Digital Accessibility Specialist

University of Virginia • Charlottesville, VA

86d • $80,000 - $90,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The University of Virginia Library seeks a collaborative and detail-oriented Digital Accessibility Specialist to help steward library-wide efforts to ensure that digitized and born-digital materials-such as PDFs, scanned content, audiovisual media, archival materials, and collections are digitally accessible. Working across departments, the Digital Accessibility Specialist fosters collaboration, coordinates strategies, and helps develop sustainable practices that make digital accessibility efforts efficient, consistent, and forward-looking. The role does not involve sole responsibility for performing all remediation work, but also empowers and trains others, develops best practices, and embeds accessibility as a shared responsibility. In doing so, the Digital Accessibility Specialist advances the Library's strategic goals of enhancing user experience and broadening the reach of library resources. As part of the Library's commitment to digital inclusion accessibility, the Digital Accessibility Specialist will play a central role in aligning Library content with community expectations, accessibility standards such as ADA Title II, Section 508, and WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and the Library's broader vision of equitable access to knowledge.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor's degree
• Experience: At least four years of experience. Relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Licensure: Project Management Institute (PMI) certification is typically possessed.

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of digital accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG 2.1, Section 508, ADA Title II)
• Experience coordinating or contributing to accessibility or remediation projects.
• Familiarity with assistive technologies (e.g., screen readers, voice recognition software) and how users engage with digital documents and media.
• Working knowledge of document remediation tools (e.g., Adobe Acrobat Pro, Equidox, ABBYY FineReader, or UDOIT).
• Familiarity with building and optimizing workflows and processes.
• Understanding of metadata and digitization workflows as they relate to digital accessibility.

Responsibilities

• Support digital accessibility remediation projects across the Library-including scanned documents, digitized collections, archival materials, and audiovisual content-ensuring alignment with WCAG 2.1 Level AA, Section 508, and ADA Title II.
• Support, guide, and maintain digital accessibility workflows, working across departments to identify priorities, track progress, and document outcomes.
• Support the Academic Captioning Program, working in partnership with Library staff and campus units to ensure multimedia accessibility needs are met.
• Collaborate with colleagues in digital collections, digitization, instructional scanning, instructional support, special collections, and metadata to integrate digital accessibility into upstream workflows and minimize future remediation needs.
• Build and maintain relationships with external vendors who specialize in various types of remediation; assess needs and connect specific content types with the most appropriate vendor solutions.
• Develop and maintain clear documentation, standards, and guidance materials for digital accessibility remediation.
• Consult with staff on creating accessible digital documents, reinforcing sustainable and compliant practices.
• Track digital accessibility-related projects, tasks, and metrics using project management tools; contribute to regular reporting and continuous improvement efforts.
• Stay current with accessibility-related legal requirements, standards, and best practices in digital accessibility, particularly as they apply to libraries and higher education.

Benefits

• Anticipated hiring range is $80,000 -$90,000, commensurate with education and experience.
• This is an exempt-level, benefited position.
• Eligible for a hybrid schedule, with additional on-site presence as needed, after required in-person training.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Industry: Educational Services
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree