Translator Japanese to English [Tokyo]

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INSIDE STORY

Second time this job is being run. Last time was in march 2012. Since then had a full time translator abruptly leave and was swamped looking for a replacement.

Replacement came in the form of a contract employee. That contract ends in November-December time frame. Definitely hiring a full-timer. Also need part timers and freelancers. So looking for more than one candidate!

Our contract guy is on a short-time contract and we expect to say good-bye to him sometime in November-December. Ideally, want to find someone permanent by that time. Ideally that person will combine enthusiasm for translating with desire to build a small translation business. At the same time, looking for part-time and freelance translators and editors. All Japanese -> English.

So there you have it.

Company

Provides internet based research and infomation sharing platform that aggregates user editable reports on Japanese companies. Corporate clients receive an independent of investment biases third party view, to better inform investors and other stakeholders by presenting continuously updated comprehensive report coverage of Japanese companies.

SR Inc. is currently in the business of 'sponsored research' whereas companies pay us to provide an exhaustive descriptive research of their business for the benefit of investors. There are several ways of describing what we do but I like this definition the most:

We are interpreting Japanese companies to the international investors.

What it means is we don't simply provide descriptive reports or translate. We are focused on overcoming prevailing communication issues -- differences in presentation culture, different language structure and cliche usage etc.

Our initial reports are in Japanese and we then rewrite (rather than translate) them into English. The most important part of what we do here - and that will be the candidate's job to excel at this task - is to provide 95%-100% semantic equivalent of what is said in Japanese but produce it in modern American investor jargon. We also try to make sure that any cultural peculiarities are seamlessly explained and expressed (try to translate "omotenashi").

We are the only company that provides professional grade bilingual sponsored research in Japan.

Summary

Job Translator Primary Location   Tokyo, Japan Organization Finance market research Schedule Full-time Shift   Day Job Travel   No Salary Range   4.5-8m yen Start Date   End of March, 2012

Duties

• Japanese to English translation and copy editing of SR Inc. research and client presentations (the latter is occasional at this point) - 70% to 90%
• Helping to check and upload updates and new reports - 10% to 30%
• English to Japanese translation - 0% to 10% (depending on the skill set)
• Organizing outsourced translation and language consulting (at a later stage, if fits the skill set and aspirations).

How is the work exciting?

• Translation meets copy writing meets editing meets consulting
• Various sectors and terminology need to be dealt with
• Responsibility involves developing SR Inc.'s style book and language which will be followed (hopefully) for years to come.
• Constant interaction with clients and internal research team to create truly meaningful text. The candidate will need to learn and grow his/her knowledge base and develop an analyst-like understanding of the subject. Very simply we want to be the best bilingual company information providers in town.
• Opportunity (if the candidate desires it) to start and build an internal translation process/business. We routinely say no to requests from our clients to provide them with JPtoEng translation for a large part of their materials. If we could attract the best freelancers and organize the flow to ensure quick top quality translation product, we would quickly develop a small but profitable business niche.
• Opportunity to start 'language consultancy', i.e. advise our clients and other companies on their use of English on the web and in the documents. (Similar to the proposition above).

Is there a catch?

• Not really but the job involves responding to real-time updates while having to attend to larger updates and new report translations. Seasonally, the office gets very busy during earnings reporting season and there is a lot that can be improved. The candidate will be expected to show initiative in dealing with these issues while working alongside other team members.
• There is a certain amount (10% to 30%) of the total workload that involves updating numbers in Excel tables (earnings etc.), editing the tables and presentations ('prettyfying'), cross-checking numbers and text (we edit and update one existing document for each company), uploading content (to the web via mediawiki and to bloomberg and other vendors through their respective publishing interfaces).

Type of Documents

Equity research reports and PowerPoint presentations; a variety of companies and sectors

Reporting to

The CEO with a 'dotted line' to a senior analyst (who may speak only Japanese but understands English). Day-to-day interaction will be mostly with the analyst and a junior analyst (assistant).

Qualifications

Proven track record of Japanese to English translation of complex general and specialists texts Ability to acquire new vocabulary and skills aggressively Ability to meet multiple deadlines while working at the office and getting distracted by short assignments Ability to write in American English at a level that would be acceptable by the editing desks of major financial firms and media firms (professional native level) Preferred: ability to translate English to Japanese Excel experience (on a basic level, but practical) is a must. Desire to build a business from the ground up Willingness to commit to stay with company for the long term

Benefits

Salary range 4.5m yen to 8m yen annual with bonus possibilities. For highly qualified candidates who accept lower initial salaries there will be more variable comp and basic growth comp opportunities in the near future.

All standard Japanese employment benefits (social security, medical insurance) are provided. The commute is paid.

Interview

What we look for in new candidates looking to join our company is a passion for company research and ready to help challenge the status quo.

We will test ability to translate quickly and accurately and to search for information. Use of aiding devices (e.g. learning-enhanced machine translation) is possible as long as the final output is flawless.

Office: 1 minute walk from the Exit 2 of Sendagi station (Chiyoda Line) and 7 minute walk from the JR Nippori Station. Open layout (adjacent desks, no partitions); may have a separate 'quiet room' where major translation work can be performed. Working from home is sometimes acceptable but generally discouraged.

Pre-qualifying questionaire

We have a few questions to ask applicants before asking for a resume. The questionaire is short; shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to complete. Successful applicants will be called by phone.

Apply

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