Lead Accessibility Specialist

Quality Analysis & Change ManagementUS Exempt RegularFull timeStateside Exempt 3.1

Lead Accessibility Specialist

Full Time, Exempt, Regular

Pay Grade 3.1

Location: Hybrid (Onsite presence required 1-3 days a week in Adelphi, MD)

The Lead Accessibility Specialist is responsible for driving the organization's digital accessibility strategy across enterprise applications. This role serves as both a strategic leader and a hands-on contributor. In addition to guiding accessibility standards, governance, and enterprise adoption, the Lead Accessibility Specialist is also expected to conduct accessibility testing, audits, and defect validation directly. The role also manages and prioritizes the workload of accessibility tester/s, ensuring testing coverage is effectively distributed across teams while personally contributing to testing efforts to meet timelines and compliance requirements. Reporting to the Sr. Director - Analysis, Change & Quality, the specialist ensures that all digital products meet WCAG 2.2 AA standards, ADA and Section 508 compliance, and deliver fully inclusive user experiences.

Responsibilities

Accessibility Leadership, Strategy & Direction

• Serve as the primary accessibility expert and thought leader for the organization.
• Develop and execute the digital accessibility roadmap and maturity model.
• Establish accessibility standards, best practices, and governance processes.
• Partner with leadership to embed accessibility into enterprise initiatives.
• Provide day-to-day direction, mentorship, and workload management for the enterprise's tester/s.
• Prioritize accessibility testing requests across multiple business units and product teams.
• Assess risk, product timelines, accessibility impact, and severity to determine testing order and coverage.
• Ensure the accessibility tester/s are effectively allocated while preventing bottlenecks.
• Review test findings and collaborate on defect quality, reproducibility, and guidance

Design & Development Support

• Review wireframes, mockups, and prototypes for accessibility compliance.
• Provide guidance on semantic HTML, ARIA patterns, color contrast, keyboard navigation, and inclusive interaction models.
• Partner with development teams to ensure accessible implementation during development cycles.
• Ability to work in an Agile environment and provide meaningful, timely updates to leadership, including clear commitments on progress, risks, and deliverables.

Accessibility Testing & QA

• Oversee manual and automated accessibility testing across all digital products.
• Perform audits using Axe DevTools Pro, WAVE, Lighthouse, JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack, and other tools.
• Document issues, create remediation guidance, and support teams in resolving defects.
• Validate compliance with WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA and Section 508 standards.

Training, Coaching & Advocacy

• Deliver accessibility training for designers, developers, QA analysts, and product owners.
• Promote shift-left accessibility practices and build team capability.
• Develop playbooks, documentation, and reference materials to support accessibility adoption.
• Serve as a strong advocate for inclusive design.

Governance & Compliance

• Maintain accessibility documentation, ACRs, VPATs, and audit logs.
• Ensure compliance with ADA, Section 508, WCAG, and internal standards.
• Work closely with senior leadership within Business units, such as Legal, ADA officer and partner with them on strategic projects, roll out of policies throughout the digital platform teams, and vendor evaluation.
• Partner with legal, ADA compliance officer, procurement, and vendor teams to validate accessibility of third-party solutions.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with legal, ADA compliance officer, procurement, and vendor teams to validate accessibility of third-party solutions.
• Evaluate vendor deliverables and share feedback.
• Collaborate with UX, Development, QA, Product, Change Management, and Business teams.
• Participate in design reviews, sprint ceremonies, and requirement refinement sessions.
• Provide accessibility sign-off prior to release and verify defect remediation.
• Work closely with senior leadership within Business units, such as Legal, ADA officer and partner with them on strategic projects, roll out of policies throughout the digital platform teams, and vendor evaluation.
• Evaluate vendor deliverables and share feedback.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Sciences or equivalent field.
• 5+ years experience in digital accessibility, inclusive design, or related fields.
• At least 3 yrs of experience managing accessibility programs or leading accessibility initiatives.
• Knowledge of accessibility for documents, multimedia, and non-web technologies.
• Expert-level understanding of WCAG 2.1/2.2, Section 508, ADA, ARIA, ATAG, and universal design principles.
• Hands-on experience conducting accessibility audits and writing detailed remediation recommendations.
• Proficiency working with assistive technologies such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack, and Dragon.
• Knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and accessible UI component patterns.
• Experience managing workload prioritization or coordinating shared resources.
• Strong leadership and decision-making abilities.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and negotiate testing timelines in a fast-paced environment.
• Empathy and strong commitment to inclusive user experiences.
• Clear communication skills and ability to present for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• High attention to detail and strong analytical thinking.
• Experience with Jira or similar tools such as Azure DevOps.

Preferred Qualifications

• CPACC, WAS, CPWA, Trusted Tester, or similar certifications.
• Experience with automated accessibility testing in CI/CD pipelines.
• Background in UX/UI design or front-end development.

All submissions should include a cover letter and resume.

The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination. UMGC is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, ancestry, political affiliation or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Workplace Accommodations:

The University of Maryland Global Campus Global Campus (UMGC) is committed to creating and maintaining a welcoming and inclusive working environment for people of all abilities. UMGC is dedicated to the principle that no qualified individual with a disability shall, based on disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of the University, or be subjected to discrimination. For information about UMGC's Reasonable Workplace Accommodation Policy or to request an accommodation, applicants/candidates can contact Employee Accommodations via email at employee-accommodations@umgc.edu. 

Benefits Package Highlights:

• Generous Time Off: Enjoy 22 days of paid vacation, 15 days of sick leave, 3 personal days, and 15 paid holidays (16 during general election years). For part-time employees, time off rates will be prorated based on the number of hours worked.
• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Access to health care, medical with vision, dental, and prescription plans for both individuals and families, effective from the 1st of the month following your hire date.
• Insurance Options: Term Life Insurance, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, and Long-Term Disability (LTD) Insurance. Part-time employees working less than 0.5 FTE are not eligible for LTD.
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Available for medical and dependent care expenses.
• Retirement Plans: Choose between the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) or the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System (MSRPS).
• Supplemental Retirement Plans: include 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), and various Roth options. The university does not provide matching funds.
• Tuition Remission: Immediate availability for Regular Exempt Staff. Spouses and dependent children are eligible for undergraduate tuition remission after two years of service. NOTE: For part-time employees (at least 50 percent of the time), tuition remission benefits are prorated.

Hiring Range:

$75,000.00 - $90,000.00