Embedded Accessibility Strategist - Mumbai, India - VMware

VMware

Verified Company

Mumbai, India

3 weeks ago

Posted by:

Deepika Kaur

beBee Recuiter

Description

Why will you enjoy this new opportunity?:

You will enjoy working as an Embedded Accessibility Strategist (EAS) if you like making the digital world a more inclusive place for individuals with disabilities and engaging in high-impact work that will challenge your technical skills (i.e., WCAG and Assistive Technology (AT) expertise), design auditing skills, code-based recommendations, problem-solving, and project management abilities.

While guiding cross-functional teams who create our top products and services, you have the opportunity to grow your leadership skills while prioritizing VMware's shift-left accessibility initiatives, building trust with stakeholders across VMware.

Success in the Role:
What are the performance outcomes over the first 6-12 months you will work toward completing?:

In your first 3 weeks, you will come up to speed on VMware's accessibility portfolio (e.g., products, employee-facing assets (videos, training, whitepapers, PDFs, PowerPoint Presentations, and product documentation). Simultaneously, you'll shadow fellow EAS teammates to understand how team workflows differ and how we collaborate to find accessible solutions.
In week 4 to month 6, you will onboard as your teams' EAS, identifying key contacts, setting up kickoff meetings, and working to understand each team's existing workflows. You will leverage existing documentation and utilize your manager and teammates to advise on nuanced accessibility areas to ensure you are aligned with preexisting decisions. Ideation into new solutions is encouraged, and you will document decisions through Confluence. You will also support teams through office hours and Slack who fall outside your typical EAS assignments.
From Months 612, you will own guiding your teams, identifying gaps, leading lunch and learn opportunities, and ensuring teams continue to improve accessibility. You will monitor accessibility scoring alongside product sprints to ensure teams understand how to prioritize the accessibility backlog. You will have the opportunity to refine and grow the EAS program, helping to define documentation, process, and metrics. Aside from your EAS duties, you will have the opportunity to own other initiatives, such as GAAD (Global Accessibility Awareness Day) talks, howto documentation, VMware conferences, etc.

The Work:
What type of work will you be doing? What assignments, requirements, or skills will you be performing on a regular basis?:

Leverage your several years of accessibility experience or accessibility certifications (e.g., IAAP or Trusted Tester) and your wealth of knowledge across varying related domains such as web development (including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript), Design, or Project Management.
Effectively Communicate complex accessibility solutions while effectively navigating between strict WCAG 2.2 Level AA adherence, VMware's internal best practices, and usability by people with disabilities.
Proactively work with product teams to discover opportunities to embed accessibility into the existing workflow whenever possible.
Provide compliance consulting and guidance during all stages of the design and development process lifecycle while demonstrating measurable progress with each team's accessibility journey while leaning on other EASes to support as needed.
Promote a culture of curiosity and learning among VMware colleagues about all aspects of the accessibility domain, including universal design, disability awareness, accessible code (utilizing WAI-ARIA), disability etiquette, and more.
Leverage assistive technology to recreate issues impacting people with disabilities and demonstrate these issues to key stakeholders. When working prototypes are not available, you can accurately describe the experience and troubleshoot potential issues.
Collaborate with your Manager and peers regularly and respectfully to check WCAG interpretation and nuanced user interactions the ability to question your assumptions and learn from others is key.
Prioritize and organize the work from the teams you support, ensuring deadlines, milestones, and commitments are met while logging the progress in the EAS reporting tool.
Further accessibility adoption through a communication style and mindset that engenders trust and empathy. When finding proposing improvements or opportunities, provide constructive feedback while being open to receiving constructive feedback on your work.
Seek ways to stay up to date on the latest thinking around accessibility.
Actively participate in VMware's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, including (but not limited to) any of the employeeled Power of Difference (POD) groups, DEI training opportunities, service learning, or through other goals you set (with manager approval).

What is the structure and culture of the team like?:
The Hiring Manager for this role is Santina Croniser (she/her), Accessibility Manager, leading the EAS Program (in addit