Digital Accessibility LeadDepartment: Digital
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Reporting To: Vicky Darbouze
Compensation: $120,000 - $125,000 / year
DescriptionOverviewReporting to the Chief of Staff of the Digital Department, the Digital Accessibility Lead will serve as the primary champion and strategic leader for digital accessibility across NYPL's digital products and platforms. The ideal candidate will be a persuasive changemaker who isn't afraid to push boundaries, challenge the status quo, and vigorously advocate for patrons and accessibility. They will be tasked with transforming mindsets, convincing cross-functional teams of why this work matters deeply, and embedding accessibility into the very DNA of our product development lifecycle. They will ensure that our digital experiences meet the latest accessibility standards and will collaborate with library-wide partners to identify and remediate digital accessibility barriers.
This is a four-year, grant-funded temporary position.Some expectations for this role are that within:1 month, this person will:
- Understand the Digital Department's functional structure, product portfolio, and core mission.
- Meet with key stakeholders across Product, Engineering, Design, and Project Management, as well as partners across NYPL, to build relationships and map the current accessibility landscape.
- Conduct a preliminary review of NYPL's digital products to assess the current accessibility baseline and support prioritization of remediation efforts
3 months, this person will:
- Develop and deliver initial accessibility training for the Digital team.
- Establish consistent processes for embedding accessibility reviews into the product development cycle.
6 months and beyond, this person will:
- Drive measurable improvements in accessibility compliance across NYPL's digital products, executing against the remediation roadmap.
- Build and maintain an accessibility knowledge base - including design guidelines, developer resources, testing protocols, and training materials - that the Digital team can rely on.
Responsibilities: - Translate WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA requirements into clear, actionable guidance for designers, engineers, and product managers across the full product development lifecycle - from discovery through design, engineering, testing, and deployment.
- Develop and deliver accessibility training, documentation, and resources - including how-to guides, FAQs, and design system contributions - to build team-wide accessibility competency.
- Review designs, mockups, and prototypes throughout the development cycle to catch and address accessibility issues early.
- Support accessibility user testing including keyboard-only navigation, screen reader testing, and other assistive technologies to provide a high-quality user experience
- Support remediation of accessibility issues in PDFs, Microsoft & Google Suite documents, web-based forms, and other digital content formats.
- Stay current with evolving accessibility standards, assistive technologies, and best practices, and proactively recommend improvements to NYPL's approach.
- Represent the Digital Team in meetings with other Library departments, and report back to the Digital Team on accessibility needs and happenings from those meetings
Required Education, Experience & SkillsRequired Education and Certifications - Bachelor's degree required
Required Experience- 5+ years of experience in digital accessibility, with demonstrated success applying WCAG 2.2 AA standards to create accessible digital experiences.
- Proven experience leading accessibility efforts across the full product development lifecycle within cross-functional teams.
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a large organization, building relationships and influencing designers, engineers, and product teams.
- Hands-on experience conducting accessibility testing using assistive technologies including JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack, as well as manual and automated testing tools (axe, WAVE, ANDI) across multiple devices, browsers, and operating systems
- Experience remediating PDFs, Microsoft & Google Suite documents, and web-based forms for accessibility.
Required Skills - Deep knowledge of ADA, WCAG 2.2 + all levels, and other relevant accessibility regulations and standards.
- Excellent communication skills - able to convey accessibility needs and solutions clearly, with grace and data, to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Strong relationship-building and influencing skills; comfortable working in a matrixed environment with many stakeholders across product, engineering, design, and operations.
- Proactive and self-motivated, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; able to derive actionable insights from audits and data and turn them into clear recommendations.
- Passion for improving digital experiences for people with disabilities, grounded in empathy and understanding of the lived experience of disabled users.
- Conceptual understanding of web-related technologies and standards, including CSS, HTML, JavaScript, ReactJS and Python is a plus
Managerial/Supervisory Responsibilities: More...Core ValuesAll team members are expected and encouraged to embody the NYPL Core Values:
- Be Helpful to patrons and colleagues
- Be Resourceful in solving problems
- Be Curious in all aspects of your work
- Be Welcoming and Inclusive
Work Environment- Hybrid work environment; 3 days in office in NYC
- Office environment
Physical Duties- Some light moving/lifting may be required
Pre-placement Physical Required? Schedule - Monday - Friday 9-5
- Hybrid work environment; 3 days onsite in NYC is required
This job description represents the types and levels of responsibilities that will be required of the position and shall not be construed as a declaration of all of the specific duties and responsibilities for the role. Job duties may change if Library priorities change. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description as needed.
