Alternate Format Specialist, Office of Accessible Education

Job Purpose

The Alternate Format Specialist is responsible for remediating and designing educational documents to meet accessibility standards and students' needs. This includes managing projects from start to finish, ensuring the content is accurate, consistent, and functional across different platforms. The role requires remediation of complex STEM content, use of specialized software tools, and knowledge of accessibility standards. Additionally, the Alternate Format Specialist coordinates and embosses braille materials and tactile graphics, and manages software and equipment to help the department achieve its goals.

Responsibilities

• Under direction of the AF Manager, take responsibility for remediation of documents used in student courses using pre-established specifications.
• Determine the best strategy for remediation based on due date, student needs and content.
• Use established guidelines to prioritize tasks and ensure timely and accurate completion of projects.
• Remediate documents, including some complex STEM documents.
• Provide image descriptions for images used in the document for all visual elements used in the documents to ensure accessibility and clarity.
• Remediate documents to a variety of output formats including but not limited to docx and html, based on output formats specified for the job and specific document requirements and due dates.
• This can involve creating and remediating each format, starting from source materials to ensure consistency and functionality across different platforms.
• Use job-required software applications and mediums to develop and design materials according to defined requirements.
• Inspect remediated documents for accuracy and adherence to appropriate accessibility standards, including testing with assistive technology used by students.
• Collaborate with braille specialists regarding the appropriate equipment for the highest quality embossed results.
• Maintain knowledge of accessibility standards, trends in document remediation and new developments in job-specific software applications.
• Develop relationships with service providers throughout the university to advocate needs and obtain resources for faculty and students.
• Manage and maintain job-specific equipment (e.g., embossers, etc).

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related field and three years of relevant experience or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Demonstrated understanding of graphic design principles.
• Ability to work around an initial concept and think in terms of broad solutions.
• Demonstrated experience and understanding of job-required software applications and mediums, including browser usability and cross platform compatibility.
• Ability to present a portfolio that reflects creative work.
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities, deadlines, and customer needs.
• Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong organizational and communication (both written and verbal) skills.
• Ability to perform detailed work with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Strong knowledge in industry standards, trends, and technical knowledge.
• Ability to work effectively with others as part of a team.