The Digital Accessibility Officer: A Key and Mandatory Role
The digital accessibility officer pilots and coordinates an organization's accessibility policy. This role is implicitly required by RGAA, which mandates publishing their contact information in the multi-year plan.
Missions
Strategic: write the multi-year plan, define objectives, lead the steering committee. Operational: conduct RGAA audits, support development teams, validate new features, write accessibility statements. Training: train developers, designers, content contributors. Integration: monitor standards, include accessibility in procurement, evaluate tools.
Required Skills
Technical: RGAA mastery (106 criteria), HTML/CSS/JS, WAI-ARIA, assistive technology (NVDA, VoiceOver), audit tools (RGAA Test, axe, WAVE). Cross-functional: pedagogy, project management, communication, disability awareness.
Certified Training
Options include OpQuast certification, Access42 expert training, Atalan officer training, IAAP international certification (WAS/CPWA), and Temesis RGAA training.
The accessibility officer is the compliance conductor. Without an identified and trained person, accessibility efforts remain scattered and ineffective.