CDA-Digital Remediation Specialist

Salary : $56,028.00 - $67,224.00 Annually
Location : Broomfield County, CO
Job Type: Full Time
Job Number: BAA-00510-11162023
Department: Department of Agriculture
Division: Commissioner's Office
Opening Date: 11/20/2023
Closing Date: 12/7/2023 4:59 PM Mountain
FLSA: Determined by Position
Primary Physical Work Address: This position will be a remote work opportunity.
Department Information
Who we are:
Agriculture is a part of all our lives. When you eat, put on clothes, or care for an animalyour life is touched by agriculture. Colorado's food and agriculture industry generated $47 billion of economic activity in 2019 and supports nearly 5% of the state's workforce. CDA is proud to be a part of such an important industry.
Mission:
The CDA's mission is to strengthen and advance Colorado's agriculture; promote a safe and high-quality food supply; protect consumers; and foster responsible stewardship of the environment.
Core Values: Partnership, Service, Professionalism, Proactivity, and Respect
CDA Wildly Important Goals:
To accomplish our mission, CDA focuses on four "wildly important goals:"

• Goal 1: Advancing Local Food Access
  
• Goal 2: Expanding Water-Resilient Agriculture
  
• Goal 3: Supporting the Next Generation in Agriculture
  
• Goal 4: Advancing Animal Health and Welfare

We use these goals to focus and align the daily work of our staff in support of Colorado farmers and ranchers. Learn more about our Department and our wildly important goals in our performance plan on our website.
What you get from us:
In addition to a great work location and rewarding and meaningful work, we offer:

• Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan plus optional 401(k) and 457 plans(www.copera.org)
• Medical and dental health plans ()
• Employer supplemented Health Savings Account ($60 per month)
• Paid life insurance, plus additional optional life insurance options
• Paid Short Term Disability and optional Long Term Disability coverage
• 11 paid holidays per year plus generous vacation and sick leave accruals
• BenefitHub state employee discount program
• Employee Wellness program MotivateMe
• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, remote work opportunities, free parking, professional development and more!

To learn about the total compensation package for State government employment visit: https://www.colorado.gov/dhr/totalcompensation
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply. The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer committed to building inclusive, innovative work environments with employees who reflect our communities and enthusiastically serve them. Therefore, in all aspects of the employment process, we provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, medical condition related to pregnancy, creed, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, or military status (with preference given to military veterans), or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.
Learn more about our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion by visiting our EDI Homepage: .
Description of Job
***This position is term limited and set to expire after 24 months***
Work Unit:
This work unit provides internal and external communications support to the entire Department. The Communications Work Unit duties include direct interaction and service to the public, media, industry groups, and CDA staff. Work involves maintaining the CDA website and general information email account, social media management, public relations, promotions, educational and marketing projects, photography, video, and graphic design production. Work involves collecting, coordinating, and preparing information, including CORA responses, to release to news media, the agency, the public, and other entities. These responsibilities include but are not limited to drafting and distributing news releases, creating social media posts, developing and distributing regular and special internal and external communications, and creating graphic designs. This work unit collaborates with existing Communications staff to better support their workload and identify current and future process improvement areas.
Position:
Under the direction of the Communications Director, the Web Accessibility Specialist works with the Process Improvement and Communications Manager to audit websites and web applications, test user interfaces against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and provide remediation. They also

• Create, edit, produce, and publish web-based content for the communications and division staff. ?
• Ensure compliance with digital accessibility regulations and requirements by performing the following duties and responsibilities:
  • Incorporate content accessibility requirements (semantic structure, meaningful links) into content authoring workflows.
  • Create content with accessibility in mind.
  • Create alternatives for media content, such as image descriptions and figure captions.
  • Use content authoring and publishing platforms that support accessibility.
  • Partner with and support agency team members to prioritize accessibility in content production.

Primary Duties:
Duty: Accessibility Testing and Remediation:
Brief Duty Description:

• Work with the CDA Accessibility Project Manager, Communications & Outreach Team, and divisions to develop and implement the standards of accessibility and usability across all CDA websites.
• Support all CDA divisions by reviewing, editing, and updating website content to meet current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) accessibility standards and best practices.
• Manage manual testing of all CDA websites to identify and remediate pages, links, content, and features that fail to meet accessibility standards or best practices.
• Directly implement edits to CDA websites to achieve compliance with accessibility standards as defined by HB21-1110.
• Provide support and training to CDA web editors and content contributors to ensure they can create content that meets accessibility standards.
• Participate in monthly meetings with division subject matter experts.
• Use software such as SiteImprove and other online tools to assess accessibility, make recommendations and improvements, and bring CDA websites into compliance with accessibility requirements.
• Work with website remediation vendors, Office of Information and Technology (OIT), State Internet Portal Authority (SIPA), website contractors, and other entities to ensure accessibility standards are implemented in a way that works with current state systems and standards.
• Ensure documents and other content hosted on CDA websites meet accessibility standards. This may include:
  • Managing projects to remediate PDFs, including collaboration with the creator/owner.
  • Working with content creators/owners to remediate PDFs, forms, spreadsheets, and other simple documents to make them accessible.
  • Working with CDA graphic designers, program staff, and contractors to remediate other designed content and ensure staff create accessible content.

Duty: Accessibility Project Implementation:
Brief Duty Description:
In coordination with HR and other teams, complete projects that advance the CDA IT Accessibility Checklist. These projects could include.

• Assist in the digital accessibility effort, including.
  • Maintaining the inventory of applications/documents
  • Accessibility conformance reports and data tracking
  • Review and remedy PDF and other documents

Help research complaints or feedback and help to resolve issues.

Tracking project backlog tasks.

Support content, design, and development teams to think about accessibility.

Support testing, remediation, and re-testing of content, systems, products, and software.

Produce materials that create step-by-step instructions and explain how to make future materials accessible.

Communicate clearly and effectively with staff on all levels of CDA about the goals of accessibility remediation and implementation, the timelines of projects, and any successes.

Work with the Accessibility Project team and others to review, maintain, and achieve accessibility project goals.

Coordinate projects, such as training on accessibility or implementing a change with divisions and other stakeholders

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights
Must be a Colorado resident at the time of application.
This posting may be used to fill more than one vacancy.
This position is advertised in line with the Governor's executive order focused on skills-based hiring practices that focuses on the knowledge, skills, and abilities specific to the job and aligns the hiring process accordingly. Skills-based hiring reduces potential barriers for applicants and allows for reduced bias in the hiring process by providing a direct description of skills that are unique to the duties assigned to the position with a recognition that the applicant may have developed these skills through education, training, or past experiences.
Salary Range:
$26.94 - $32.32 Hourly
$56,028.00 - $67,224.00 Annually
Although the full salary range for this position is provided, appointments are typically made at or near the range minimum.
Minimum Requirements:
Proven Experience, Knowledge, Skills:

• Six (6) Years of professional experience in knowledge or experience in Digital media, Graphic Design, Marketing, and/or Online Advertisement.

OR
Education:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in a field of study Public Relations, Graphic Design, Communications, Marketing Public Administration.

AND
Experience:

• Two (2) years of professional experience as listed above.
• See substitutions below.

Preferred Qualifications:

• State Agency Experience
• Knowledge of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Substitutions:

• A graduate degree in the degree fields listed above will substitute for one (1) year of experience as listed above.

Conditions of Employment:

• Must be a resident of the state of Colorado.

Required Competencies (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities):

• Excellent communication skills; able to communicate effectively and articulately in writing and orally with diverse communities in all corners of the state.
• Work well under pressure.
• Strong relationship management skills and excellent representation of the department in community interactions.
• A proven track record for developing and maintaining trusted relationships with stakeholders and industry experts.
• Excellent negotiation and consensus building skills.
• Proactive approaches to problem-solving and with strong decision-making capability.
• Highly resourceful team-player, with the ability to also be extremely effective independently.
• Social Media Management
• Public Relations
• Promotional campaigns
• Photography
• Graphic design production
• Digital media skills
• Digital marketing skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple priorities.
• Ability to work independently.
• Detail Oriented

Important Information:
Part of, or the entire selection process for this position will involve a review of the information you submit in your application materials. Therefore, it is paramount that in the experience portion of your application, you describe the extent that you possess the education, experience and competencies outlined in the job announcement as well as the special and/or preferred qualifications. Failure to include adequate information or follow instructions may prevent you from competing in subsequent measures used to arrive at a top group of applicants.
Please submit the following:

• Online application (completed fully) describing how you meet the minimum qualifications
• OR If you are not able to submit an online application, a paper application is available at this link: PDF State Paper Application. Paper applications must be received (either by US mail or email to mary.hunt@state.co.us by the closing date and time of the application period listed on this announcement.
• DD214 (if applicable)
• Unofficial copy of transcripts (if applicable)

Factors that will be assessed:

• Technical Competence - Technical experience as it relates to the duties outlined in this job announcement.
• Depth and Breadth of Experience - Experience that covers multiple areas outlined in this job announcement. Experience should be varied and not one dimensional and demonstrate a wide range of community involvement.
• Job Fit - Experience will be evaluated to determine how well your past experience aligns with and meets the business needs of this position. Current experience is preferred.

APPEAL RIGHTS:If you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for this position, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board or request a review by the State Personnel Director.
An appeal or review must be ...