Director, Student Accessibility Services

The University of Calgary (UCalgary), located in the heart of Southern Alberta, both acknowledges and pays tribute to the traditional territories of the peoples of Treaty 7, which include the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprised of the Siksika, the Piikani, and the Kainai First Nations) as well as the Tsuut’ina First Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda (including Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Wesley First Nations). The university recognizes that the City of Calgary is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta (Districts 5 & 6). By virtue of the signing of Treaty 7 in 1877, the University recognizes that we are all treaty people. The City of Calgary is home to a culturally diverse community. Together, we share this land, strive to live together, learn together, walk together, and grow together in a good way.

Student Experience and Support
Student Experience and Support (SES) at the University of Calgary is comprised of a diverse group of professionals who strive to contribute and continually create transformative student experiences through the delivery of inclusive centralized services, programs, and resources to support students in meeting their potential for academic success, personal well-being, and career achievement.

For more information, please review the SES Strategic Plan here: https://www.ucalgary.ca/student-services/strategic-planning

Position Description – Director, Student Accessibility Services
Reporting to the Senior Director, Student Wellness, Access, and Support (SWAS), the Director, Student Accessibility Services (SAS) is a transformational leader who provides strategic and operational leadership for Student Accessibility Services, a critical academic support unit responsible for the University’s delivery of accommodations for students with disabilities. Please see the University of Calgary’s Student Accommodation Policy here: https://www.ucalgary.ca/legal-services/university-policies-procedures/student-accommodation-policy

The Director works collaboratively to further advance accessible, equitable and supportive learning environments across the University. Drawing on a strong background in accessibility services, advising, and post-secondary leadership and administration, the Director will provide senior level transformational leadership to SAS, which includes Accommodation advising, the Nat Christie Adaptive Technology Centre, Neurodiversity support advising and the Examination Centre and is a key member of the SWAS leadership team.

The Director will assist the Vice Provost (Student Experience) and university administration in fulfilling its statutory obligations for the accommodation of students with disabilities and play an active role in related policy development. The incumbent collaborates with faculties, legal services and a variety of service areas on accommodation matters to facilitate the enhancement of a culture of accessibility across the University.

The incumbent oversees a complex budget comprising of university, operating, provincial and federal grant funding and is responsible for internal reporting and quality management, as well as external agency reporting requirements, such as reports for donors and Ministries. As a subject matter expert, the Director monitors key trends and legal risks and plays a primary role in supporting the university in meeting its legal duty to accommodate through engagement, direct participation and leadership in policy development processes.

The successful candidate will possess a master’s degree in a field related to Disability (e.g. Psychology, Education, Social Work, Rehabilitation Studies) or another related field and 7 to 10 years of progressive leadership experience in a postsecondary, education, or related environment with financial management and budgetary responsibilities. They will have the ability to lead processes which create transformational change and have demonstrated strategic and operational leadership experience delivering results on time and on budget. The ideal candidate will possess in-depth knowledge of provincial and federal policies, human rights legislation, and case law as related to persons with disabilities. They come equipped with a demonstrated understanding of the teaching and learning intersections with disability, and the capacity to support senior administration in organization-wide policy engagement.

This position requires strong collaboration, negotiation and partnership building skills as well as sensitivity and knowledge of Indigenous engagement, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in its broadest sense, including ethnicity, faith, and gender identity with a particular understanding of intersectional impacts on accessing accommodations.

The work is of varying complexity, with peak periods and short timelines for completion during periods of the year. This position generally works 35 hours a week, Monday to Friday, but may require the need to work outside of regular hours.

Application Instructions
To explore this opportunity further or to apply, please email apply@jssearch.ca, and include “Director SAS” in the subject line of your email. Applications should include a cover letter and curriculum vitae (saved as a single document).

About The University of Calgary
UCalgary is a global intellectual hub located in Canada’s most enterprising city. UCalgary is a bold and spirited institution, recognized as one of Canada’s top research universities, grounded in innovative teaching and learning, and fully engaged with the community it serves and leads.

“Great cities are built around great research universities and cities that successfully reinvent themselves do so in partnerships with focused, world-class institutions. The fate of Calgary and UCalgary are inextricably tied. Our community has supported us, and now is the time to show returns on those investments for the benefit of our community. Our ambition is nothing short of UCalgary being a catalyst of economic growth and quality-of-life improvements in this city and beyond.”
– Dr. Ed McCauley, President & Vice-Chancellor, University of Calgary

UCalgary recently unveiled its Ahead of Tomorrow strategic plan, which articulates a 7-year vision out to 2030. It’s a bold vision that reflects our ambition to increase access to future-focused education, to maximize the impact of our research and innovation, to put the community at the centre of all that we do, and to make our operational processes clearer, simpler and better than any other university.
To learn more about UCalgary’s strategic plan, visit: http://ucalgary.ca/about/ahead-of-tomorrow

Despite its youth, at only 57 years of age, UCalgary is already one of the nation’s leading research universities. It has five campuses in Calgary, one in Qatar, a University Innovation Quarter in Calgary, and five research stations in Alberta, BC, and the Yukon. UCalgary is a global intellectual hub for high-quality research and scholarship, one where students thrive in programs made rich by research, hands-on experiences, and entrepreneurial thinking, grounded in innovative learning and teaching; it is fully integrated with the community it both serves and leads. As a Comprehensive Academic and Research University, we aim to produce the next generation of leaders who experience the best possible training in acquiring and creating new knowledge.

These foundational values and commitments enable inclusive excellence, discovery, creativity, and innovation across the research ecosystem. With over 28,000 undergraduate students, 8,000 graduate students, 575 postdoctoral fellows/associates (postdocs), and 1,800+ faculty actively engaged in transdisciplinary discovery, creativity, and innovation across 14 faculties and schools, and supported by 3,200+ staff, we deliver over 250 degree and non-credit programs – undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, postdoctoral training, and continuing and professional education programs. We increasingly attract domestic students from within Alberta and across Canada, and our knowledge and experience are enriched by international students from over 119 countries.

With over $545M in annual research revenue and more than 50 research institutes and centres, UCalgary has become known as a research powerhouse in Canada. The scholarly environment at UCalgary encourages our students, faculty, and staff to take on the tough challenges facing our society and to draw expertise from across all our domains to develop evidence-based solutions. We integrate research into graduate and undergraduate curricula, equipping students with transferable problem-solving skills tested in experiential and work-integrated learning scenarios to increase employability and opportunities for professional advancement.

UCalgary benefits from the ongoing support of our community, which rallies behind the university, recently completing the third-largest fundraising campaign in Canadian history, surpassing $1.4B.

UCalgary is a large and complex institution that drives tremendous value with an annual consolidated budget of more than $1.6B, it is among Calgary’s largest employers, and generates over $16B annually in economic impact to the province. Two-thirds of the university’s 220,000 alumni live and work in the Calgary area, effectively building a city of leaders and those dedicated to improving quality of life and prosperity.

UCalgary has been recognized for eight consecutive years as one of Alberta’s Top 75 Employers (2017–2024) and Canada’s best diversity employer (2017–2024).

To learn more, visit ucalgary.ca. You can also view the academic and research & innovation plans, as well as the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility, Indigenous, mental health and sustainability strategies.

About Calgary
Recently ranked the most liveable city in North America and 5th in the world (2024) by The Economist Intelligence Unit, and possessing one of the youngest populations of major cities in Canada, Calgary is home to world-class attractions, sporting amenities and public infrastructure that supports a healthy lifestyle, making it a great place to raise a family (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnh-WugziiiHwMT44-sVwrA). Situated where the Canadian plains reach the sunny foothills of Canada’s majestic Rocky Mountains, Calgary is a major urban centre surrounded by an area of profound beauty with an awe-inspiring mountains, lakes, rivers and gorgeous prairie.

Consistently rated by the United Nations as the world’s best country to live in, Canada is the world’s second largest country by total area and is one of the most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations. Canada ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, and education.

The University of Calgary’s comprehensive benefits and pension program is designed to promote a productive level of health and well-being to staff members. To learn about our comprehensive benefits package for this Calgary-based, English-speaking position, please visit https://www.ucalgary.ca/hr/benefits-pension.

The University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here; in particular, we encourage members of equity-deserving groups (women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. Questions regarding diversity at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (equity@ucalgary.ca) and requests for accommodation can be sent to Human Resources (hrhire@ucalgary.ca).

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