Senior Director, Academic and Accessibility Resources

Senior Director, Academic and Accessibility Resources

Palm Beach Atlantic University - West Palm Beach - West Palm Beach, FL 33401

Position Type: Full Time Education Level: Graduate Degree Category: Professional Services

In support of the university's mission and objectives, the Senior Director manages the operations of accessibility resources ensuring compliance with the ADA, ADAAA, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The Senior Director also provides oversight to the university's academic support programs. This role drives initiatives that elevate advocacy and awareness of disability and accessibility needs while supporting self-identified students to ensure access. The Senior Director fosters an environment in which students in need of academic or disability services retain at the university and persist to graduation.

Accessibility Resources

• Develops and executes strategic plans for accessibility services, ensuring aligning with industry best practices, university mission and goals, and compliance with federal and state regulations, such as the ADA, ADAAA, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
• Provides leadership and supervision to the Director of Disability Services and professional support staff, including hiring, training, and performance management.
• Oversees and continuously evaluates policies, processes, and procedures to maintain compliance with federal and state accessibility regulations.
• Directs the disability accommodations process from initial inquiry through implementation of accommodations, ensuring timely, appropriate, and reasonable accommodations for students.
• Conducts intake meetings and determines accommodations as needed.
• Manages grievance processes and appeals related to disability services.
• Collaborates cross-functionally with departments such as Student Life, Worship, Dining, Housing, and Parking to provide non-academic accommodations to eligible students.
• Ensures staff adherence to institutional guidelines and legal compliance.
• Serves as a subject-matter expert on accessibility issues and participates in committees such as the Student Care and Concerns Committee to support students in crisis.

Academic Resources

• Develops and implements strategic plans for academic support aligning with the university's mission and goals.
• Provides leadership to the Director of Tutoring and staff, driving initiatives that improve outcomes in high-failure-rate courses.
• Partners with the Director of Tutoring to develop programs that enhance academic support for at-risk student populations.
• Oversees intervention strategies for students on academic warning or academic probation, fostering their return to good standing.
• Shapes and advances the university's academic resource programs, such as peer tutoring, supplemental instruction, or study skills workshops.
• Ensures that programming effectively supports neurodiverse learners.
• Uses data-driven analysis to evaluate program effectiveness, advancing continuous improvement in academic support services.

Communication

• Cultivates partnerships with the university's academic leadership team to foster awareness and ensure that students receive comprehensive academic support both inside and outside the classroom.
• Designs and leads training sessions, presentations, and Q&A forums for faculty and academic administrators, as requested.
• Maintains strict confidentiality in interactions with prospective students, parents, administrators, faculty, and staff.
• Prepares reports for university leadership, accreditation bodies, and external auditors to demonstrate compliance and effectiveness of the university's accessibility and academic services.
• Engages with academic units and Student Life to integrate accessibility and academic support across the broader university ecosystem.

Qualifications

EDUCATION:

Master's degree in Disability Studies, Higher Education Administration, Special Education, Psychology, Social Work, or related field, required.

EXPERIENCE:

• 5+ years of experience determining reasonable and appropriate academic and non-academic accommodations, required.
• Prior experience navigating fundamental alterations requests and complex accommodations requests, required.
• Expert knowledge of the ADA, ADAAA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, FERPA, U.S. Department of Education policies, and the Office of Civil Rights policies.
• Must possess high-level expertise in interpreting and applying the ADA, ADAAA, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, in the higher education setting.
• Prior experience providing academic support, outside of the accommodations process, preferred.

ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

• Customer Service Orientation Keeps internal and/or external key stakeholder(s), students, parents, faculty, staff and community partners in mind at all times.
• Professionalism Displays a high level of professionalism, e.g. timeliness, reliability, communication, and work ethic.
• Christ-first Faith Provides spiritual support to community members, including students, on their Christian faith journey.
• Adaptable/Flexibility Ability to change or adjust to change.
• Analytical Thinking & Decision Making Identifies and understands trends and/or issues, connects data points through analysis and logical conclusions/actionable strategies.
• Attention to Detail Ability to efficiently and accurately focus on a specific task or number of tasks. Reviews details with a critical eye.
• Change Management Ability to drive and implement change both internally and externally.
• Confidentiality Maintains the necessary confidentiality and discretion required for the position.
• Continuous Improvement Implement or brainstorm ways to optimize a process.
• Creativity Ability to think creatively and design creative solutions to problems.
• Develops Others Ability to promote continuous improvement within teams and/or individuals.
• Effective Communication Expresses ideas and information in a clear and concise manner both verbally and in writing to convey clear, well-articulated messaging across a wide variety of audiences.
• Establishes Trust Gains the confidence of others by actions and words that promote being honest, forthcoming, and vulnerable.
• Leadership/Influence Ability to motivate, coach and develop others, as well as influence a group of people to achieve common goals, and implement university strategies. Strong supervisory skills.
• Problem-solving Anticipates, evaluates, diagnoses, and resolves problems in a systematic and fact-based manner.
• Project and Time Management Effective planning and priority setting. Ability to manage several complex projects simultaneously while working under pressure to meet deadlines.
• Results Orientation & Accountability Takes accountability and identifies, executes and drives actions to consistently achieve desired results.
• Strategic Mindset Ability to step out of the everyday details, view the situation from above and provide an objective perspective.
• Teamwork & Collaboration Creates a climate that fosters commitment to a common vision and shared values that promote cooperation and working together through trust and support of others both departmentally and cross-functionally.
• Technology Strong aptitude to learn new technologies as department processes evolve.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to work non-routine hours during certain times of the year.
• Ability to sit for prolonged periods of time.
• Ability to traverse campus and stairs.