Absolutely! I tried to create a "Speaks-to-programmers" role for myself in my previous job, and the result was that I managed to manoeuvre myself into a blind alley between two promotion streams... My current job does have quite a lot of opportunities for that sort of translation, though -- it's one of the bits I enjoy about it. It's so satisfying when you can find the right analogy and you can practically see the light go on in people's faces.