IT Accessibility Specialist Position Announcement at University of Illinois

IT Accessibility Specialist

Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES)
College of Applied Health Sciences (AHS)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The IT Accessibility Specialist position is under the direction of the Coordinator of Assistive Communication and Information Technology (ACIT) at DRES and supports the development and use of accessible design principles for the creation and purchasing of accessible information technologies for use by students, faculty and staff with disabilities at Illinois.  The specialist provides technical support to campus web and software developers, and organizes and leads consortia comprised of institutional, organizational and corporate partners which work to improve the accessibility of specific third-party web resources and software applications.

Technical support includes helping developers understand how to evaluate and test web and software applications for accessibility.  The specialist will support the development of an accessible coding practices library to provide examples on accessible design for use by developers.  The position will be responsible for the creation and maintenance of online reports on the progress and current status of the accessibility of third-party web and software resources, recruitment of institutions and organizations to participate in accessibility consortiums.  The specialist will assist in the dissemination of accessible design coding practices and related tools, and may also assist students with disabilities in learning how to access electronic resources. The specialist will also contribute to the development and execution of an online IT accessibility certificate program within AHS.

Qualifications:

  *   Bachelor's degree (masters preferred) in computer science or a closely related field
  *   At least one year of experience in accessible design or a strong desire to learn about accessible design
  *   Software development experience
  *   Strong organization and communication skills

Preferred Qualifications:

  *   Knowledge and experience with Windows, OS X and Linux operating systems
  *   Experience using assistive technologies, including screen readers
  *   Experience working with people with disabilities
  *   Experience and knowledge of the following web development technologies:
     *   HTML/CSS
     *   Javascript
     *   Python/Django
     *   XML
     *   POSTGRES database
  *   Experience and knowledge of the following web guidelines and standards:
  *   W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
  *   Federal Section 508 Information Technology Accessibility Standards.
  *   W3C Accessible Rich Internet Accessibility Specification
  *   HTML5 Specification

Other

Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications.  This is a regular, full-time (100%) academic professional position.  Starting date is as soon as possible after closing date.

To Apply

To ensure full consideration, create your candidate profile at http://jobs.illinois.edu<http://jobs.illinois.edu/> and upload your letter of application, resume, and names and contact information of three professional references by June 2, 2014.  Applicants may be interviewed before the closing date; however, no hiring decision will be made until after that date.  For further information, please contact:

Mindy Rick, Search Coordinator
1207 S Oak St, Champaign, IL  61820
(217) 333-4600

mindy@illinois.edu<mailto:mindy@illinois.edu>

http://disability.illinois.edu<http://disability.illinois.edu/>

Illinois is an equal opportunity employer which includes statuses of protected veterans and qualified individuals with disabilities (www.diversity.illinois.edu/chancellorscstmt.html<http://www.diversity.illinois.edu/chancellorscstmt.html>). Illinois welcomes individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and ideas who embrace and value diversity and inclusivity. (www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu<http://www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu>)