User Experience (UX) and Accessibility Specialist

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is a district on the rise, serving over 325,000 students in 500+ schools and employing over 45,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. Aligned with our transformed philosophy, we are steadfastly focused on ensuring that the District provides resources equitably to support every student, every school, and every community. Six core values guide the work we do every day for our students – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning. Each role in the district supports our vision that every student deserves a rigorous, joyful, and equitable learning experience.

Located within the Office of Teaching and Learning (T&L), the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Digital Learning (CIDL) oversees the district's comprehensive Pre-K through 12th-grade curriculum and digital ecosystem, Skyline. Skyline includes a wide range of functionality to help support all of the content and instructional needs of every educator and student at Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

Reporting to the Manager, Digital Learning Design and Instructional Gen AI, the UX Specialist enhances the district’s Digital Learning Environment, which is key to supporting digital curriculum and learning materials. 

The UX Specialist will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Provide consistent, effective engagement and support of teachers, students, community members and other end users to develop a deepen understanding of users’ unique needs and inform continuous improvement of role-specific workflows and the digital learning environment that supports the district’s digital curriculum (E.g., Skyline); Serve as users’ UX champion

• Conduct  user experience interviews, data collection and  testing 

• Develop use cases and personas through user interviews engaging district stakeholders

• Design interfaces for desktop and mobile products, as necessary

• Provide regular formal updates, reports and data around programs, projects and initiatives, including those required via normalized project platforms

• Review Service Now (SNOW) tickets, stakeholder outreach emails, other user feedback and support requests to inform UX prioritization

• Support WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) compliance across Skyline teacher-facing and student-facing materials

• Maintain deep knowledge of  accessibility for digital learning materials and collaborate with internal teams and external stakeholders/vendors to support compliance

• Other duties as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the UX Specialist must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required: 

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university 

• Valid Professional Educator License issued by the Illinois State Board of Education

• User Experience certification, preferred

Experience Required : 

• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in educational technology or digital media, including a minimum of three (3) years of professional experience in UX design.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: 

• Deep expertise in UX design for K-12 users

• Ability to develop a deep understanding of users' unique needs through formal and informal interactions/data collection and serve as their  UX champion

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

• Deep knowledge of effective communication skills and problem-solving strategies

• Evidenced success in collaborating with culturally and educationally-diverse teams

• Knowledge of and commitment to decentralized decision-making and accountability for results

• Ability to effectively communicate with teams to focus resources (both human and financial) toward the achievement of expected results

• Ability to facilitate group processes in consensus building, conflict resolution, planning, and decision-making 

• Demonstrated passion for designing modern digital experiences 

• Ability to engage end users and design discipline leaders to maximize the value of design and ensure the interests of teachers, students and parents are satisfied

Benefits:

Health & Wellness: Your Care, Your Choice

CPS is committed to providing comprehensive health coverage to our employees and their eligible dependents. You'll have access to a variety of choices to best fit your needs:

Medical Plan Options

Pharmacy

Dental

Vision

Behavioral Health & EAP

Employee Wellness Program

Financial Security: Planning for Today and Tomorrow

We understand the importance of financial stability, which is why CPS offers strong retirement and savings options:

Basic Life Insurance

Life and Disability Insurance

Pension Plans

Supplemental Retirement Plans (403(b) and 457(b))

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)

Spot Pet Insurance

Work-Life Balance: Supporting Your Personal and Professional Life

CPS values the well-being of its employees and offers competitive paid time off policies:

Paid Leave

Sick Leave

Vacation Days

Parental Leaves

Short-Term Disability

Religious Holidays

Leaves

Reference the Chicago Public Schools: A Comprehensive Benefits Overview or the benefits handbook for comprehensive details.

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions; however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.