Usability & Accessibility Mgr

Date: Apr 13, 2021

Location: San Antonio, TX, US, 78205

Company: CPS Energy

We are engineers, high line workers, power plant managers, accountants, electricians, project coordinators, risk analysts, customer service operators, community representatives, safety and security specialists, communicators, human resources partners, information technology technicians and much, much more. We are 3,300 people committed to enhancing the lives of the communities we serve. Together, we are powering the growth and success of our community progress every day!
Position Summary

This is a great time to join CPS Energy and be a founding member of the Digital and ERP Transformation journey we are kicking off. This role resides in the User Experience Design team within Digital, which is responsible to ensure world class digital experiences across all of our digital assets and experiences being leveraged by our customers and our employees. The person in this role will have direct access to the senior leadership and will be able to drive Accessibility strategy from grounds up.



The Usability & Accessibility Mgr is responsible for partnering across the enterprise to develop and maintain user experience strategy, standards and best practices, focused primarily on ADA Accessibility guidance, to ensure consistency of experience at scale. The Usability & Accessibility Mgr will work closely with Digital & Data Transformation leadership to make and communicate design and user experience decisions for external and internal digital assets, steer the UI/UX focus for usability, accessibility, consistency, and alignment with our core value of People First. The Usability & Accessibility Mgr will participate in and at times lead the creation of user interfaces and will be responsible for analyzing and refining the user experience to meet WCAG accessibility guidelines. The person in this position will collaborate closely across the organization including procurement, corporate communications, customer engagement, and operations to ensure Accessibility is ensured across the board. As the company moves towards ERP and Digital Transformation, this individual will ensure Accessibility is included in all aspects of those transformations by design. This individual will drive the change management and training needs of all key personnel and stakeholders and will manage external partners that are key to ensuring CPS Energy’s digital assets remain accessible and gaps in accessibility are remedied in a timely manner. This person will own and develop annual budget needed to address accessibility needs for CPS energy. The Usability & Accessibility Mgr will be the advocate and evangelist for accessible design and bring awareness and empathy to the broader enterprise as it relates to the importance of accessibility.

Grade: 17

Deadline to Apply: Open Until Filled
Tasks and Responsibilities

Collaborate and build trusted relationships across the organization and serve as a liaison and primary point of contact within the Digital & Data Transformation organization to evaluate, prioritize, develop, manage, test, and implement Accessibility solutions.
Serve as trusted advisor to stakeholders to develop a clear understanding of business needs, ensuring cost-effective delivery of accessibility solutions to meet those needs.
Present Accessibility initiatives and improvements to a range of internal audiences and facilitate collaboratives sessions when necessary to provide clarity around recommended user experiences related to WCAG guidelines.
Collaborate with stakeholders to recommend and implement changes to products, processes, or business practices to ensure an exceptional user experience focused on accessibility guidelines.
Act as the voice of the customer (customers, employees, and partners) internally and be the usability and accessibility expert that can deliver solutions and experience designs based on the customer’s needs, wants, pain-points and opportunities.
Participate in the development and execution of strategic and tactical business plans with other members of the cross-functional Digital & Data Transformation team.
Communicate the Accessibility program progress to stakeholders to obtain agreement and signoff when necessary.
Facilitate efficient and productive working relationships between UX and Accessibility deliverables, business objectives, and Agile development process.
As a key subject matter expert, ensure that all ERP transformations as well as any new Digital development efforts are inclusive of Accessibility standards.
Execute RFPs, Master Service Agreements, and Statements of Work with 3rd parties needed to execute testing and remedy of accessibility related initiatives.
Ensure 3rd party suppliers are meeting all of CPS Energy’s needs.
Develop and manage annual accessibility budget.
Develop and maintain a People First culture where team members are enabled to take accountability, to collaborate cross-functionally, to inspire the best in each other, and to care for each other.
Drive a strong user experience and accessibility mindset within the enterprise and a strong service leadership mindset.
Manage and mentor UI/UX and Accessibility team, consisting of FTEs and Contractors while guiding their work efforts.
Lead development of internal standards and frameworks required to ensure accessibility is included by design.
In close partnership with change management team, drive the development of change management and training collateral needed to support accessibility initiatives.
Conduct and oversee user experience research and testing of solutions as part of ongoing design and development.
Work collaboratively with developers to design for usability and accessibility.

Minimum Skills
Minimum Knowledge and Abilities
Enterprise B2C, B2B Accessibility design experience, demonstrating career progression including experience leading cross functional teams and managing direct reports.
Demonstrated experience of managing 3rd party relationships needed to support enterprise accessibility goals.
Depth of experience designing for WCAG 2.0 and 2.1 accessibility guidelines, scaling UI/UX teams and processes, establishing KPIs for usability improvements and using product analytics data and other metrics to improve the user experience.
Leadership experience and managing Accessibility teams.
SME across web, iOS and Android accessibility.
Responsive design and designing for mobile.
Experience leading UI/UX teams and mentoring early and mid-career designers.
Experience leading user experience research initiatives, including generative and evaluative UX research and user testing.
Must be current with digital and mobile technology trends, in the area of application architecture with best practices within the digital development ecosystem.
Strong communication skills with the ability to work side by side in cross-functional teams.
Strong understanding and experience with usability and accessibility testing.
Proficient in running workshops and using feedback to develop design prototypes.
Solid understanding of visual design for web and mobile including how to elevate design.
Strong working knowledge of design and prototyping software, such as Sketch, Axure, Figma, InVision or others, Expert skills in creating design deliverables for development and clickable prototypes.
Outstanding written, verbal, and visual communication skills with great attention to detail, conceptual thinking and adaptability.
Preferred Qualifications

Proven ability to deliver designs which scale and segment elegantly and deliver designs which can be released incrementally, repeated across features, and resized based on product needs.
Experience writing and maintaining design documentation and a strategic approach to change management in design.
Experience working in an agile/scrum environment.
Recruit, hire, and onboard a team of highly skilled experts in user experience and accessibility guidelines.
Proven experience implementing and advancing greater vision for the design accessibility discipline.
Experience partnering with leadership on messaging, initiatives, strategy and discipline roadmap
Inspire, mentor, and provide day-to-day and career guidance to a team of UI/UX and accessibility designers.
Work collaborative across the enterprise to understand product potential and limitations and apply the user experience and accessibility lens.


Competencies
Acting as a Champion for Change
Building and Supporting Teams
Demonstrating Tenacity and Perseverance
Serving Customers
Navigating Organizations
Minimum Education
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Marketing, Human Centered Design, User Experience Design, or a related field required. Extensive experience may be substituted in lieu of a degree.
Required Certifications
Working Environment
Work is performed both indoors and outdoors. Operating computer, manual dexterity, talking, hearing, and repetitive motion.
Use of personal computing equipment, telephone, multi-functioning printer and calculator. Ability to travel to and from meetings, training sessions or other business-related events. After hours work may be required.
Physical Demands
Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body.
Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally, and all other sedentary criteria are met.

CPS Energy does not discriminate against applicants or employees. CPS Energy is committed to providing equal opportunity in all of its employment practices, including selection, hiring, promotion, transfers and compensation, to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship status, veteran status, pregnancy, age, disability, genetic information or any other protected status. CPS Energy will comply with all laws and regulations.


Nearest Major Market: San Antonio
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