Statement of Work:
• The Digital Accessible Document Specialist will be responsible for hands-on remediation, creation, and quality assurance of accessible digital documents, working with and across City departments.
• Working full- time at 40 hours per week for 12 months with possibility of extension, the resource will audit and remediate existing document inventories (PDFs, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and fillable forms) to meet WCAG 2.1 AA and PDF/UA standards.
• The specialist will also work with Digital and creative services to develop accessible document templates, best-practice documentation, and assist departmental staff so they can produce accessible documents independently going forward.
• This role works in close coordination with the Accessibility Architect and the OIT Digital Services team to ensure document accessibility standards align with the City’s broader enterprise accessibility governance framework.
Work activities:
• Identify, remediate, and validate existing City digital documents (PDFs, forms, reports, spreadsheets) for compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA, PDF/UA, and Section 508 standards using tools such as Adobe Acrobat Pro, CommonLook, and PAC.
• Expand the accessible document style guide and authoring standards, including step-by-step remediation workflows, tagging conventions, and quality assurance checklists to ensure compliance.
• Conduct ongoing quality assurance reviews of departmental document output, track remediation progress against the prioritized backlog, and report on compliance to the Accessibility Architect and project leadership.
Skills/experience Required:
• Minimum 3 years of professional experience in digital document accessibility remediation, including PDF tagging, form accessibility, and document structure optimization.
• Expert-level proficiency with Adobe Acrobat Pro accessibility tools (tags panel, reading order, accessibility checker) and familiarity with complementary tools such as CommonLook PDF Validator, PAC (PDF Accessibility Checker)
• Strong working knowledge of WCAG 2.1 AA, PDF/UA (ISO 14289), Section 508, and ADA Title II requirements as they apply to electronic documents and forms.
• Experience creating accessible templates and authoring guidelines in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PDF), with an understanding of how source document structure affects downstream PDF accessibility.
• Strong understanding of the intricacies of Screen Reader behavior across operating systems and applications.
Highly Desired/Preferred:
• Experience working in or with government agencies on large-scale document remediation or digital accessibility compliance projects.
• Familiarity with assistive technologies (JAWS, NVDA) and the ability to test documents from an end- user perspective.
• DHS Trusted Tester certification, IAAP document accessibility credential (ADS), or equivalent professional certification.
• Experience with document management systems, batch remediation workflows, and accessibility.