- Negotiate contracts, rates, and service agreements with vendors.
- Maintain strong relationships with vendors and freelancers to ensure quality and efficiency.
- Monitor vendor performance based on key metrics (quality, turnaround time, cost-effectiveness).
- Address vendor concerns, resolve disputes, and ensure compliance with SLAs.
- Recruitment & HR Support for Localization Talent
- Manage hiring processes for in-house linguists, localization project managers, and quality reviewers.
- Develop job descriptions and coordinate with HR and TA to source candidates.
- Screen, interview, and assess candidates based on appropriate skills.
- Oversee onboarding and training for new hires and vendors.
- Support HR-related processes such as contract renewals, compliance checks, and payment coordination.
- Process Optimization & Workflow Management
- Implement best practices for vendor selection, onboarding, and performance tracking.
- Maintain and update vendor databases, contracts, and payment records.
- Work closely with localization project managers to match the right vendors to specific projects.
- Identify and onboard vendors for new languages or specialized content needs.
- Quality Control & Compliance
- Ensure vendors meet quality standards through periodic evaluations.
- Collaborate with linguistic reviewers to gather feedback and improve vendor performance.
- Ensure compliance with data security, confidentiality, and regulatory requirements.
- HR, Financial & Administrative Support
- Assist with HR-related tasks for in-house localization employees, such as contract renewals, and payroll documentation.
- Address queries related to HR policies, benefits, and company procedures for localization team members.
- Manage vendor invoices, track payments, and coordinate with finance teams.
- Monitor localization budgets and ensure cost-effective vendor management.
- Generate reports on vendor performance, costs, and hiring trends.
Skills, Experience & Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Human Resources, or a related field.
- 5+ years’ experience in localization vendor management, recruitment, or HR support.
- Strong negotiation and relationship management skills.
- Experience with HR software, applicant tracking systems (ATS), and vendor management tools.
- Understanding of localization workflows and language quality assurance.
- Excellent communication skills for working with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
- Ability to manage multiple vendors and recruitment processes simultaneously.
Requirements
Mother tongue in the required language as specified above. 100% fluency in English – full working proficiency of both written and spoken English. Deep knowledge of linguistics. Strong analytical, communication and interpersonal skills. Excellent attention to details. Excellent team player. Self driven, flexibility to work on multiple projects and with various types of deadlines. Ability to thrive under pressure and function effectively in a fast-paced environment. A person who enjoys breaking the software in order to make it better. Obsessed by detail, quality-driven and attention to cultural differences. Expertise/high interest in information technology. Excellent partnership and interpersonal communication skills. Large vocabulary, literacy, and cross-cultural knowledge. Knowledgeable in, and critical to, multilingual and multicultural issues. Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, problem solving and communication skills. Demonstrated aptitude to independently learn new technologies. Self-motivated and proactive with demonstrated creative and critical thinking capabilities. Flexibility to respond and react to changing priorities quickly and efficiently. Works collaboratively and responsively with Colleagues, Managers, Production Centre and other stakeholders. Professional and clear communication skills with the ability to influence a positive outcome to terminology discussions. Preferred:
- Experience in software localisation/internationalisation.
- Strong programming and technical skills.
- Experience in translation of UI for high-end software products and working with cross-functional groups. Bonus points for:
- Project management experience.
- Real world Software Engineering experience.
- Pro Apps or multimedia software experience, server software or other type of software experts.
- Experience in macOS and/or iOS software development with Xcode.
- Experience in coding software test automation in technologies like Swift, ObjC, Python and Ruby or other programming languages.
- A strong background in UNIX.
- Ability to carry out technical software reviews to assess automation opportunities.
- Experience with localization and internationalization.
- UX writing skills and experience.
- Knowledge of structural aspects of the language (syntax, semantics, phonology, phonetics).
- Experience in natural language processing and computational linguistics.
- Experience with a Programming language.
- Localization project management experience.
- QA experience. Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Electronic Engineering, or equivalent experience.