Web Designer and Accessibility Developer

Elgin Community College serves over 9,000 students at every stage of their educational journeys, including university transfer programs, career and technical education, continuing education classes, and adult basic education. As a community, we pride ourselves on nurturing a welcoming campus where every person—students, staff members, faculty members, and campus visitors—feels valued. The work of each ECC employee is central to the college’s mission, and as an employer, the college fosters a positive environment through professional challenges, excellent benefits, and opportunities for recognition and camaraderie.

Work Schedule:
Monday - Friday 8AM - 5PM

Rate of Pay:


This position is a grade 214 with a minimum of $64,236 and a mid-point of $85,648. Salary offer will be commensurate with the education/experience, in alignment with the College’s compensation philosophy, and the current CBA, if applicable.

FLSA Status:
Exempt

Grant Funded:
No

Job Summary:


An employee in this classification performs work of moderate difficulty by creating original designs for ECC. They will work alongside the Sr. Designer/Developers to ensure that the college’s brand is consistent across all mediums. This position will create digital advertising designs for upcoming campaigns, web site designs, homepage banners. In addition, this role identifies and fixes accessibility defects and trains others on how to create accessible designs. This position will advise campus constituents on how to ensure that web-based digital content meets accessibility standards and guidelines. The person in this role will regularly assess digital experiences using assistive technology to ensure the college meets the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines. The Web Designer and Accessibility Developer manages user rights and permissions for the college’s content management system. Works on the college’s website help desk to address issues brought by the college community, including investigating and fixing bugs, designing content and writing HTML code. Work is distinguished by the ability to provide expert consultation to anyone building digital experiences for prospective students, faculty and staff. Direction is received by the assigned manager.

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:


A Bachelor’s degree in Art and Design, Computer Science, Information Technology, Web Development, or another related field, or a Bachelor’s degree with an equivalent combination of training and experience related to accessibility and digital documents. Certified Professional in Web Accessibility a plus
Collaborative attitude with the ability to quickly adapt to changes
Ability to conceptualize creative ideas that are both functional and visually appealing
Ability to build relationships with stakeholders from all levels of a complex organization
Considerable knowledge of assistive technology usage across multiple platforms
Considerable skill in problem-solving with a positive “can do” attitude
Considerable knowledge of accessibility-related guidelines and standards, including ADA, WCAG, and WAI-ARIA implementation
Working knowledge of clean semantic HTML markup that passes WCAG Accessibility 2.0 AA standards.
Considerable written, verbal, and presentation skills
UX/ UI experience required
Good knowledge of web coding languages and how they relate to ensuring accessible experiences
3-5 years’ experience doing manual accessibility testing on various platforms
1-2 years web design experience with a solid online portfolio (required)
Ability to demonstrate a well-rounded understanding of web content accessibility requirements
Good knowledge of effective web design, web development, user interface, relational database management, information architecture, and CMS systems. Ability to understand applications and frameworks that would be used for the position (MS Office, Adobe Creative Cloud, HTML, CSS, JSON, XML, .NET, Bootstrap, SASS, etc.…)

Desired Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:


Some knowledge of PDF remediation software
Some knowledge of closed captioning software
Experience in an Agile workspace using bug tracking and project management software

Essential Duties:


Digital accessibility leadership and training

Conduct live training with faculty, staff, and administrators on how to make student materials accessible
Create training materials and educate others on accessibility requirements and best practices
Decide the best way to create content to ensures college websites meet compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and ISO;
Provide training to staff to ensure accessibility is incorporated into delivery lifecycle
Provides regular reporting on content issues and fixes escalating to developers/designers when necessary
Craft and roll out scalable processes to support compliance with established standards
Create and maintain workflow guidelines for all aspects of UAT and accessibility for all content



Quality Assurance Testing

Develop, drive, socialize, and continuously improve the UAT and accessibility strategy
Complete accessibility testing and work with internal and third-party IT teams to troubleshoot issues to ensure campus systems meet Section 508 accessibility requirements
Regular testing using defined standards, methods, and procedures for inspecting, testing, and evaluating usability with assistive technologies
Log accessibility defects as appropriate and address issues within documents and reports
Collaborate with designers to identify, reproduce, prioritize, and document defects



Web Development Desk Duty

Conducts regular site maintenance and responds to internal stakeholders as part of regular work day;
Builds reusable code that meets web security standards;
accessibility requirements;
Optimizes website code for search engine rank;
Collaborates with Senior Web Developer and UX/UI Designers on solutions to product defects;



User Content management

Works with IT on active directory to maintain appropriate user permissions;
Manages user rights according to needs, skills, and training level;
Manages addition or deletion of users; performs administration functions as requested, such as usage reports.
Supports content contributors and moderators by providing expertise, direction, and support to end-users regarding errors, problems, or questions.
Conducts monthly CMS training sessions and provides one-on-one assistance as needed.
Addresses tickets from the website governance software
Acts as the principal architect of the PDF and form library to ensure they are accessible to all.
Ensures that all content on college websites, apps and internal systems comply with accessibility standards Caption and incorporate audio descriptions to all video content
Revise content for readability and plain language review
Responsible for labeling and preventing of errors



Design Duties

Collaborate with the creative and marketing team members to drive and design compelling assets across all channels.
Elevate and innovate our visual creative while maintaining brand standards by developing and maintaining College websites; respond to client requests and create new web pages as needed; structure web page layout; ensure content is accurate, consistent, and up-to-date.
Presents finalized ideas and concepts and takes ownership of projects from concept through final production
Maintain the site structure and content. Make sure all components are in good working condition. Add images, electronic documents, online forms, videos, and other media to the database as needed.
Design and maintain marketing banners, emails, digital ad campaign assets, digital identity systems, and in-house communications banners to comply with accessibility standards.
Perform audio and video editing for video tutorials, demonstrations, or any class materials posted to the web.

Other Duties:


Perform other job-related duties as assigned which pertain to the job description.
Ability to work a flexible schedule which includes days/evenings/weekends as needed by the department.

Physical Demands:


Light (up to 25 lbs occasionally or 10 lbs frequently)

Visual Acuity:


Close visual acuity (e.g. computer, assembly)

Work Environment:


Moderate noise

Environmental Conditions:


Typical office or administrative

Current SSECCA Union Member Information:


The initial posting date for this position is 08/20/2024. Elgin Community College Support Staff Association (SSECCA) members that apply by 08/27/2024 and meet the posted minimum qualifications will receive full consideration.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:


Elgin Community College does not discriminate, or tolerate discrimination, against any member of its community on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex/gender/gender identity, age, religion, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law in matters of admissions, employment, or in any aspect of the educational programs or activities it offers.

In addition, Elgin Community College provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities to ensure equal access and equal opportunities with regard to employment practices, educational opportunities, and programs and services. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the College’s EEO/AA Officer. Determinations on request for a reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.