Principal, Customer Accessibility

Air Canada • Dorval • 11h ago

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. The Customer Accessibility Team believes that our customers deserve to travel with dignity, independence, and choice. Reporting to the Director, Customer Accessibility, the Principal, Customer Accessibility is accountable to improve accessibility of Air Canada’s products and services and help remove barriers to air travel. The Principal, Customer Accessibility is responsible for leading, managing, and supporting a variety of accessibility initiatives to improve the travel experience for members of the disability community and to comply with and exceed relevant regulatory requirements globally. The successful candidate deeply understands the needs of the disability community and the power of strong partnerships and relationships. They're experienced in building strong relationships within a matrixed organization/environment. They are an exceptional communicator who listens to understand and uses data and story-telling to inspire action. They celebrate progress, are transparent when things go wrong, and are comfortable with the ambiguity and conflict that comes with driving transformation. They're at ease thinking about strategy and love to roll up their sleeves and do what it takes to build a better travel experience for the disability community. Acting as a subject matter expert, the manager influences strategy, compliance, and training while championing accessibility across customer touchpoints, digital platforms, and built environments. Through measurement and continuous improvement, the role ensures Air Canada’s commitment to being the carrier of choice for people with disabilities is embedded in every journey. They will investigate and resolve accessibility-related incidents and issues, provide expert advice and guidance on accessibility risks and regulations, and design and implement strategies and programs to enhance awareness and compliance on accessibility. The incumbent represents Air Canada before advocacy groups and regulators and promotes best practices in the industry, developing a deep understanding of customers with disabilities. Specific Accountabilities include, but are not limited to: This position may be located in Montreal or Toronto. Responsibilities: Communicate the strategy, vision and mandate regarding accessible air travel in a clear, impactful and thoughtful manner, both internally and externally: Represent Air Canada before advocacy groups for customers with disabilities, including through advisory committees, and develop a deep understanding of the needs of customers with disabilities. Support the Director in representing Air Canada in discussions with regulators and international workgroups promoting accessible travel, staying abreast of regulatory changes and best practices in accessibility and taking a leadership role to promote the removal of barriers at Air Canada and across the industry Support the development, execution and report out of Air Canada's progress on our Accessibility Plan. Building ties with Air Canada employees with disabilities through employee engagement channels, in collaboration with the DEI team. Conduct station visits, support station openings/restarts/ transitions to promote compliance with accessibility regulations and company procedure Establish deep ties to the disability community to access transparent feedback on our existing service, and to be a part of the future initiatives development process. Accountable to find the root cause (e.g., policy, process, systemic gaps) of the accessibility failures and turn detailed findings into concrete recommendations for changes to policy/procedure/training/equipment Develop and maintains strong relationships with the disability community including strategic membership and recurring meetings with our Accessibility Advisory Committee, supporting community events and engagement with Air Canada time and resources, and soliciting input on current and future initiatives to improve the Accessibility experience. Resolve and lead in-depth investigations of accessibility-related incidents (e.g., refusal to transport, lost or damaged mobility aids, failure to provide assistance in the airport). Lead, manage and execute accessibility initiatives to remove barriers and improve services, guiding operational branches and teams focused on customer service excellence, as well as through accessibility champions across the company (near term). Act as subject matter expert to support operational groups with urgent operational accessibility questions and regulatory complaints or investigations Design and implement strategies to enhance awareness of priorities around accessibility across the company, promote employee engagement to support corporate culture change and overall commitment to accessibility and encourage a behavioral shift that promotes accessibility throughout the customer journey Lead training initiatives on accessibility in collaboration with all stakeholders, in support of new policies, procedures and identified gaps. Collaborate with Training Design and Delivery teams to implement and deliver training programs Develop and monitor tracking and compliance data to determine our level of service and communicate this to stakeholders; establish action plans as needed to address shortcomings and to strive for excellence Manage accessibility data and reports for operational needs and committee meetings Maintain a centralized repository of regulatory requirements in all markets we serve as it relates to assisting customers with disabilities Drive transformative change when it comes to delivery of accessible products and services (mid to long-term): Build a culture of disability community consultation throughout Air Canada by working collaboratively with other teams at Air Canada on cross-functional accessibility projects. Support / lead the development of new initiatives, communications, training to elevate colleague understanding and comfort with helping members of the Accessibility Community.

5-10 years relevant experience in accessibility. Experience may be gained through employment, volunteer work, education and/or lived experience Experience in collaborating with internal and external stakeholders, including persons with disabilities, on accessibility issues and solutions Deep understanding of airline operations University degree in related field or equivalent experience Experience in managing and implementing initiatives, policies and procedures in a large and complex organization Experience developing strategies that meet department goals within budget and established timelines Knowledge of Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint Excellent verbal and written communication skills Ability to handle multiple tasks with accuracy and diplomacy Detail oriented and possess effective organizational and administrative skills Ability to work independently and in a team environment Knowledge of accessibility legal and regulatory framework applicable to Air Canada Exhibit Air Canada’s values of Safety First, Always; Care & Class; and Win as One Based on equals, preference will be given to candidates with lived experience with disability Rick Hansen Certification is an asset Experience in conducting audits, assessments and evaluations, an asset Experience in developing and delivering training programs and materials, an asset Excellent project management skills and/or in change management, an asset Must be willing to work flexible hours and be available to respond on short-notice, after hours and on weekends or holidays, as operationally required Demonstrate punctuality and dependability to support overall team success in a fast-paced environment. 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. 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.