Accessibility Program Manager/Lead

Position: Accessibility Testing Program Manager
Location: Chicago, IL (5 days a week onsite, with global offshore delivery coordination)
Experience Level: 8+ years (minimum 4+ years dedicated to Accessibility/A11y)

Role Overview

The Accessibility Testing Program Manager leads the strategy, execution, and continuous monitoring of digital accessibility across web, mobile, and desktop applications. This role acts as the primary bridge between onsite business stakeholders, product design teams, and offshore testing execution squads, ensuring full compliance with WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA standards, ADA, and Section 508.

Key Responsibilities

Program Leadership & Delivery

• Define the overall digital accessibility (A11y) QA strategy, test frameworks, and governance models across the product portfolio.
• Establish metrics, compliance dashboards, and executive reporting on accessibility readiness and risk posture.
• Embed accessibility checkpoints into the Agile/DevOps software development lifecycle (SDLC).

Offshore / Onsite Coordination

• Serve as the single point of contact (SPOC) between onsite product managers, UX designers, engineering leads, and the offshore QA team.
• Manage daily handoffs, sprint planning, task distribution, and query resolution across time zones to maximize offshore throughput.
• Oversee offshore resource allocation, team onboarding, capacity planning, and technical skill development in accessibility methodologies.
• Drive overlapping sync meetings, daily standups, and retrospective sessions to eliminate delivery blockers and communication gaps.

Audit, Governance & Defect Management

• Oversee both automated scans (e.g., Axe, Wave, Siteimprove) and expert manual audits using assistive technologies (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack, Switch Access).
• Translate complex WCAG guidelines into actionable user stories, acceptance criteria, and remediation guidance for developers.
• Triage accessibility defects, prioritize fixes based on business impact and legal risk, and verify remediation cycles.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Experience: 8+ years in Quality Assurance/Program Management, with 4+ years leading dedicated accessibility testing initiatives.
• Standards Expertise: Deep working knowledge of WCAG 2.1/2.2 (Levels A & AA), Section 508, WAI-ARIA, and international accessibility regulations.
• Assistive Tech: Hands-on familiarity with screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver), keyboard-only navigation, color contrast analyzers, and screen magnification tools.
• Offshore Management: Proven track record of managing distributed testing teams across onshore and offshore models (e.g., India).
• Tools: Proficiency with ADO and automated accessibility auditing tools (Deque Axe DevTools, Wave, Pa11y).
• Certifications (Preferred): IAAP Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) or Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS).