Spotlight on an Andiamo! Project Manager
Delve into project manager Elizabeth Nightingale’s busy and varied working life!
Following a cheery “good morning” and a hearty bowl of porridge, it’s straight down to work!
I always start by replying to my morning emails and planning out my day. Every Monday morning, we have a project planning meeting, where we discuss what is coming up in the week ahead, translations for delivery and new requests from clients. We all pitch in and help each other get everything done and delivered on time – teamwork makes the dream work at Andiamo!
A translation project manager’s role is incredibly diverse. In addition to specialist linguistic knowledge, it requires creativity, critical thinking and time management. I also draw on mathematical, analytical, research and problem-solving skills each day.
IT skills and computer literacy are essential. In addition to Microsoft Office, we use different types of translation software (called “CAT tools” – meaning “Computer Assisted Translation”) and Adobe InDesign and Illustrator for foreign language typesetting. There are always new developments and techniques to discover in translation technology – it’s interesting to keep abreast of these and very exciting when we find a new or more effective approach to our work!
My usual duties include preparing quotations, planning project schedules, carrying out quality assurance checks on translations and typesetting some of our translated files before delivering to clients. I work closely with our vendor control team, who support us by preparing files for translation and contacting linguists all over the world. We talk to some interesting people!
No two days are alike at Andiamo! Project managers are great multitaskers: one morning can entail preparing a quote to translate a technical manual, checking the translations for a new toy or children’s game (I really enjoy reading the translators’ creative language use!) and typesetting a tourism brochure. It’s rather like being an octopus with something different in each hand. Fortunately, my mid-morning hot drink is in one of them – very important! With so many jobs on the go at once, a good to-do list is a must, and identifying the urgent and important is the best way to plan my busy days. I build in some flexibility so that I can always handle any urgent requests and tasks that come up!
Often, a brisk lunchtime walk is needed to blow some cobwebs away! Lunch is a sociable affair: we all break off and sit together in the meeting room, and sometimes we even pay a group visit to the fish and chip shop across the road!
I’m straight back to it after lunch, and always on hand to prepare quotes when they come in and liaise with our vendor control team, who source and assess suitable translators with relevant specialisms. Sometimes, I benefit from an hour or two’s uninterrupted focus time to typeset a brochure or carry out quality assurance checks on a translation before delivery.
Something I appreciate most about the Andiamo! team is how willing everyone is to help. Constant communication among the projects team gives me the opportunity to raise any queries and discuss approaches to complex jobs. There is always a suitable workaround – sometimes it is a case of thinking outside the box and pooling our resources. We have a “can-do” attitude at Andiamo!
It’s great to be part of such a dedicated, motivated and hardworking team. Everyone is incredibly friendly and always happy to help by sharing their advice and experience. It’s an added bonus when our Office Assistant Sam pays us a visit (although being a border collie, CAT tools are not his area of expertise)!
I like to pause at around 3pm for a cup of tea and to take stock. It’s a good time to follow up any pending quotes and check in with my clients about upcoming requirements.
Then it’s time to ensure that translations are delivered, interpreting assignments have gone well and any queries from clients and translators are resolved before end of business.
After clocking off, I enjoy many evening and weekend activities; running, singing in a choir, playing my French horn in some of Yorkshire’s many symphony orchestras and cosy evenings cooking and reading!
