Website Developer
Role details
Job location
Tech stack
Job description
The Website Developer will play a pivotal role in delivering The Ehlers-Danlos Society's next-generation website. Working as part of the Website, IT & App Team, the postholder will lead on the technical implementation of a new organisation-wide website in WordPress, and support its launch and early optimisation. The role will focus primarily on the new website build - turning agreed designs, content structures and user journeys into robust, accessible and maintainable templates and components. This includes collaborating closely with colleagues across Communications, Research, Education, Services and Fundraising to ensure the site supports key organisational goals and is straightforward for staff to use and update.
Key Responsibilities/Essential Functions
This role has five (5) core areas of ownership, the responsibilities involved include, but are not limited to:
Lead Development for the New Website Build
- Take a lead role in the technical development of a new organization-wide website built on WordPress.
- Translate agreed designs, wireframes and content models into robust, reusable WordPress themes, templates and components.
- Configure and extend WordPress (themes, custom post types, taxonomies, fields, plugins, block editor, etc.) to support a complex, content-rich, multi-audience site.
- Support the set-up of appropriate environments (e.g. development, staging, production) and deployment processes for the new site.
Deliver Accessible, Performant, User-Centered Experiences
- Build front-end code and templates using modern HTML, CSS and JavaScript, following mobile-first and progressive enhancement principles.
- Implement accessibility best practice to help the organization meet or exceed WCAG 2.2 AA (or equivalent agreed) standards.
- Optimize pages and components for speed, stability and Core Web Vitals, particularly on mobile devices (e.g., mobile LCP 2.5s).
- Participate in cross-team reviews of accessibility and performance testing outcomes, helping to prioritize and implement improvements.
Implement Integrations, Data and Technical Foundations
- Integrate the website with key third-party systems and services (for example analytics, CRM (currently monday.com), events ticketing platform, donations, email, and similar tools as agreed).
- Implement technical SEO foundations, including structured, semantic markup, clean canonical URL structures, redirects, sitemaps and other agreed best practices.
- Implement technical GEO foundations, with schema markup, content recency and digestible page structure for FAQs, events, educational pages and articles, to enhance experience with AI-driven search
- Work with colleagues to ensure appropriate tracking and reporting are in place to measure the performance and impact of the new site.
Support Content Migration, Governance and Handover
- Work with content and design colleagues to ensure templates; components and content types are easy to use and maintain.
- Configure content structures, fields and taxonomies to support efficient content creation, localization and migration from the current site.
- Contribute to content migration activities (for example scripts, tools, checks and fixes) and help troubleshoot issues as they arise.
- Document technical decisions, patterns and workflows to support long-term governance and future maintenance.
Collaboration & Cross-Platform Alignment
- Collaborate with the existing Website & App Team to ensure alignment between the new website, the current website and the app, sharing knowledge and reviewing code where appropriate.
- Work closely with the Website, IT & App Manager, Website Designer, Website, IT & App Coordinator and Website Data Administrator (once in post) to plan and deliver the website build, testing and launch.
- Collaborate with the team to run and act on accessibility and performance testing (e.g., axe/Pa11y audits, assistive technology checks, web vitals) as part of the development workflow.
- Communicate with external stakeholders providing updates on progress and requesting contribution and feedback when required.
- Contribute to project planning, estimation and progress updates, helping to keep work on track against agreed timelines and priorities.
- Provide limited support on existing web properties where required for continuity, while keeping the focus on the new build.
Work Environment
Under normal conditions, this role is a fully remote position, working from home. However, due to the international nature of the Society's work, staff may be required to travel to company events, meetings, and conferences as well as some weekend work.
Requirements
Do you have experience in WordPress?, Do you have a Bachelor's degree?, * Experience in WordPress development, including building or extending themes, templates and/or block-based layouts for content-rich websites.
- Essential experience working with a content management system (CMS) to support multi-page, multi-audience websites.
- Proven track record contributing to the development, rebuild or significant enhancement of a website, ideally in a charity, healthcare, education or similarly complex, mission-driven setting.
- Strong web development skills using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, with the ability to implement responsive, mobile-first interfaces.
- Solid PHP and MySQL skills; familiarity with REST APIs and integrating external services into WordPress, including CRM systems (such as monday.com).
- Experience configuring and managing hosting environments for WordPress (development/staging/production environments, caching/CDN, security hardening, backups, DNS configuration).
- Understanding of accessibility best practice (e.g. WCAG 2.2 AA standards) and how to apply it in front-end code and templates, including semantic HTML, ARIA where appropriate, keyboard navigation, and screen-reader testing.
- Experience with website performance optimization (e.g. page weight, caching, image optimization, Core Web Vitals) and troubleshooting issues that impact user experience.
- Knowledge of technical SEO and analytics, such as semantic markup, redirects, sitemaps, clean URL structures, and experience with tools like Google Analytics and tag management platforms.
- Experience with schema markup for FAQs, events, and articles, and/or experience with AI-driven search or emerging "generative engine optimization" approaches.
- Experience integrating websites with third-party services and tools (for example CRM, email, events, donations, or similar systems).
- Evidence of working closely with designers and content teams on UX-led builds (mobile-first layout, component libraries, and reusable patterns).
- Experience working with version control (Git), code reviews, and branching strategies.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- Strong problem-solving skills with a methodical, evidence-based approach to diagnosing and resolving issues.
- Ability to translate technical concepts into clear, accessible language for non-technical colleagues.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective working relationships across teams and at all levels.
- Highly organized, with strong time management and the ability to manage multiple tasks, tickets and priorities in parallel.
- Meticulous attention to detail, particularly in testing, quality assurance and documentation.
- Comfortable working both independently and as part of a distributed, cross-functional team.
- Willingness to give and receive constructive feedback through code reviews and collaborative working.
- A proactive mindset, with a focus on continuous improvement, learning and staying up to date with developments in web technologies and best practice.
- Proficiency in the use of MS Office tools (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and cloud-based collaboration platforms.
- Ability to work effectively in a fully remote environment, including reliable internet connectivity for video calls and cloud services.
- Willingness to occasionally work evenings or weekends to support key Society events or time-sensitive project milestones.
Benefits & conditions
The Ehlers-Danlos Society's commitment to diversity and inclusion is driven by the four pillars of our mission: C.A.R.E. - providing care, access, research and education in all that we do. We are a global, multicultural organization, as such we seek to increase opportunities for individuals from diversified backgrounds and are committed to building an inclusive culture that celebrates the diverse voices in our team and community. The Ehlers-Danlos Society actively recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes opportunities regardless of race, nationality, ethnicity, gender, marital or civil partner status, caring responsibilities, disability, gender identity, age, social class, sexual orientation, religion, and other protected status as required by applicable law.
Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract
Pay: £42,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Additional leave
- Casual dress
- Company events
- Health & wellbeing programme
- Life insurance
- Sabbatical
- Work from home
