Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

Responsables d’activités opérationnelles métiers

English translation:

specialized operational managers

Added to glossary by Donovan Libring
Jan 17, 2013 13:28
11 yrs ago
9 viewers *
French term

Responsables d’activités opérationnelles métiers

French to English Bus/Financial Management Risk Management and Business Continuity
This is from a company document on the Business Continuity Plan, also dealing with Risk Management.


Context:

L’objectif du présent document est de décrire la démarche et les bonnes pratiques pour élaborer, maintenir, améliorer et tester un Plan de Continuité d’Activité [PCA] au sein des différentes entités du Groupe afin qu’elles puissent assurer une certaine continuité des services essentiels, notamment à leurs clients externes et internes, lors de la survenue d’un sinistre majeur.

Acteurs
concernés:
DG Groupe
Président/DG société du Groupe
Directeurs Business Unit/Division
Responsables d’activités opérationnelles métiers
Directeurs d’établissements
Propriétaires et garants de processus
Propriétaires de risques
Risk Managers des Sociétés du Groupe
Correspondants risques

Discussion

Michael GREEN Jan 17, 2013:
Suggestion... The phrase "Responsables d’activités opérationnelles métiers" comes in a hierarchical list in descending order of responsibility, and since it comes immediately after "Directeurs Business Unit/Division", it must relate to the next in line, which logically must be "Business Unit" supervisors.
BU has become a popular term for what used to be called a "Division", and as the term suggests, it is a unit responsible for a "métier".
I wonder if we need look any further than "Business Unit Operations Manager" ?

Proposed translations

+4
53 mins
Selected

specialist operational managers

I assume métiers is the word you're having trouble with, and it can be a tricky one. It means that they have skills in one particular area - for example a generalist manager would not be a "responsable métier", but a human resources manager would be.

There are many different ways you could translate your phrase, but this is my suggestion.

Here's an explanation from Wikipedia:

"Dans l'industrie, le terme « métier » (ou Know-How : littéralement le « savoir comment ») est fréquemment utilisé pour désigner les pratiques et connaissances acquises qui améliorent la compétence d'une équipe ou d'une organisation.

"Ce « métier » n'est pas directement "vendable" à un client mais contribue à renforcer le contenu, la pertinence, la régularité ou la qualité des biens et services offerts . L'amélioration du « métier » résulte de la recherche et développement, des processus de formation, de la maitrise et du perfectionnement des outils et méthodes de travail, de l'expertise individuelle , de la communication et du partage .

"Le regain actuel en faveur du repérage et de l'amélioration des compétences explique la création au sein d'un nombre croissant d'organisation de fonctions telles que «responsable métier», ou de pratiques telles que «réunion métier».
Peer comment(s):

agree Michael GREEN : As you say, "métiers" is always a pain to translate. I think you've found a good solution, but I'm wondering if "Business Unit Operations Manager" might suit? // Yes, good point!
36 mins
Thanks for agreeing. I don't think it means business unit, because if it did, they'd have used the English phrase as they do in the line above.
agree Davina Hepworth
1 hr
agree Di Penney
1 hr
agree nweatherdon : perhaps specialized rather than specialist?
2 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks for your help. I think "Specialized operational managers" covers this well."
13 hrs

business line operating managers

Each business unit/division will presumably have one or more distinguishable lines of business (métiers). These are managers in charge of operations (as opposed to "staff functions") in those business lines.
"specialist" is a misleading adjective to prepend here. The business line may be a specialised activity, but the managers themselves won't necessarily be specialists in that same sense.
And say "operating" rather than "operational". The latter is source-language interference in this context.
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Reference comments

56 mins
Reference:

I cannot think of a good title in English,

but "métier" in a company is a field of activity, e.g., in a company producing sugar and alcohol, sugar is one "métier" and alcohol another. The company may have Operations Managers for individual fields, e.g., Sugar Operations Manager, Alcohol Operations Manager.
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