Hello! I’m Chris Jeffery, owner of Accessibility in Focus. On this page, I’d like to introduce myself and tell you more about my experience and what I can bring to your project.
My Experience
I started my working life spending seven years with a major British supermarket chain in the south east of England, the latter two years managing the Checkouts department. This gave me valuable knowledge of customer experience principles as I was responsible for enforcing the company’s high standards of service every day with a team of 32 colleagues reporting to me.
My dream for some time though had been to work on the railways and so in 2019, I relocated to Sheffield to join a contact centre processing delay repay claims for some of Britain’s largest train operating companies. I quickly progressed to roles where I used my railway knowledge to deliver training and enforce quality assurance, before moving to manage the team responsible for Passenger Assist bookings in 2020. Overseeing bookings for this service, which provides assistance from staff to older and disabled customers, is what first got me interested in accessibility as I saw what a difference it could make when assistance was done right.
In 2021, I joined a train operating company based in Manchester as their Accessibility Co-ordinator. I was responsible for the accessibility team’s essential reporting duties, providing the business with timely and accurate insight into the delivery of Passenger Assist and the Accessibility Engagement Plan. I also supported the delivery of several projects from the minor works programme, working closely with internal teams and external contractors to enhance the accessibility of stations across the North to agreed timescales and budgets. Furthermore, I developed personas of vulnerable people and a suite of mitigations to support their travel through an intensive timetable of planned improvement works.
Following a secondment opportunity, I started in the role of Accessibility & Transport Integration Manager in September 2022. Building on my experience, I chaired the company’s customer accessibility panel, which gave me the opportunity to work with many stakeholders and amplify the customer voice throughout the business to ensure a laser focus on accessibility and equality by all departments. I provided subject matter expertise to ensure projects being completed business-wide were considering accessibility in their implementation, and led on the introduction of a new Equality Impact Assessment process. I also represented the company at several external events including World Passenger Festival in Austria.
In 2025 I was promoted into the new position of Accessibility Lead and tasked with overseeing the long-term accessibility strategy for the business. I lead on the implementation of an ambitions and thorough Passenger Assist improvement plan and assured the business’ regulatory compliance. I also supported the delivery of a transport integration strategy to promote better connected, accessible, and more sustainable end-to-end journeys. I also chaired the rail industry’s Accessibility & Inclusion governance group, ensuring compliance and consistency across all train operating companies in Great Britain.
I am currently on secondment to a national programme delivering new technology as part of the Great British Railways roadmap to an accessible railway. So far, this has included working with several suppliers to make the technology as accessible as possible, and producing training materials for railway staff which includes disability awareness content co-created with disabled people and railway staff.
You can find out more about my experience and the certifications that I hold on my LinkedIn profile. I also post there regularly about what projects I’ve been working on.
As well as my work experience, I have first hand experience of accessibility too as I’m registered blind. Throughout my career, I have been able to combine my working knowledge with my personal experiences to deliver meaningful and impactful accessibility improvements.
Founding Accessibility in Focus
I started Accessibility in Focus in 2026 as a way to bring together several things I’ve been working on. Accessibility consultancy undertaken outside of my day job, mystery shopping exercises, and my podcast were now united under one brand.
Other Activities
To give back to the local community, I volunteer at the East Lancashire Railway in Bury as a Booking Office Assistant. You can find out more about the heritage railway here, it’s definitely worth a visit.
I also enjoy photography and usually capture pictures of my travels. If you’re interested in seeing my work, I post it to Instagram under the name Gaze Through Glaucoma. I describe myself as a registered blind photographer, expressing my emotions and creativity as I explore the world in my own way.
How can I help you?
As you have read, I have a wealth of experience in accessibility, customer experience, stakeholder engagement, and transport. A lot of key accessibility principles are transferrable to other industries too, such as events, travel, web, gaming, and more.
I can help you deliver your goals to make anything you’re doing as accessible as possible. Sound good? Let’s talk, or read about the services that I can provide.