Associate Director Accessibility

Position Overview

Academian Inc is looking for an accomplished Associate Director of Accessibility to lead enterprise-wide accessibility initiatives, encompassing digital products, educational content, and publishing workflows. This pivotal role involves setting the strategic direction for accessibility, ensuring adherence to global standards, encouraging innovation, and directing a skilled accessibility team.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement an accessibility roadmap that aligns with organizational goals.
• Develop governance policies, standards, and best practices for accessibility across departments.
• Promote accessibility awareness and foster a culture centered on inclusive design through training and advocacy.
• Guarantee compliance with accessibility regulations such as WCAG 2.2 AA, Section 508, ADA, EN 301 549, EPUB Accessibility 1.1, PDF/UA, and ARIA Authoring Practices.
• Conduct and oversee both internal and external accessibility audits.
• Manage accessibility implementation for a range of products including websites, mobile apps, HTML content, eBooks, PDFs, interactive learning materials, and multimedia content, ensuring accessibility is integrated during all stages from design to production.
• Establish and communicate accessibility requirements for engineering and content teams, including accessible UI component development and design systems.
• Evaluate and implement accessibility testing tools and automation frameworks, including integration within CI/CD pipelines where appropriate.
• Lead, mentor, and build a high-performing team comprising Accessibility Managers, Leads, Specialists, QA Engineers, and Consultants, including their recruitment and professional development.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across Product, Engineering, UX, QA, Editorial, and Customer Success departments, and manage accessibility communications with customers.
• Report accessibility metrics and strategic progress to executive leadership.
• Define quality assurance metrics and checkpoints for accessibility throughout project lifecycles and oversee remediation plans and verification processes.
• Drive innovation by exploring AI-assisted accessibility solutions, emerging assistive technologies, and enhancing processes via automation.

Essential Qualifications

• A total of 12 to 18 or more years of professional experience.
• At least 10 years in leadership or management roles centered on accessibility.
• Proven track record leading enterprise-wide accessibility programs.
• Strong expertise in digital publishing and educational content accessibility is highly desirable.

Technical Competencies

• Thorough knowledge of standards and technologies including WCAG 2.2 AA, WAI-ARIA, HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, EPUB Accessibility, PDF Accessibility (PDF/UA), XML workflows, accessible UX/UI principles, and accessibility testing methodologies.
• Hands-on experience with leading accessibility testing tools such as Axe DevTools, WAVE, ARC Toolkit, Accessibility Insights, JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack, PAC, and common PDF accessibility tools.

Preferred Industry Experience

• Background in educational and digital publishing.
• Experience with eLearning platforms and Learning Management Systems (LMS).
• Experience in EPUB production workflows and interactive digital learning products.
• Involvement in content remediation programs and accessibility consulting engagements.

Leadership and Strategic Skills

• Strategic planning and execution.
• Executive-level communication skills.
• Cross-functional leadership and program management expertise.
• Effective change management and stakeholder influence abilities.
• Decision-making capabilities, team building, mentoring, and customer engagement.
• Budgeting and resource planning skills.

Performance Indicators

• Compliance scores with WCAG standards.
• Success rates in accessibility audits.
• Efficiency in remediation turnaround.
• Customer satisfaction related to accessibility.
• Reduction in accessibility defect leakage.
• Team productivity and utilization rates.
• Training completion rates and adoption of process automation.
• Timely delivery and overall maturity improvements in accessibility practices.

Preferred Certifications

• IAAP Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC).
• IAAP Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS).
• IAAP Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA).
• Trusted Tester Certification.
• Section 508 Trusted Tester (preferred).