About the role
Company Overview
Keywords Studios provides media localization and translation services for all project sizes, from indie to AAA games. The company operates a 24-hour follow-the-sun workflow across Asia, Oceania, Europe, and the Americas, utilizing both technology solutions and human oversight to ensure quality control.
Role Overview
The Senior Project Manager ensures that the project management team manages projects efficiently, oversees team needs, and maintains account profitability. Responsibilities include assisting the Senior Production Manager with production localization workflows, transforming client needs into actions, implementing technology and automation, and standardizing processes.
Production Coordination
- Coordinate tasks and responsibilities among the global team and guide work prioritization.
- Monitor capacity, distribute workload, and report status to the Senior Production Manager to offer available time or request additional support.
- Manage bank holiday coverage as required.
- Monitor work flow and analyze data to prevent backlogs or issues.
- Liaise with the client or Senior Production Manager on live work.
- Assist with project management as needed.
Processes
- Document all processes with the PM team and maintain documentation.
- Proactively identify areas for process improvement and implement efficiencies and technologies.
- Provide feedback to company stakeholders and the Senior Production Manager on technical issues or potential improvements based on input from PMs and linguists.
- Work with the Senior Production Manager and global team to ensure project-specific workflows and KWS technical processes are followed.
- Make decisions on work methods at the project and team level while following established company and client standards.
Finance
- Ensure account costs remain within budget.
- Regularly review account margins.
- Analyze cost versus productivity.
- Liaise with the Senior Production Manager to ensure adherence to global strategy.
- Coordinate invoicing, including gathering spend report data and inputting revenue and costs into BPS.
- Oversee approval of supplies and related costs.
- Provide forecasting inputs based on client pipeline information.
- Support margin improvement actions.
- Provide financial reporting as needed.
Communication
- Communicate regularly and professionally with clients to understand goals, expectations, and anticipate needs to prevent issues.
- Supervise PMs' daily client communication to ensure professionalism and efficiency.
- Foster professional working relationships within the global team according to KWS standards.
- Ensure prompt and professional responses to communications from internal and external stakeholders.
Client Management
- Attend client meetings as needed.
- Coordinate and implement client strategy.
- Keep the Senior Production Manager informed about account health and challenges.
- Ensure client complaints are addressed promptly by following KWS and internal processes, including the Keywords CAPA process.
Personal Development
- Support team members and collaborate with the Senior Production Manager to assess training needs and prepare plans to achieve department objectives.
Requirements
- Experience in video games and/or localization sectors (client or vendor side).
- Degree in Business, Audio, Translation, Computer Science, or Games Development is an advantage.
- Familiarity with production workflows is a plus.
- Experience with CAT tools (specifically memoQ) is an advantage.
- Strong knowledge of PC and MS Office products is essential.
- Excellent English verbal and written communication skills.
- Experience in client-facing communication in English and Japanese is a plus.
- Business-level command of Japanese (JLPT N2 or higher) is mandatory.
- Ability to prioritize tasks using good judgment.
- Strong organizational and analytical skills.
- Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines in a remote, fast-paced, complex global environment.
- Ability to manage sensitive and confidential information.
- Motivated team player with a predisposition for personal learning and effective application of business-specific technology and methodologies.
Benefits
- Health insurance, welfare pension insurance, and occupational accident insurance.
- Commuting costs covered up to 30,000 JPY per month.
- Fukurikosei club membership.
- Employee Assistant Program.
- Holidays: Full weekly two-day system (Saturday and Sunday), public holidays, annual paid leave, and congratulations/condolences leave.
Working Conditions
- Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent.
- Working Pattern: Remote and/or Hybrid.
- Location: Tokyo, Japan (Asia Pacific).