Communication Access Specialist & ASL Interpreter Lead

Position Overview

The Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) supports students, faculty, staff, and guests to advance access within the campus community to further extend both the mission of The College of New Jersey and the mission of the Division of Inclusive Excellence to persons with disabilities.

The Communication Access Specialist & ASL Interpreter Lead serves as the institutional leader for communication access and Deaf/Hard of Hearing accommodations. Reporting to the Director of Accessibility Resources in the Division of Inclusive Excellence, this position provides strategic direction, oversight, and direct service in ensuring comprehensive, high-quality interpreting and captioning support across the College.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and supervision for ASL interpreters, including recruitment, onboarding, scheduling, and performance evaluation.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for interpreting and captioning services across campus.
• Develop and maintain interpreter staffing models to meet academic and co-curricular access needs.
• Coordinate with the Director of Accessibility Resources to hire freelance interpreters, including job description creation, requisitions, contracts, onboarding support, etc.
• Coordinate daily and long-term scheduling of interpreters, captionists, and related service providers to ensure coverage for all eligible requests.
• Manage vendor relationships, contracts, invoicing, and service delivery to ensure consistency and compliance.
• Establish and maintain internal protocols, policies, and resources related to communication access, interpreting, and captioning.
• Monitor service usage, track hours, and manage invoicing and budget records.
• Collaborate with ARC team members to ensure timely and equitable provision of communication access, to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504.
• Resolve service concerns and participate in grievance or appeal processes as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.

Interpreting Services

• Provide professional, ethical, and accurate interpreting/transliterating between spoken English and American Sign Language in classes, meetings and campus events, including high-profile institutional functions (e.g. Commencement, President's Fall Address).
• Support a variety of interpreting modalities (e.g., ASL, PSE, tactile interpreting, remote interpreting as needed).
• Adhere to the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc.(RID) Code of Professional Conduct and institutional standards.

Qualifications

Required: Bachelor's degree in Deaf Studies, Interpretation, Linguistics, Communication, Education, or related field. Certified interpreter credentials (NIC or equivalent RID certification). Minimum of 5-7 years of professional interpreting experience in educational or related settings. Experience coordinating or supervising communication access services. Demonstrated fluency in ASL and spoken/written English. Knowledge of Deaf culture, ADA/Section 504, and accessibility best practices.