Director of Website Development and Design

American Kidney Fund; Rockville (MD); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid underground parking

Metro subsidies

Employee recognition events

Shorter Fridays

Generous leave

Job summary

The American Kidney Fund seeks a Director of Website Development & Design to lead UX/UI strategy, front-end development, CMS architecture, accessibility, and governance across AKF’s website and microsites.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Digital Marketing, you will guide a major site rebuild, ensure SEO and AI-powered search readiness, manage internal teams and external vendors, and champion accessibility and performance.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in UX/UI strategy, front-end web development, and web design with 4+ years leading people, projects, or external vendors.
• Deep knowledge of WCAG accessibility standards with strong SEO and technical SEO understanding.
• Excellent communication, project management, and cross-functional collaboration abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead full website rebuild from discovery through launch and post-launch optimization.
• Define site architecture, CMS strategy, content models, and governance.
• Ensure smooth content migration, preserve SEO equity and data integrity.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to meet organizational needs.
• Manage external vendors and agencies, including scopes, timelines, and deliverables.

Skills

UX/UI strategy

Front-end development

Web design

Project management

Vendor management

WCAG accessibility

SEO best practices

Job description

The American Kidney Fund works to ensure that every kidney patient has access to health care and that every person at risk for kidney disease is empowered to prevent it. Each month, more than 1 million active users visit AKF’s website seeking trusted information and support. Providing an accessible, user-centered digital experience is essential to ensuring that everyone—from patients and caregivers to healthcare professionals and the public—can easily find the information and services they need. As Director of Website Development & Design, you will lead UX/UI design, front-end development, CMS architecture, accessibility compliance, and governance across AKF’s primary website and microsites.

AKF is a growing, financially strong nonprofit with a forward-thinking approach to digital. We invest in our tools, platforms, and team to ensure our digital experiences are designed for the future of how people find information and engage online. Reporting to the Senior Director of Digital Marketing, you will play a critical role in shaping AKF’s digital ecosystem, leading a major website rebuild and redesign and overseeing ongoing maintenance. This includes ensuring AKF’s website architecture and content structure support best practices for SEO and AI-powered search discoverability, in partnership with our SEO lead and external partners.

As a key contributor within the Office of Communications and Marketing, you will work closely with colleagues across communications, fundraising, programs, and IT, providing guidance on web standards and making recommendations that balance user experience and technical feasibility with organizational goals. You will help the digital team support internal teams more effectively while strengthening AKF’s ability to guide external partners. Your technical, analytical, and strategic expertise will inform decision-making and continuous improvement across AKF’s digital platforms, advancing organizational impact through collaboration, innovation, and mission-driven digital leadership.

How You’ll Make an Impact

• Successfully leading AKF’s website rebuild from strategy through launch and optimization, delivering an accessible, user-centered digital experience that meets organizational goals, is high-performing across all devices, and is flexible enough to adapt as technology and audience behavior change.
• Creating a more unified and sustainable web presence by consolidating AKF’s website and microsites and developing a more coherent content structure to make information easier to find and manage over time.
• Exploring AI-enabled tools that can improve website management and maintenance, while developing strategies to structure content and the site experience to increase engagement among human users and improve discoverability in AI-powered search.
• Establishing content governance, publishing standards, roles, workflows, documentation, and training so AKF has a roadmap to manage and improve the site after launch.

Work Environment, Salary, and Benefits

• This role offers a hybrid schedule, with 1-4 days each month at AKF’s North Bethesda, MD, office. We currently support employees in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Occasional travel may be required (less than 5%).
• The budgeted salary range for this position is $135K – $140K. AKF offers comprehensive benefits, including a matching 403(b) retirement plan, health, dental, vision, and life insurance, short- and long-term disability, flex spending, and generous leave.
• Additional perks include paid underground parking, Metro subsidies, employee-led recognition and social events throughout the year, and shorter workdays on Fridays.
• You’ll be joining a diverse team of open, collaborative, and supportive colleagues who care deeply about our mission, the people we serve, and each other. AKF is financially secure and has been recognized five times as one of the “Best Nonprofits to Work For,” most recently in 2026.

Responsibilities

Website Strategy & Architecture

• Lead full website rebuild from discovery through launch and post launch optimization.
• Define site architecture, CMS strategy, content models, and governance.
• Ensure smooth content migration, preserve SEO equity, and maintain data integrity.
• Partner with cross functional teams to ensure organizational needs are met.
• Manage external vendors and agencies, including scopes, timelines, and deliverables.

Development, Design & Technical Management

• Oversee front end design and development using responsive, mobile first principles.
• Manage CMS configuration, theming, modules, updates, and publishing workflows.
• Supervise and mentor staff or contractors contributing to web projects.
• Maintain technical documentation, style guides, and governance policies.
• Ensure website security, scalability, and performance in partnership with IT.

AI-Enabled Strategy & Accessibility

• Implement AI-informed content practices, including structured data and semantic SEO.
• Ensure compliance with WCAG and ADA standards across all digital properties.
• Champion accessibility and usability through documentation, training, and quality standards.
• Optimize content for machine readability and generative search environments.
• Partner with the Director of SEO to implement SEO, GEO, and AI-discoverability recommendations.

Qualifications

Required

• 7+ years of experience in UX/UI strategy, front-end web development, and web design with 4+ years of experience managing people, projects, or external vendors.
• Deep knowledge of WCAG accessibility standards with a strong understanding of SEO best practices and technical SEO. Exposure to and interest in developing expertise in GEO concepts and AI-driven search optimization.
• Strong communication, project management, and cross functional collaboration skills with the ability to work effectively with multiple internal stakeholders and guide external vendors or agencies.

Preferred

• Experience in a nonprofit, healthcare, education, advocacy, or mission-driven organization.
• Familiarity with large scale CMS implementations and content migration; fundraising platforms, donation tools, or CRM integrations; and analytics platforms and search performance tools.

About the American Kidney Fund

The American Kidney Fund fights kidney disease on all fronts as the nation’s leading kidney nonprofit—no kidney organization impacts more lives than AKF. We are grateful to our big-hearted donor community that makes all of this work possible. From prevention through post-transplant living, we are proud to be there by the sides of patients through every challenge that comes their way.

AKF’s vision is a world without kidney disease. Until that day comes, we believe that every kidney patient should have access to health care, and every person at risk for kidney disease should be empowered to prevent it. Ninety-six cents of every dollar we spend goes to patients and programs. One of the nation’s highest-rated nonprofit organizations, AKF has held Charity Navigator’s highest 4-star rating for 20 years running and holds the Candid (formerly GuideStar) Platinum Seal of Transparency.

Staffing Advisors is committed to reducing bias in every aspect of the hiring process. We have long recommended a competency-driven approach to hiring. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. We encourage you to apply even if your experience is not a 100% match with the position description; we will consider people from a variety of backgrounds and career experiences.