Accessibility Strategy & Ownership 

• Serve as the primary accessibility owner for M&T’s Enterprise Design System. 

• Define and evolve accessibility standards and best practices as they apply to system components, patterns, and documentation. 

• Partner with Enterprise Accessibility to align our implementation with enterprise and cross-platform accessibility strategy. 

• Advocate for accessibility as a foundational system capability rather than a downstream compliance activity. 

Design System Integration 

• Embed accessibility considerations into the design and development lifecycle of UI components and patterns. 

• Provide early accessibility guidance and feedback on net-new components and patterns during design exploration (e.g., Figma). 

• Define system-level expectations for keyboard navigation, focus management, screen reader behavior, motion, and responsive behavior.  

• Ensure accessibility is addressed consistently across shared and platform-specific implementations. 

Accessible Content & Inclusive Language 

• Establish standards for accessible system-level content, emphasizing clear, plain-language writing that supports comprehension for diverse audiences. 

• Define best practices for semantic structure (e.g., headings, hierarchy) to support screen readers and scannability. 

• Provide principles and examples to help teams create appropriate accessible alternatives (such as text equivalents for visual content and media) while allowing flexibility across use cases and platforms. 

• Promote inclusive and culturally sensitive language practices, avoiding visual-dependent, directional, or ambiguous instructions. 

• Ensure design system documentation models accessible content practices for adopting teams. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration 

• Collaborate with content, design, engineering, product, and accessibility partners to support adoption of accessible system patterns. 

• Act as an accessibility advocate and subject-matter expert within the design system team. 

• Enable teams through documentation, guidance, and consultation.  

• Foster deep partnership with Content Strategy/Design. 

• Demonstrated experience applying WCAG-aligned accessibility principles to digital products or platforms, including native iOS and Android experiences.  

• Working knowledge of front‑end technologies (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) sufficient to review implementations, evaluate accessibility behavior, and define system‑level standards. 

• Strong experience writing accessible UX content, including plain language, semantic structure, and inclusive guidance. 

• Familiarity with industry‑standard accessibility tools and testing methods, such as screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver), automated testing tools (e.g., aXe, WAVE), and manual testing techniques. 

• Experience working with design systems, component libraries, or shared UI platforms at the enterprise level. 

• Ability to translate accessibility standards into practical guidance for designers and engineers. 

• Strong written and verbal communication skills. 

• CPACC or WAS Certification is strongly preferred. 

• Experience in financial services or other regulated industries. 

• Familiarity with modern design and development practices, including Figma and component-based front-end ecosystems (e.g., React, Angular, Lit). 

• Experience collaborating with enterprise accessibility or governance teams. 

What Success Looks Like 

• Accessibility is embedded by default in Currency components and documentation. 

• Product teams understand what accessibility Currency provides and how to implement what it cannot. 

• Accessibility issues are identified early and addressed systemically. 

• The design system is trusted as an enabler of inclusive digital experiences across the bank.