Junior Web Developer

ABOUT SIMMONS

Located in Boston’s historic Fenway area, Simmons has a strong tradition of empowering women and challenging traditional gender roles. Simmons University was one of the first higher education institutions to prepare women to become leaders and has evolved to become a university offering a women’s undergraduate program and graduate programs open to all. 

You’re joining our community at an especially exciting time as one of our strategic goals is to become the most inclusive campus in New England. You’ll find that people who work here are truly committed to our mission of preparing students to become champions of social justice and leaders in their professions and their communities. This commitment and pride make for a dynamic workplace. Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual’s community experience.

As a university committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices–at all levels, for all positions–ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.

JOB SUMMARY

The Junior Web Developer will play an important role in executing web development efforts for the Office of University Communications and Marketing, which oversees the Simmons University external-facing web presence at www.simmons.edu as well as the internally-facing web presence at internal.simmons.edu. Strong technical skills and initiative will be required in order to keep the University websites up-to-date.

The Junior Web Developer is a resourceful web professional, as well as a quick learner and must exercise good judgment by demonstrating an awareness of web development priorities aimed at advancing the University’s communications and marketing efforts. The Junior Web Developer reports to the Director of Digital Strategy in the Office of University Communications and Marketing.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Site Updates: Perform content updates as requested by content owners and the Senior Web Developer for the University’s main Drupal website, internal WordPress website and other sites as requested (ie. Google sites, Campaign microsites);

• User Experience: Collaborating closely with the Senior Web Developer in planning and implementing solutions that improve user experience;

• Compliance and Accuracy: Ensure all content adheres to University accessibility guidelines and standards, working closely with compliance teams and campus experts when needed.

• Testing: Perform regular testing across multiple browsers, especially whenever new functionality is added to the site, or when core updates are performed.  

• Optimization: Utilize effective SEO strategies to improve page titles and header text in order to boost content visibility and strengthen our brand's online presence.

• Email Templating: Provide support to campus partners in creating and troubleshooting email templates.

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• A bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, or a similar field from an accredited institution.

• 2-3 years of experience in developing or updating websites with a CMS (Drupal in particular and WordPress also desirable)

• Solid project management skills and demonstrated experience using project management/tracking tools.

• Understanding of and commitment to follow and/or enforce web, University identity, and accessibility standards;

• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail; demonstrated experience prioritizing work, meeting deadlines, working under deadline pressure, and handling multiple assignments simultaneously.

• Enthusiastic service orientation with sensitivity to the needs of users at all skill levels; the ability to convey technical information to a non-technical audience is essential.

• Basic knowledge of SEO, web analytics, and keywording tools (e.g., Google Analytics, SEMrush, and heat mapping).

• Working knowledge of HTML and CSS.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of 3 years proven experience in website maintenance and support.

• Experience with Photoshop or other photo editing tools.

• Experience with assistive technologies and other accessibility tools.

COMPETENCIES

• Excellent organizational skills

• Customer service oriented

• Excellent written and verbal communication 

WORK ENVIRONMENT & CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Fully Remote eligible

• Long periods of screen use are required

• Occasional after hours or weekend work may be required

Salary Grade

Instructions to Applicants: Please upload all applicable application materials (e.g. resume/cv, cover letter, writing sample, teaching philosophy, etc.) in the Application Materials box on page 2 ("My Experience") of this application. Documents can be uploaded individually or as a combined document (e.g. PDF).

Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual’s community experience. As a university committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices–at all levels, for all positions–ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.