Vendor & Translation Operations Associate

About Us:

Montana Language Services (MTLS) partners with organizations to design, manage, and scale language access operations. Rather than simply providing interpretation or translation, we work alongside our clients to build reliable language service workflows that integrate into their daily operations. Through a combination of professional linguists, technology platforms, and structured vendor management, MTLS helps organizations ensure multilingual communication is consistent, efficient, and accessible. Our work supports government agencies, healthcare providers, schools, and businesses serving diverse communities across Montana.

Role Overview:

This role is split evenly between two functions: 50% Vendor Management and 50% Translation & Transcription Operations. Reporting directly to the COO, the Vendor and Translation Operations Associate owns MTLS’s vendor network end-to-end and fully owns the Translation department.

MTLS has already built its core vendor management and recruitment pipelines. This role owns and runs the full vendor lifecycle (onboarding, engagement, performance management, policy upkeep, database integrity, and long-term vendor strategy) using and continuously improving that existing infrastructure. As MTLS grows, this role scales and strengthens that foundation rather than building it from zero.

MTLS’s translation department is fully established and ready to run, including transcription projects. The Vendor & Translation Operations Associate takes full ownership of translation and transcription from intake to delivery, operating within our existing systems: LSP.Expert for project management, Phrase as our CAT tool, and Happy Scribe for transcription. This includes managing linguist and transcriber assignments, tracking timelines, owning client communication, and maintaining documentation standards. The goal is consistent delivery, strong quality assurance, and continuous workflow improvement.

This position works closely with our current project manager at the interpretation department and cross-functional teams to support efficient service delivery and vendor performance.

Tools You’ll Use

• LSP.Expert: project, vendor, and financial management
• Phrase: CAT tool for translation
• Happy Scribe: transcription platform
• Google Sheets: Recruitment pipeline and vendor database

Core Responsibilities

This role is split evenly: 50% Vendor Management (operating and scaling an established pipeline) and 50% Translation & Transcription Operations (operating an established, tool-driven department).

Vendor Management

• Maintain and refine our established vendor policies, onboarding standards, and operational expectations for interpreters and translators.
• Maintain rate frameworks aligned with market conditions, service type, and quality standards.
• Re-engage inactive vendors and maintain active communication to strengthen long-term vendor
• relationships.
• Recruit interpreters and translators through our existing recruitment pipeline to support project demand, with a focus on high-demand and rare languages.
• Grow and strengthen our in-person interpreter pools in key locations in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.
• Continue reducing recruitment-to-activation timelines by refining our existing recruitment workflows and onboarding processes.
• Verify vendor credentials, certifications, and compliance documentation and maintain accurate records.
• Maintain the Vendor Master Database, ensuring vendor profiles, rates, language combinations, and
• qualifications remain accurate and up to date.
• Keep vendor recruitment tracking centralized and continue raising documentation standards across vendor records.
• Track vendor utilization, response times, availability, and performance to support scheduling efficiency.
• Maintain and improve the standardized vendor onboarding system, documentation, and procedures
• already in place.
• Maintain and expand vendor training materials and guidance on MTLS processes, platforms, and
• expectations.
• Support quality improvement initiatives by reinforcing standards and collecting feedback from project
• managers and clients.
• Coordinate with project managers to ensure vendor availability aligns with project demand and service
• delivery needs.
• Support recruitment visibility and vendor communication initiatives that strengthen MTLS’s professional presence and vendor network.

Translation & Transcription Operations

• Craft accurate and competitive translation quotes that optimize margins and support client approval.
• Manage translation and transcription projects from intake through final delivery in LSP.Expert, ensuring projects run smoothly, meet deadlines, and follow our standardized PM process.
• Determine project scope, timelines, budgets, and resource requirements in coordination with the Vendor Management function.
• Assign linguists and transcribers based on expertise, availability, and project requirements.
• Maintain profitability through proper resource selection, effective use of Phrase (our CAT tool), and
• accurate estimation of editing and review time.
• Manage transcription projects using Happy Scribe, ensuring accuracy, formatting, and turnaround
• standards are met.
• Ensure work is scheduled correctly and instructions are clearly communicated to linguists and
• transcribers.
• Track project timelines and monitor progress to ensure on-time delivery.
• Maintain organized project files, naming conventions, and documentation.
• Optimize source files for CAT tool (Phrase) conversion when necessary.
• Perform thorough quality assurance checks on all translation and transcription deliverables.
• Build and maintain translation memories and internal style guides in Phrase to support quality and
• consistency.
• Support client communication throughout the project lifecycle, including clarifications, updates, and follow-ups.
• Collaborate with the Finance team to ensure rates, invoices, and purchase orders remain accurate across platforms such as LSP.Expert and QuickBooks.
• Track operational metrics such as on-time delivery and revision rates, and identify opportunities to improve workflows and reduce revision cycles.

Skills, Abilities and Role Fit:

1. Excellent writing, editing, formatting, and translation technology skills (CAT tools, translation platforms, and related systems).
2. Strong organizational, communication, and time management skills with consistent punctuality and reliability.
3. Ability to troubleshoot technical issues, resolve operational problems, and manage customer service escalations effectively.
4. Ability to perform well in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and adapt to changing priorities and project demands.
5. Thinks in systems and builds processes that improve consistency, efficiency, and scalability.
6. Maintains strong attention to detail across projects, documentation, and operational workflows.
7. Holds operational and quality standards firmly while maintaining professional relationships with vendors, clients, and internal teams.
8. Documents processes clearly to support training, transparency, and operational continuity.
9. Works effectively across teams and manages responsibilities well in high-pressure or time-sensitive situations.
10. Demonstrates curiosity, initiative, and a mindset focused on continuous improvement and innovation.
11. Comfortable operating and continuously improving several established, tool-driven systems at once — vendor management, translation, and transcription — across platforms like LSP.Expert, Phrase, and Happy Scribe.
12. Aligns with MTLS values of Communication is key, Ownership & Accountability, Human-Tech Harmony, Customer Obsession and Delivering Excellence.

Compensation

$850 USD per month – START DATE: AUGUST 17th, 2026

• Bonus: Eligible for a half-year bonus of up to 40% of your monthly compensation, and a year-end bonus of up to 60% of your monthly compensation, both based on your performance review.
• Please note: This is a salaried position and does not include overtime pay. While occasional extended hours may be required during peak periods, we value work-life balance and expect team members to manage their time effectively.

Additional Benefits

• Monday to Friday schedule, full business days from 9 AM to 6 PM Peruvian Time.
• U.S. Federal holidays
• Opportunity to work with a U.S.-based company and gain international experience
• Clear growth opportunities within the company
• Paid time off: after 6 months, 5 paid vacation days + 3 sick days; after 1 year, 10 paid vacation days + 5 sick days
• Your birthday off – because you deserve to celebrate!

How to Apply

Please send your resume to [email protected], with your name in the subject line. Along with your resume, answer this in a few sentences: Tell us about something you taught yourself on your own, with no one guiding you. What was the hardest part, and what did you get wrong before you got it right?

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