Deputy Director

Purdue University’s Disability Resource Center (DRC) coordinates reasonable accommodations and works with students, faculty, staff, and campus partners to address disability-related barriers across the University’s academic programs and services. The DRC is responsible for evaluating disability-related accommodation requests, supporting effective implementation, and providing consultation and guidance regarding disability access and applicable legal requirements. The center serves a large and complex student population and emphasizes consistent decision-making, responsive service, collaboration, and sound professional judgment.

The Deputy Director is a full-time, on-site position based in West Lafayette, Indiana, providing operational leadership for Purdue University’s Disability Resource Center. Working closely with the Senior Director, the Deputy Director translates departmental priorities into consistent daily practice and oversees day-to-day operations for the West Lafayette campus.

The Deputy Director directly supervises a team of professional Access Consultants and is responsible for staff coaching, development, performance management, and accountability. The position provides leadership around accommodation decision-making, evaluates and contributes to complex accommodation determinations, monitors consistency and quality across practice, and identifies opportunities to improve workflows and operational effectiveness.

The Deputy Director also serves as a primary operational resource for faculty, staff, and campus partners navigating complex disability access and accommodation matters. The position helps establish operational expectations, supports policy and procedure development, uses data and assessment to inform decision-making, and ensures practices remain grounded in applicable legal requirements and institutional responsibilities.

As a senior member of the DRC leadership team, the Deputy Director serves on behalf of the Senior Director when appropriate and leads the department in the Senior Director’s absence.

• Master’s degree in a relevant field from an accredited institution.
• Minimum of four years of progressively responsible disability-related professional experience, including at least three years in higher education disability services and at least three years supervising staff.
• Demonstrated expertise in evaluating complex accommodation requests and making accommodation determinations.
• Strong working knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and their application within higher education.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound professional judgment in complex or ambiguous situations.
• Ability to evaluate disability documentation and consider functional impact, student-reported barriers, legal requirements, and institutional responsibilities when determining reasonable accommodations.
• Experience making difficult decisions and communicating decisions and their rationale clearly and effectively.
• Demonstrated ability to supervise and develop professional staff through coaching, clear expectations, accountability, and performance management.
• Experience establishing consistent practices, assessing service quality, and improving workflows and operational processes.
• Strong communication and consultation skills with the ability to build productive working relationships with students, faculty, staff, administrators, and campus partners.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and maintain high professional standards in a complex, high-volume environment.

Equivalent combinations of education and required experience may be considered in accordance with the qualifications identified in the Purdue University job posting.

Position Details

This is a full-time, fully in-person position in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Anticipated annual salary range: $100,500–$101,800.