Position: Website Developer (WordPress, New Build)
Reports to: Website, IT & App Manager
Location: United Kingdom, Remote Based
Contract: 40 hours per week, 12-Months Fixed Term Contract
Salary: £42,000 per annum
Revised: November 2025

Organization Overview

The Ehlers-Danlos Society is dedicated to advancing and accelerating research and education concerning Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD). We support the development of effective and equitable EDS and HSD therapies and collaborate globally to improve the lives of affected individuals. Our vision is to ensure every person living with EDS and HSD receives the right treatment and care at the right time for their specific needs.

Overview of Responsibilities

The Website Developer will be pivotal in delivering The Ehlers-Danlos Society’s next-generation website. Joining the Website, IT & App Team, this role leads the technical implementation of a new, organization-wide WordPress website, supporting its launch and initial optimization. The primary focus is the new website build—transforming agreed designs, content structures, and user journeys into robust, accessible, and maintainable templates and components. This requires close collaboration across Communications, Research, Education, Services, and Fundraising teams to ensure the site supports key organizational goals and is easy for staff to use and update.

Key Responsibilities/Essential Functions

This role involves five core areas of ownership, including, but not limited to:

Lead Development for the New Website Build

• Take the lead role in the technical development of the 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 setup 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, adhering to mobile-first and progressive enhancement principles.
• Implement accessibility best practices to meet or exceed WCAG 2.2 AA (or equivalent agreed) standards.
• Optimize pages and components for speed, stability, and Core Web Vitals, especially 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 necessary improvements.

Implement Integrations, Data and Technical Foundations

• Integrate the website with key third-party systems and services (e.g., analytics, CRM (currently monday.com), events ticketing platform, donations, email, and similar tools).
• Implement technical SEO foundations, including structured, semantic markup, clean canonical URL structures, redirects, sitemaps, and other agreed best practices.
• Implement technical GEO foundations, utilizing schema markup, content recency, and digestible page structure for FAQs, events, educational pages, and articles, enhancing 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 (e.g., scripts, tools, checks, and fixes) and help troubleshoot issues.
• 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 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 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 maintaining focus on the new build.

Work Environment

This is a fully remote position, working from home under normal conditions. 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 occasional weekend work.

Requirements

• 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 (e.g., 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.

Diversity Statement

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, and 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 Details and Benefits

• 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.

To be considered for this role, please apply directly using The Society's application form here - https://wkf.ms/44KpcBE