Communication Access Technology Manager

The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization representing people with hearing loss. HLAA opens the world of communication to people with hearing loss through information, education, support, and advocacy. With more than 50 million Americans living with hearing loss and these numbers growing rapidly, we work nationally and in local communities to promote hearing health and provide vital assistance and resources to help people with hearing loss and their families to live better lives.

The Communication Access Technology Manager position will support and strengthen HLAA’s national credibility in communication access technology by:

• Elevating lived experience within technical ecosystems
• Bridging standards, policy, and consumer realities
• Supporting informed technology adoption
• Maintaining vendor-neutral trust across industry, professional, and consumer communities

The Communication Access Technology Manager has strategic leadership responsibility for HLAA’s technology portfolio and collaborates closely with the executive director and other department directors. The role advances HLAA’s influence through expertise, relationship-building, and cross-functional alignment.

The manager sets strategic direction and content priorities. Program staff support routine content production and logistics. Cross-department initiatives are collaborative, with shared execution.

Position Summary

The Communication Access Technology Manager provides strategic leadership for HLAA’s work at the intersection of communication access technology, standards development, public policy, industry engagement, and consumer education.

The manager advances the integration of real-world user experience into technology standards, industry practices, and policy discussions, while guiding the development of practical, accessible, and vendor-neutral technology information and education for people with hearing loss.

The manager represents HLAA nationally in professional, industry, federal, and standards settings and serves as the organization’s senior subject matter expert on communication access technologies.

Key Responsibilities

1. Organizational Strategy, Coordination, and Representation

• Lead the development of HLAA’s technology strategy and guide its implementation in alignment with organizational priorities.
• Develop and recommend annual priorities and multi-year objectives for technology and technology education initiatives.
• Facilitate the coordination of technology-related efforts across departments, including Public Policy, Development, Communications, and Chapter Engagement
• Advise the executive director and other department directors on emerging technology developments and their strategic implications.
• Represent HLAA externally in national forums, professional meetings, and industry convenings related to communication access technologies.
• Participate in and contribute to relevant technical standards bodies affecting communication access technologies.
• Advocate for and elevate real-world user experience and accessibility considerations within standards development and policy discussions.
• Provide subject matter expertise to support regulatory comments, legislative proposals, policy analysis, and strategic advocacy efforts.
• Maintain working knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the accessibility provisions of the Communications Act, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and other legal and regulatory frameworks affecting communication access.
• Monitor emerging technology trends and assess their implications for people with hearing loss.

3. Industry, Professional, and Partner Engagement

• Serve as HLAA’s primary liaison to industry, hearing health care professionals, and other technology-related partners.
• Promote vendor-neutral, standards-driven approaches to accessibility and user-centered design.
• Build collaborative relationships that advance unbiased information and best practices in technology adoption to support and strengthen real-world use of communication access technologies.
• Provide strategic leadership for the Industry-Consumer Alliance for Accessible Technology (ICAAT) program,…