IT Quality Assurance Manager - Accessibility - 33814

Job Description

Description

Being part of Air Canada is to become part of an iconic Canadian symbol, recently ranked the best Airline in North America.

Let your career take flight by joining our diverse and vibrant team at the leading edge of passenger aviation.

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced QA Manager to play a crucial role in leading our quality assurance efforts, with a particular focus on Accessibility Testing.

The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of accessibility guidelines, standards, and best practices, as well as the ability to effectively manage and collaborate with a test team comprising of users of people with disabilities.

This role requires strong technical expertise, exceptional communication skills, and a passion for ensuring that our products are accessible to all users.

Knowledge around adaptive technology, as well as familiarity with relevant accessibility regulations, is highly desirable.

This role will require full time office presence at our Montreal headquarters.

This position will be reporting to the Director, IT Quality Assurance.

Responsibilities :

Lead Accessibility Testing :

• Develop and implement a comprehensive Accessibility Testing strategy for our products, ensuring compliance with relevant accessibility regulations, including the Canadian Transportation Agency's Accessible Transportation for people with disabilities Regulations (ATPDR) and international accessibility standards.
• Conduct thorough Accessibility Testing to assess compliance with accessibility guidelines and standards.
• Identify accessibility issues, suggest remediation strategies, and collaborate with development teams to ensure timely resolution.
• Stay updated on the latest accessibility guidelines and trends to ensure our products meet evolving requirements.

Manage test team of users with Disabilities :

• Recruit, train, and manage a test team comprising of people with disabilities, ensuring their experience and knowledge aligns with our users' accessibility needs.
• Foster a supportive and inclusive environment for the test team, ensuring their needs are met and they are empowered to provide valuable feedback.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define test cases and requirements that accurately represent the diverse needs and perspectives of people with disabilities.
• Facilitate effective communication between the test team and development teams, ensuring that feedback and issues are clearly communicated and addressed.
• Utilize the test team as an advisory board for new product design, providing valuable insights and recommendations to improve accessibility and user experience across all aspects of the customer and employee journey.

Quality Assurance Leadership :

• Establish and enforce quality assurance standards and best practices throughout the organization, with a focus on relevant accessibility regulations.
• Develop and maintain QA processes, procedures, and documentation that align with accessibility requirements.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams to ensure comprehensive test coverage across all aspects of our products, considering accessibility and inclusiveness.
• Monitor and report on key quality metrics, providing insights and recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies related to QA, accessibility testing, adaptive technology, and changes in accessibility regulations.

Accessibility Center of Excellence :

• Participate in and support our Accessibility Center of Excellence, contributing to its strategic initiatives and goals.
• Support accessibility audits to assess compliance with accessibility standards and guidelines.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to address and resolve escalations related to non-conformance with accessibility requirements.
• Work closely with the Accessibility Center of Excellence team to promote awareness and understanding of accessibility principles, practices, and guidelines across the organization.

Specific Requirements :

Technical Skills :

Strong knowledge and experience in Accessibility Testing, including familiarity with accessibility guidelines (e.g., WCAG 2.

1, 2.2), assistive technologies, testing tools (e.g., screen readers, color contrast analyzers), and adaptive technology.

• Proficiency in using automated testing tools for accessibility evaluation is a plus.
• Solid understanding of software development lifecycles and QA methodologies.

Soft Skills :

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with individuals from diverse backgrounds and varying levels of technical expertise.
• Empathy, patience, and a genuine interest in understanding the needs and challenges of people with disabilities.
• Strong leadership and team management skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate a test team.
• Exceptional problem-solving and analytical thinking abilities.

Experience :

• Minimum 8 years of experience in quality assurance, with a focus on Accessibility Testing and compliance with relevant accessibility regulations, including the Canadian Transportation Agency's Accessible Transportation for people with disabilities Regulations (ATPDR) and international accessibility standards.
• Demonstrated experience managing a test team or leading QA efforts in a cross-functional environment.
• Proven track record of successfully delivering accessible products.

Accessibility Center of Excellence :

Demonstrated experience participating in and supporting an Accessibility Center of Excellence, including supporting accessibility audits and addressing non-conformance escalations, is highly valued.

Advisory Role :

Experience leveraging the test team as an advisory board for new product design and end user experiences across all aspects of the customer and employee journey is highly desired.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field is preferred.
• 8-10+ years of IT technology, operations, people leadership and strategy experience in a large company.
• ISTQB, QAI Certifications and other Certifications in core programming languages, agile methodologies (CSPO, PMI-ACP, etc.).
• Strong leadership skills that inspire team confidence and respect while motivating team members in a creative and effective manner.
• Must have experience in managing and working with distributed team members.
• Must have a desire for achieving excellence in customer satisfaction, product quality and reliability.
• Strong understanding of different software development life cycles (waterfall, iterative, agile) and contemporary software quality assurance processes and automated tools.
• Experience with agile testing methods and continuous integration with knowledge of CD.
• Knowledge of internet and e-business, mobile apps processes, disciplines, and standards
• Must have experience in test automation.
• Excellent problem solving, interpersonal communication and project management skills in planning, resourcing, tracking, and reporting on project progress.

Conditions of Employment :

Candidates must be eligible to work in the country of interest, at the time any offer of employment is made and seeking any required work permits / visas or other authorizations which may be required is the sole responsibility of the candidates applying for this position.

Linguistic Requirements

Based on equal qualifications, preference will be given to bilingual candidates.

Proficiency in American Sign Language (ASL) and Quebec Sign Language (LSQ) is considered an asset.

Diversity and Inclusion

Air Canada is strongly committed to Diversity and Inclusion and aims to create a healthy, accessible and rewarding work environment which highlights employees' unique contributions to our company's success.

As an equal opportunity employer, we welcome applications from all to help us build a diverse workforce which reflects the diversity of our customers, and communities, in which we live and serve.

Air Canada thanks all candidates for their interest; however only those selected to continue in the process will be contacted.