Accessibility Specialist

Job Description:
Here at Rakuten Kobo Inc. we offer a casual working start-up environment and a group of friendly and talented individuals. Our employees rank us highly in terms of commitment to work/life balance. We realize that for our people to be innovative, creative and passionate they need to feel valued and supported. We believe in rewarding all our employees with competitive salaries, performance based annual bonuses, stock options and training opportunities.

If you’re looking for a company that inspires passion, personal, and professional growth - join Kobo and come help us on our mission of making_ reading lives better._

The Role:
Rakuten Kobo Inc. is looking for an Accessibility Specialist (6 month contract) to join our User Experience (UX) team The team is comprised of many highly talented, enthusiastic individuals who ensure the services and offerings from Kobo are available to both internal and external customers.

Reporting to the Accessibility Lead, the Accessibility Specialist will work with Kobo's product teams to build more accessible reading experiences through participation in activities like design, discovery, solution ideation, execution, and delivery. The Accessibility Specialist will perform accessibility assessments for product teams and collaborate with those teams to find the best solutions to meet user needs.

The Person Will Ideally Have:
Strong communication skills:

- strong ability to communicate accessibility requirements and best practices in ways that are relevant to the audience
- listen to the needs of design and business stakeholders
- provide feedback and reporting to teams in clear language

Consultancy:

- provide advice, guidance, and recommendations based on your knowledge and experience
- propose methodologies to follow and approaches to implementation

Technical understanding:

- demonstrate knowledge and communicate the requirements of accessibility standards like WCAG, and legislation (i.e. AODA, EAA)
- advocate for appropriate technical solutions to a range of accessibility issues
- demonstrate confidence using one or more assistive technologies, and knowledge of others

Testing:

- review requirements and specifications, and define test conditions
- identify issues and risks associated with work
- analyze and report test activities and results

The Skillset:
Required:

- 3 or more years of experience in web and/or mobile app accessibility
- Experience testing with assistive technologies for desktop and mobile
- Experience performing accessibility audits and building audit reports
- Strong knowledge of accessibility standards like WCAG 2.x, WAI-ARIA, and related standards like EN 301 549.
- Understanding of HTML, CSS, and familiarity with Javascript frameworks like React

Nice to Haves:

- Familiarity with digital design software like Figma
- Familiarity with design system platforms like Storybook
- Familiarity with digital publishing or ecommerce environments
- Experience working with teams in an Agile environment, using an iteration backlog, and comfortability being part of a product development team
- Familiarity with international accessibility and disability regulations (i.e. AODA, EAA, ACA)

About Rakuten Kobo Inc.

Owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten and headquartered in Toronto, Rakuten Kobo Inc. is one of the most advanced global ecommerce companies, with the world’s most innovative eReading services offering more than 6 million eBooks and audiobooks to 30 million + customers in 190 countries. Kobo delivers the best digital reading experience through creative innovation, award-winning eReaders, and top-ranking mobile apps. Kobo is a part of the Rakuten group of companies.

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