Director of Accessibility Resources & Services, Sr. Staff Associate

 

Are you looking to take your career to new heights with a leader in healthcare? SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is one of the nation's leading metropolitan medical centers. As the only academic medical center in Brooklyn, we serve a large population that is among the most diverse in the world. We are also highly-ranked by Castle Connolly Medical, a healthcare rating company for consumers, among the top 5 leading U.S. medical schools for training doctors.

Bargaining Unit:

UUP

Job Summary:

The Department of Student Affairs at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is seeking a full-time Director of Accessibility Resources & Services, Sr. Staff Associate.

Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs (AVPSA), the Director is responsible for strategic and visionary leadership and the day-to-day management of Accessibility Resource Services. The Director also serves as a senior member of the Division of Student Affairs team and serves as a generalist in the Office of Students Affairs and on Divisional and Institutional committees as appropriate.

The Director works collaboratively with campus partners, faculty, staff and students to provide a culture of inclusion and equal opportunity for students with disabilities aligned with the mission of the University and the Division of Student Affairs. The Director will be a visionary, creative thinker, eager to work collaboratively with a dynamic team committed to strengthening and maintaining a culture of access, holistic well-being, and belonging.

The Director shall:

• Serve as a member of the Division of Student Affairs Leadership Team and work to align the goals, priorities, and learning outcomes of Accessibility Resources with the mission, vision, values, and student learning outcomes of the Division and Institutional priorities.
• Provide oversight of policies, procedures and processes to ensure daily operations, programs and services are efficient, equitable, inclusive and conducive to student development.
• Provide leadership for and oversee all administrative functions of Accessibility Resources including budget, strategic planning and goal setting, technology, and facilities.
• Strategically advance the unit through benchmarking and organizational development based on the needs of current students, institutional growth and effective models of accessibility.
• Prepare annual reports related to college and health professions accessibility related trends, resource utilization, assessment, unmet needs, and emergent issues.
• Oversee coordination and direct implementation of accommodations and support services to students with disabilities.
• Provide direct service to students with physical, cognitive, psychological, psychiatric, and learning disabilities to determine eligibility for accommodations and the necessity and type of reasonable accommodations.
• Process housing accommodation requests; track and collect relevant documentation; conferring as needed with Residential Life.
• Provide administrative oversight of; the student information database to document student participation, accommodations, and progress; a confidential secure database and filing system with documentation related to accommodations and services; and the creation of appropriate accommodations documents for students to distribute to faculty.
• Effectively work with students with a variety of disabilities, employing a socially-just and student-centered approach. Serves as a point person for students on questions or concerns regarding accessibility services and/or decisions made regarding accommodations. Engage students in the "interactive process" to have a clarifying dialogue to assess condition, manner and duration of disability.
• Provide appropriate referrals to college resources, including Academic Support Services, Counseling Services and Health Services.
• Monitor and coordinate accommodation resource compliance activities that identify trends, potential areas of compliance, vulnerabilities, and risk.
• Maintain responsibility for technical consultation and expertise working closely with college personnel and Counsel as needed to identify and clarify legal mandates that support school/college departments, programs, policies, and activities, to ensure equal access to students and other members of the college community.
• Provide leadership and oversight of the implementation and administration of policies and procedures to promote compliance with federal and state equal opportunity laws, regulations and rules relating to nondiscrimination and equal access.
• Support the Vice President in meeting external compliance mandates related to the Americans with Disabilities Act, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and other fede