Senior Accessibility Specialist

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

1. joining up public sector services
2. harnessing the power of AI for the public good
3. strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
4. elevating leadership and investing in talent
5. funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
6. committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need

Service Transformation and Experience:

We support service teams across central and local government to deliver a digital-first operating model and great services that everyone can access.

A blueprint for modern digital government is our guiding vision.

This is your opportunity to contribute to products of national significance, enabling the join-up of public sector services that improve the lives of citizens and support economic growth.

Job description

As a Senior Accessibility Specialist you will: 

• help set the strategy and standards for ensuring digital services are more inclusive and accessible 
• help to deliver both the Digital Inclusion Action Plan and Blueprint for Modern Digital Government commitments
• manage cross government and public sector accessibility and digital inclusion communities and associated events
• help to evolve and grow existing capability to deliver these commitments and manage risks inline with regulatory obligations
• be able to demonstrate a passion for and excellence in your profession
• be a credible subject matter expert in your profession and apply and develop this in the context of  digital service transformation
• help to define and measure success in this space
• work collaboratively with other parts of the Service Transformation directorate, the rest of GDS and across the public sector 
• seek to continuously improve your performance in the above, including requesting feedback and looking externally at best practice

This list is not exhaustive, there may be a need to flex and change for business needs.

Person specification

We're interested in people who have:

• experience of collaborating with teams to identify and fix accessibility barriers and raise accessibility capability
• the ability to write accessibility guidance and documentation, and deliver accessibility training and presentations 
• experience of evaluating the accessibility of digital websites and providing feedback, advice and solutions to help fix identified issues
• knowledge and experience of existing and emerging accessibility guidelines and standards, particularly the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2
• familiarity with front-end development technologies, specifically HTML, CSS, JavaScript and WAI-ARIA
• knowledge and experience of testing with a range of assistive technologies including customised browser settings, screen magnification, screen readers, speech recognition and literacy software

Benefits

There are many benefits of working at GDS, including:

• flexible hybrid working with flexi-time and the option to work part-time or condensed hours
• a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
• an extra day off for the King’s birthday
• an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
• career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
• paid volunteering leave
• a focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
• job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK
• advances on pay, including for travel season tickets
• death in service benefits
• cycle to work scheme and facilities
• access to an employee discounts scheme
• 10 learning days per year
• volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year)
• access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning

Any move to Government Digital Service from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk 

Office attendance
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.
DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).

Things you need to know

Selection process details

The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:

• a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and cover letter of up to 750 words. Important tip - please ensure that your cover letter includes how you meet the skills and experience listed in the “person specification” section above
• a 60 minute video interview

Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.  Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

In the event we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the lead criteria which is:

• experience of collaborating with teams to identify and fix accessibility barriers and raise accessibility capability

In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. We’ll be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.

For this role we’ll be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours:

• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

We’ll also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Government Digital and Data Capability Framework for the Senior Accessibility Specialist role:

• Communicating information
• Consultancy
• Governance and assurance (accessibility)
• Leadership and guidance
• Technical understanding (accessibility)
• Testing
• User focus

Recruitment Timeline

Sift completion: week commencing Monday 27th October 2025

Panel interviews: starting Friday 7th November 2025

Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.

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 and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Sponsorship

DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.