Senior Manager, Academic Accomodations (SAS)

McMaster University; Hamilton; On-site; CAD 104,000 - 136,000; Full time

Job summary

McMaster University located on Central Campus in Hamilton, Ontario, invites applications for Senior Manager, Academic Accommodations (SAS). This continuing role leads a high-volume accessibility services team, ensuring OHRC and AODA compliance while shaping scalable accommodation frameworks and testing services for thousands of students annually.

The role emphasizes strategic planning, data-informed decision making, and cross-functional collaboration with faculty and campus partners to enhance

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of progressive leadership experience in higher education, accessibility services, or student services.
• Experience supervising unionized staff, including collective agreement interpretation and labour-relations practice.
• Experience with accessibility accommodation processes and post-secondary student support services.
• Experience leading operational improvement and change management initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for the timely, consistent, and student-centred delivery of accommodation services to approximately 5,800 students annually.
• Lead long-term operational planning, service-demand forecasting, staffing models, and service optimization initiatives across SAS.
• Contribute to SAS strategic planning and institutional initiatives, translating legislative and policy direction into sustainable operational practice.
• Hold operational accountability for SAS’s compliance with OHRC and AODA service-delivery standards.
• Assess and approve accommodation determinations in complex, contested cases with independent judgment.
• Ensure accommodation decisions and documentation withstand scrutiny and align with university priorities.

Skills

Judgment

Data analysis

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder collaboration

Communication

Education

Master’s degree in Education, Disability Studies, Rehab Sciences, Social Work or related field

Job description

Senior Manager, Academic Accomodations (SAS)

Regular/Temporary

Regular

Location

Central Campus

Open Date

2026/10/19

Job Type

Continuing

Close Date

2026/11/10

Employee Group

TMG

Favorite Job

Department

Student Accessibility Services

Full/Part Time

Full-Time

Salary Grade/Band

Band M

Salary Range

$103826.00 - $155740.00 (annual)

Job Code

104990

Hiring Range

$103826.00 - $136142.00

Existing Vacancy

Yes - Newly Created Position

Target Number of Openings

1

35

Student Affairs reports to the Associate Vice-President, Students and operates as a strategic partner to academic units, providing co-curricular and support infrastructure that complements the academic mission and advances the whole-student experience. Student Accessibility Services (SAS) ensures the University meets its legal obligations to students with disabilities under the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC) and the Accessibility for Ontarians with
Disabilities Act (AODA). SAS supports approximately 5,800 students annually — roughly 15% of total university enrolment — through academic accommodation planning, assistive technology, learning strategy support, and accommodated testing services. The unit is undergoing a transformation toward
an accessible-education-by-design model, embedding inclusive practice across the institution rather than delivering accommodations solely through an individualized service model.

We have an exciting new opportunity for a Senior Manager, Academic Accommodations (SAS) to join our team.

The Senior Manager, Academic Accomodations holds primary operational accountability for the delivery of accessible services that meet the University’s obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code and AODA. Reporting to the Director, SAS, the Senior Manager leads a service-delivery team of
professionals — spanning academic accommodation, assistive technology, and learning strategy — and is responsible for exercising significant judgment in complex, contested, and precedent-setting accommodation decisions.The role oversees the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of accommodation
frameworks, service standards, and operational processes that govern how accessibility services are delivered across a high-volume environment. The Senior Manager collaborates with the Operations Manager on accommodated testing and examination services (approximately 35,000 tests/exams peryear) to ensure seamless, compliant, student-centred delivery.

Strategic & Operational Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership for the timely, consistent, and student-centred delivery of accommodation services to approximately 5,800 students annually.
• Lead long-term operational planning, service-demand forecasting, staffing models, and service optimization initiatives across SAS.
• Contribute to SAS strategic planning and institutional initiatives, translating legislative and policy direction into sustainable operational practice.

Compliance & Legal Accountability

• Hold operational accountability for SAS’s compliance with the Ontario Human Rights Code (procedural and substantive duty to accommodate) and AODA service-delivery standards.
• Assess and approve accommodation determinations in complex, contested, and precedent-setting cases where legislation, institutional policy, competing obligations, and finite resources intersect — exercising independent judgment without clear precedent.
• Identify systemic accommodation risks and emerging legal exposure, resolving them at the operational level and escalating institutional or policy-level matters to the Director with analysis and recommended action.
• Ensure accommodation decisions, documentation, and rationale withstand human-rights, legal, and audit scrutiny.
• Develop recommendations and lead the implementation and ongoing improvement of accommodation frameworks, service standards, procedures, and reporting structures that govern unit-wide practice.
• Analyze operational data, service trends, utilization patterns, and workload indicators to inform decision-making, resource planning, and evidence-based improvement.
• Proactively identify service gaps and process-improvement opportunities, designing scalable, solutions-focused responses that balance efficiency, accessibility, and service quality.
• Oversee the development of operational procedures, documentation, and reporting frameworks.
• Support the integration of technology and systems solutions that improve operational effectiveness and student experience.
• Ensure operational practices align with university priorities, accessibility legislation, institutional policies, and student success goals.
• Build collaborative relationships with faculty, students, academic departments, and campus partners, providing expert consultation on accommodation and accessibility processes.
• Collaborate with the Operations Manager to ensure accommodated testing and examination services (~35,000 tests/exams annually) align with accommodation requirements and service standards.
• Represent SAS on institutional committees, operational working groups, and cross-functional initiatives as required.
• Support effective communication and coordination across departments to ensure seamless service delivery.

People Leadership & HR Management

• Lead, develop, and manage a team of diverse team of professional unionized staff
• Partner with Human Resources and Employee & Labour Relations on labour-relations matters, grievances, and workforce planning.
• Apply strong managerial acumen to performance management, hiring, onboarding, progressive discipline, and conflict resolution.
• Build a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team culture, and lead change-management efforts through service-delivery transitions.
• Support staff development and promote best practices in individualized accommodation planning and Universal Design for Learning

Education

Master’s degree in Education, Disability Studies, Rehab Sciences, Social Work or a related field.

Experience

• Minimum 7 years of progressive leadership experience in higher education, accessibility services, or student services.
• Demonstrated experience leading service-delivery teams and large scale operational processes in high-volume, deadline-driven environments.
• Experience supervising unionized staff, including collective agreement interpretation and labour-relations practice.
• Experience with accessibility accommodation processes and post secondary student support services.
• Experience leading operational improvement and change management initiatives.

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong understanding of accessibility legislation (OHRC, AODA), academic accommodation processes, and post-secondary operational environments.
• Demonstrated judgment in navigating complex, ambiguous, and contested decisions involving competing obligations and finite resources.
• Exceptional operational leadership, organizational, and process management skills.
• Strong HR acumen, including collective-agreement interpretation, labour relations, performance management, and conflict resolution.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities, including the use of data to inform service planning.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and student success.

Pay Transparency Statement

The posted hiring range represents McMaster's typical hiring range for this position. Actual starting salary will depend on factors such as relevant experience, qualifications, internal equity, and market conditions.

Individuals with extensive experience, deep specialized expertise, and/or those who can demonstrate exceptional past performance, as applicable, may be hired at a higher rate within the full range, in accordance with the University compensation policies.

Employment Equity Statement

McMaster University is located on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee and Mississauga Nations and within the lands protected by the “Dish With One Spoon” wampum agreement.

The diversity of our workforce is at the core of our innovation and creativity and strengthens our research and teaching excellence. In keeping with its Statement on Building an Inclusive Community with a Shared Purpose, McMaster University strives to embody the values of respect, collaboration and diversity, and has a strong commitment to employment equity.

The University seeks qualified candidates who share our commitment to equity and inclusion, who will contribute to the diversification of ideas and perspectives, and especially welcomes applications from indigenous (First Nations, Métis or Inuit) peoples, members of racialized communities, persons with disabilities, women, and persons who identify as 2SLGBTQ+.

As part of McMaster’s commitment, all applicants are invited to complete a confidential Applicant Diversity Survey through the online application submission process. The Survey questionnaire requests voluntary self-identification in relation to equity-seeking groups that have historically faced and continue to face barriers in employment. Please refer to the Applicant Diversity Survey - Statement of Collection for additional information.

Job applicants requiring accommodation to participate in the hiring process should contact:

To ensure an ongoing and vibrant University community that meets the needs of our students, staff and faculty and supports the University mission, ability to work on-site continues to be a requirement for most University positions. This role has a requirement for 5 days in office.

Interview Experience

At McMaster University, we believe in a comprehensive and inclusive interview process. Our interview methods encompass a variety of approaches that allow our hiring teams to provide a flexible and accessible experience for engaging with our candidates. Throughout your recruitment process at McMaster, you may be requested to participate in a variety of formats, that may include in-person, virtual or recorded interviews. If you have any questions as you move through the hiring process, please reach out to [e-mail] or the HR contact associated with your position of interest.

AI Statement

McMaster and its third-party partners may use AI tools to screen, assess, or select applicants during the hiring process. Please note that currently our recruitment platform does not use AI nor is it part of our current recommended recruitment process.