Freelance Web Developer

Who We Are

Job Description

About the Role

This is a freelance engagement, renewable annually, for approximately 20–30 hours per month. The role is mostly remote and on-site on certain occasion, and open to candidates based in Singapore only.

You will maintain and improve FoS web properties built on WordPress (Elementor and Beaver Builder), hosted on Pantheon. Day-to-day, you will work with the Corporate Communications team at the Science Dean’s Office, reporting there for timesheets and issue tracking.

Sites in Scope

• Main faculty site: science.nus.edu.sg (Elementor)
• Sub-site: chs.nus.edu.sg (Beaver Builder)
• Several departmental sites (WordPress/Elementor) with ad-hoc requests

Key Responsibilities

Content and site maintenance

• Update and maintain site content across faculty and departmental sites using WordPress, Elementor and Beaver Builder
• Manage user accounts and editor permissions; provide basic training and support to departmental content editors
• Manage brand consistency across department websites in line with NUS corporate identity guidelines

Technical maintenance and security

• Keep WordPress core, themes and plugins up to date; ensure only NUS-approved plugins are used and coordinate approvals with NUS IT where required
• Monitor and help remediate security vulnerabilities and site incidents in coordination with NUS IT and Pantheon support
• Manage caching, backups and basic performance tuning on Pantheon

Troubleshooting and bug fixes

• Diagnose and resolve front-end and common back-end issues — layout breakages, plugin conflicts, form and email issues, broken links and media problems
• Escalate platform-level or complex issues to Pantheon or development partners when needed
• Liaise with NUS IT to resolve server or configuration issues

SEO, analytics and documentation

• Apply basic SEO practices — page titles, meta tags and redirects — and ensure Google Analytics and Tag Manager are correctly implemented
• Create and maintain documentation and runbooks covering deployment steps, plugin inventory, incident logs and common fixes (note: no existing documentation is in place; the successful candidate will build this from the ground up)
• Manage incoming web requests from faculty and department representatives, providing clear timelines and status updates

Expanded Scope (if applicable)

Candidates with web design skills may take on additional work, with hours and compensation adjusted accordingly. This includes:

• Supporting campaign microsite builds alongside the in-house designer or independently where capability allows
• Designing and producing new page layouts that meet NUS brand guidelines
• Contributing to UX improvements across faculty and departmental sites

What We’re Looking For

Required

• Diploma or degree in IT, Web Development, Computer Science or a related field
• At least 3 years managing production WordPress sites, with proven experience in Elementor
• Hands-on experience with Pantheon (dev/test/live workflows, caching, backups)
• Solid front-end skills in HTML and CSS; able to read and apply JavaScript or PHP snippets, and liaise with developers for more complex changes
• Familiar with web security best practices and comfortable coordinating with IT teams
• Good communicator and able to train non-technical editors and manage stakeholder expectations

Preferred

• Experience with web performance optimisation — caching strategies, image optimisation, lazy loading
• Familiarity with NUS IT infrastructure or experience working within large institutional or public-sector web environments
• Expanded scope candidates should also have
• Experience working within or alongside brand guidelines in a design production capacity

Engagement Details

• Freelance retainer contract, renewed annually
• Approximately 20-30 hours per month (hybrid)
• Start date: immediate
• Singapore-based candidates only
• To apply, please send your CV, state your hourly rate and include your relevant experience and links to sites you have maintained or built.