About us

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is the regulator of equality and human rights for Great Britain. We are Great Britain’s national equality body and a United Nations accredited National Human Rights Institution. We were established by the Equality Act 2006 and our job is to protect and promote equality and human rights across England, Scotland and Wales. We do this by safeguarding and enforcing the laws that protect people’s rights to fairness, dignity and respect.

Britain has a strong reputation as a global leader in equality and human rights and we are committed to ensuring this continues into the future. We are ambitious to achieve maximum impact with the powers and levers available to us to bring about change in society and make a difference to individual’s lives.

As a statutory non-departmental public body, we are funded by HM Treasury via the Cabinet Office, but we operate independently of governments.

We pride ourselves on being a flexible and inclusive employer. We celebrate difference, embrace diversity and support all our people to thrive at work. If this sounds interesting - apply to join us!

Our Vacancy

This is a unique opportunity to apply your accessibility skills and expertise in the organisation that enforces these laws in England, Scotland and Wales.

Accessibility is a priority for the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

We want to make sure our website, content, products and systems provide the best user experience for people with accessibility needs.

We are looking for an accessibility specialist who can help us meet:

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA

• the Equality Act 2010

• the Public Sector Bodies (Website and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

In return, we can offer you a great place and a dedicated team working with you on subjects that really matter to people. We will support you in developing professional skills and expertise, encourage you to seek out opportunities and provide opportunities for you to broaden your horizons, develop new skills, and progress your career. 

Key Responsibilities

We are recruiting a Digital Accessibility Specialist, to join the team on a 12-month fixed-term contract.

This is a newly-created role, reporting to the Head of Media and Content, offering the opportunity to:

• shape the way we approach accessibility internally

• educate and upskill colleagues

• provide assurance and oversight of digital accessibility across the organisation.

What we are looking for

You will have:

• experience of advising people on digital accessibility

• experience of training people in digital accessibility

• demonstrable skills in testing using assistive technologies.

You will be confident in explaining and demonstrating accessibility issues to non-experts. You will also have experience of working with developers and external suppliers to fix accessibility issues.

You will be assessed against our core skills (Leadership, Delivery Management and Stakeholder Engagement) and the knowledge, skills and experience required for the role in the application form. Please provide evidence and examples from your work history or other aspects of your life to demonstrate how you meet the criteria required. Full criteria details can be found in the candidate pack.

If we receive a high volume of applications, we will score based on the knowledge, skills and experience criteria.

Important Information

Currently, we are hybrid working, which is where an employee works 40% of their week in their EHRC office and the remaining part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need.

Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, we offer a range of benefits including flexible working patterns, 30 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays (full time FTE), access to the Civil Service Pension Scheme and partnership pension schemes, and enhanced parental leave benefits. More information can be found in the candidate pack.

How to apply

If this sounds like the role for you, please review the attached Candidate Pack for more information and submit your application today!

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an accredited Disability Confident Leader and operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) for candidates with a disability.

Should you wish to apply under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme or request a reasonable adjustment, please indicate this in your application.  

If you require an alternative accessible version of the application form or wish to discuss your application or reasonable adjustment  – please contact us by email at recruitment@equalityhumanrights.com or by telephone on 0161 829 8100.

Diversity in our workforce

At the Commission, we are proud of our respectful workplace that values the contribution of all our staff, whatever their background.  We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment. Our recruitment decisions are based on fair, open competition, with appointment on merit. We welcome applications from everyone to ensure we achieve a balanced representation in our workforce in all grades.