Role: Digital Accessibility Specialist (6-Month Contract)
Rate: £450 to £500 per day (Inside IR35)
Location: Central London
Duration: 6 Months
Hybrid: Minimum 1 day per week on-site (candidates requiring reasonable adjustments for remote working considered)
Working Hours: 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday
Overview: Our client, a high-profile broadcasting and digital media organisation, is committed to delivering accessible, inclusive, and engaging content for all audiences. As part of a broader value-for-all strategy, they have an obligation to ensure that every user, regardless of ability or assistive technology needs, can access and enjoy their digital products and services. You will be joining a dedicated Digital Accessibility team focused on audience-facing products. This team works closely with product groups and technical teams to champion accessibility best practices, conduct thorough evaluations, provide training, and ensure that new features and services meet industry-leading accessibility standards.
Mandatory Skills:
* Accessibility Expertise: Deep understanding of digital accessibility, inclusion, and usability principles, including how usability influences accessibility outcomes.
* Standards & Guidelines: Comprehensive knowledge of WCAG 2.2 AA/AAA standards (and, after onboarding, internal guidelines) and experience ensuring digital products meet regulatory requirements.
* Assistive Technologies: Hands-on experience with desktop and mobile assistive tools such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, and ZoomText.
* Web Technologies: Strong grasp of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, WAI-ARIA best practices, and the ability to guide teams on selecting and implementing appropriate technologies to meet accessibility needs.
* Testing & Evaluation: Familiarity with accessibility evaluation tools and frameworks (e.g., Axe, browser Developer Tools, Accessibility Inspector) and the capacity to lead accessibility testing within ongoing development activities. While not primarily a QA tester role, you should be able to organize and oversee testing initiatives to ensure compliance.
Desirable Skills:
* Instructional Design: Experience in creating instructional frameworks that support effective accessibility learning, including needs analysis, defining learning objectives, and designing assessments.
* Community Engagement: Familiarity with accessibility networks, champion groups, or guilds to foster a community of practice.
* Large Organisation Experience: Consultancy or equivalent experience operating in large-scale environments, with the ability to quickly adapt, advise, and troubleshoot accessibility issues across varied products and platforms.
Why Join? This is an opportunity to shape the accessibility landscape of a prominent organisation’s digital offerings. Your work will have a direct impact on ensuring that audiences of all abilities can engage with digital content seamlessly, supporting a culture of inclusivity and excellence. If you are passionate about accessibility, possess the technical expertise, and thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced setting, we encourage you to apply.