Accessibility Specialist

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Join HMRC as a Higher Officer (HO) Accessibility Specialist and Make a Real Impact!
Are you ready to transform digital experiences and ensure they are accessible to everyone? HMRC is searching for a dynamic and passionate HO Accessibility Specialist to drive our accessibility efforts and champion inclusivity in our digital products and services.
Why Is This Role Exciting?
In this pivotal role, you'll be the driving force behind making HMRC's digital landscape accessible for all. Your work will directly align with our unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion, ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability, can access and benefit from our services. This is more than a job—it's a mission to create a truly inclusive digital world.
As a key member of our newly formed Internal Accessibility Centre of Excellence (CoE), you’ll be part of a dedicated team of Accessibility Specialists. Your mission? To support HMRC users of assistive technologies, communicate standards and legal obligations, and ensure internal compliance with accessibility legislation.
If an applicant doesn't have security clearance they must be willing to obtain this level of clearance after appointment., As the HO Accessibility Specialist, you'll be at the heart of our accessibility initiatives, ensuring our digital products and services are inclusive and user-friendly for all customers and employees. This role requires a deep understanding of accessibility regulations, guidelines, and best practices, along with the ability to lead cross-functional teams in implementing effective accessibility solutions.
What You'll Bring to the Table:
+ Knowledge: A good understanding of the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 and the Equality Act 2010 to safeguard our internal user experience.
+ WCAG Mastery: A good understanding in WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 standards is crucial for maintaining the highest accessibility standards for our technology estate.
+ Tech Savvy: An understanding with assistive technologies such as JAWS, NVDA, Dragon, Windows Ease of Access suite, and iOS is essential for validating our solutions., + Be an advocate: supporting the people facing accessibility barriers across the department.
+ Standards and Legislation: Demonstrate knowledge and communicate the requirements of accessibility standards and legislation.
+ Provide advice, guidance and recommendations: all based on your specialist knowledge and experience. Follow ‘Front Door’ processes and/or approaches to engage business areas and gain the necessary access to internal services.
+ Troubleshooting: Frame problems so they can easily be understood, and troubleshoot where required, to support the business on its journey to internal accessibility compliance.
+ Stakeholder engagement: Identify and engage with users and/or stakeholders to collate user needs evidence. Using your specialist accessibility knowledge to understand and create user journeys that fit user and Accessibility Test Analyst needs.
+ Inter and Intrapersonal skills: Listen to the needs of design and business stakeholders and interpret information. You will take part in discussions within a multidisciplinary team. You will be an advocate for the team externally and manage differing perspectives to prepare and schedule internal services for audit.
+ Audits: Have an awareness of detailed accessibility audits of websites, services and documents, analyse and report test activities and results.
+ Feedback and Analysis: Analyse and provide feedback on governance and change documents, and on governance boards, according to a predefined framework, assessing them against accessibility standards.
+ Risks & Issues: Identify & document issues and risks associated with your work.
+ Development: Have demonstrable evidence of a commitment to learning and development and have a desire to grow in the specialism of assistive technology user experience.

Person specification
+ Positive Impact: Support HMRC’s vision of positive employee experience ensuring maximum contribution from all colleagues.
+ Advocacy: Promote and advocate accessibility test capabilities within and outside government.
+ Training Delivery: Deliver training to colleagues on accessibility best practices, testing, and meeting the needs of our community.
+ Relationship Building: Build relationships with third-party suppliers, project stakeholders, and service owners.
+ Technical Proficiency: Proficient in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WAI ARIA to support service owners with remediation.
+ Audit Experience: Experience in conducting full accessibility audits and understanding of evaluation tools and testing methods, including manual testing., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Working Together, + A name-blind CV including your job history and previous experiences. Your CV will be scored against the experience required outlined in the advert
+ A 500-word Personal Statement. Please provide 500 words on how you meet the Person Specification and Essential Criteria in a Personal Statement with relevant examples with impact and results.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
We acknowledge that AI can assist you in your application. Find our guidelines here.
Sift
At sift, your CV, and your Personal Statement, will be assessed, with the successful candidates being invited to interview.
We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications.
Interview
During the panel interview, your Experience and Behaviours will be assessed.
Behaviours:
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Working Together
Interviews will take place via video link. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Eligibility
Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, please contact us via: unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk – Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example – ‘Please re-open my application – [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date]’.
To check that you are eligible to apply for this role, please review the eligibility information before submitting your application.
Reserve List
A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles – if this applies to you, we’ll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account.
Merit List
After interview, a single merit list will be created, and you will only be considered for posts in locations you have expressed a preference for. Appointments will be made in strict merit order in line with the set number of roles in each location.
Criminal Record Check
Applications received from candidates with a criminal record are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.
Reasonable Adjustments
We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
+ Contact the UBS Recruitment team via unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Additional Security Information
Please note: in addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy. You will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.
Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers:
This role may be suitable for existing HMRC employees who are contractual homeworkers. Occasional attendance to the office will be required where there is a business need. Please consider the advertised office locations for this role when applying and only select locations from the ‘location preferences’ section that you can travel to.
Terms and Conditions
Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process.
HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations.
The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences.
Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process.
Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations.
Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band.
If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
+ UK nationals
+ nationals of the Republic of Ireland
+ nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
+ individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
+ Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window)., Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of the Recruitment Principles.
In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via ubsrecruitmentcomplaints@hmrc.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their website.

+ A good understanding of the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 and the Equality Act 2010 to safeguard our internal user experience.
+ A good understanding in WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 standards is crucial for maintaining the highest accessibility standards for our technology estate.
+ An understanding with assistive technologies such as JAWS, NVDA, Dragon, Windows Ease of Access suite, and iOS is essential for validating our solutions.
Desirable Criteria
+ Experience in a large, complex organization with diverse digital products and services.
+ Knowledge of agile methodologies and their application in accessibility initiatives.
+ Certification or formal training in accessibility standards and best practices.

Alongside your salary of £36,320, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £10,521 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs.
We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.
+ Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues’ Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.
+ Family friendly policies.
+ Personal support.
+ Coaching and development.
To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it’s really like to work for HMRC hear from our insiders or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service