Back to all jobs

Head of Digital Inclusion, Accessibility & Standards

HM Revenue and Customs

Flexible,UNITED KINGDOM

This job is expired.

HMRC is one of the largest organisations in the UK and we run the biggest digital operation in Government. Our digital business runs the IT behind tax and benefits services for 45 million individual and 4.9 million business customers.

We are undergoing a major transformation programme, which includes a £200 million investment in digitisation, so customers can do more for themselves online and in real time, on computers, tablets and smartphones. As a government organisation we need to ensure our services can be used by everyone. The interface ensures that customers can successfully interact with our services, and helps people with disabilities or those who need assisted digital support to access the same information, perform the same tasks, and receive appropriate support.

We are looking for someone who has an interest in digital inclusion, including accessibility and assisted digital, as well as the service standard which is a key role to ensure we build services usable by everyone.

Job description

You will be a leader in your field, an experienced practitioner and a skilled team leader, confident in explaining user needs to senior civil servants and delivery teams alike. Acting as a subject matter expert on all matters to do with accessibility, assisted digital and the Service Standard making strategic recommendations to the organisation and managing the delivery of solutions. You will be comfortable working with a range of stakeholders, and be able to quickly build credibility, influence and the ability to deliver through others.

- define and establish best practice based on WCAG standards that make our services and internal systems usable by all, by default
- contribute and co-lead the assisted digital strategy across HMRC by embedding best practice at the organisational level, ensuring digital services preserve and enable access for digitally excluded user groups
- define and implement the assurance approach to support the Service Standard with regard to accessibility and digital inclusion
- develop and implement a strategy in partnership with commercial teams – to support the procurement of compliant off the shelf software, accessible and inclusive digital services, including electronic, physical and process elements
- lead strategic discussions about the inclusive design and build of services and internal systems, recommending and explaining approaches to senior leaders across the department
- support delivery teams, programmes and portfolios to create multi-channel inclusive services with effective assisted digital support models as appropriate
- build and maintain relationships with senior stakeholders, leaders of teams and staff groups concerned with diversity, inclusion and access for digital services
- promote the Service Standard across HMRC and collaborate with GDS and other government departments to further develop and iterate it
- be a thought leader in cross-government communities and beyond, by blogging, presenting at conferences, sharing approaches and ideas around Assisted Digital, Digital Accessibility and the Service Standard
- manage a team of civil servants and consultants; allocate them to work across multiple projects as required. Identify and upskill new talent to grow capacity

Essential criteria

You’ll have a demonstrable passion for user-centred design, with extensive experience of:

- disability law, including the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the Equality Act 2010, The Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018
- knowledge of best practice approaches to designing Assisted Digital services which are accessible and inclusive
- leading and managing teams, coaching, growing skills and directing the work of others
- creating a collaborative, inclusive environment
- setting direction - making decisions, evaluating impact and contributing to strategic discussions at a senior level
- being pragmatic and confident when dealing with a range of audiences and senior stakeholders
- understanding and explaining the ways people who are digitally excluded or have access requirements, need to use services - things that help/hinder them
- applying a thorough knowledge of assistive hardware/software and activities related to accessibility testing
- establishing, promoting and applying the Accessibility Guidelines, Service Standard and other good practice guidance for inclusive digital services
- helping digital teams to build services that meet the needs of users who are digitally excluded or have access needs
- building and leading a team of specialists and ensuring team output is of a consistently high quality

Desirable skills

Ideally, you will also:

- experience of working in government
- experience of delivering digital services in large organisations
- speaking about accessibility and digital inclusion at conferences

You will also need:

- A degree in psychology, cognitive science, human factors, computer science, product/interaction design, human computer interaction or related disciplines.
- Excellent communication, presentation and interpersonal skills; the ability to communicate complex concepts clearly and persuasively across different audiences and varying levels of the organisation.
- Strong qualitative and analytical skills, excellent attention to detail and good business judgement
- Enthusiasm for coaching and mentoring of team members.
- Understanding of the Service Standard and GOV.UK Service Manual
- The flexibility to work in a fast-changing environment and ambiguous situations
- Experience guiding and mentoring junior team members
- Knowledge or experience of working in an agile delivery environment

Desirable criteria

A relevant postgraduate qualification or equivalent professional experience

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Good understanding of WCAG2.1
- Government Service Standard

Salary Range: £62789 - £78020

Related Accessibility Jobs

Back to all jobs