Labor Market and Strategy Advisor

The labor market is highly dynamic. The coming years will be marked by several major societal transitions, such as digitalization, sustainability, and access to healthcare. These transitions are changing the way we live, do business, and work. Old jobs will disappear and new ones will emerge. This will have implications for the future of work.

Together with employers, industry associations, and training providers, we are building the future of our labor market. Through our Labor Market program, we are committed to:

1. Improving the match between job seekers and employers
2. Aligning education with the labor market
3. A resilient and innovative business community and lifelong learning.

We focus on professions in essential sectors that align with and contribute to the social challenges facing our growing city: construction and engineering, education, healthcare, the circular economy, and ICT. We encourage and support initiatives that create future-proof jobs and/or provide training for them. The organizational units Spatial Planning, Work & Income, and Education collaborate within the group-wide initiative “Work for Everyone.” In addition, we also collaborate regionally through initiatives such as the Utrecht Talent Alliance.

We are looking for a labor market and strategy advisor who is eager to get started with the Labor Market program.

This is your job

You are responsible for projects that go beyond the scope of the assignment and act as a “jack-of-all-trades” for (strategic) projects that require your broad perspective and expertise. This includes developing a labor market action plan, (co-)developing strategic labor market proposals within and in collaboration with the region, liaising with like-minded municipalities regarding the national government, and preparing a handover dossier for a new municipal executive. In this role, you’ll play a coordinating and steering role to ensure the right input is brought to the table and then process it into the requested end result. You’re not just a writer, but also a doer. You build a network, identify opportunities, and act on them, both within and outside the municipal organization. You don’t let yourself be deterred if the end goal or all the information isn’t yet clear.

In practice, this means that your responsibilities will include:

• Coordinating labor market-wide issues within the municipality
• Developing and implementing strategic interventions, including at the regional level, such as a regional retraining fund
• Representing (or helping to represent) our vision for the labor market and our initiatives in the region and beyond
• Strengthening the cohesion within the "Work for Everyone" initiative
• Providing advice and submitting proposals to the "Work for Everyone" administrative task force

This is your workspace

You will be part of the Labor Market Team. The Labor Market Team is part of the Spatial Planning Division, just like the Business Location and Investment Climate Teams. We value close collaboration and invest in it through joint knowledge-sharing sessions.

Your team is working to create a future-proof labor market through initiatives that bring together employers, educational institutions, and residents. In addition to support staff, the team includes colleagues responsible for the ICT, healthcare, and construction & engineering market sectors. In addition, there is a senior strategist and a sub-program manager. The team is constantly evolving and learning. We operate based on a continuous PDCA cycle. We identify opportunities, bring together parties with a shared agenda or objectives to develop an intervention, and secure funding for it. We then evaluate and institutionalize the initiative. In this process, we set the framework, provide encouragement, and foster connections, while also playing a pioneering role.

We also receive substantive assignments related to the group-wide initiative “Work for Everyone.” This initiative brings together the Economic Affairs, Work & Income, and Education divisions to provide comprehensive oversight of activities aimed at creating a future-proof labor market. A joint task force has also been established to serve as an administrative hub where all these efforts converge.

This is your input

Since you will be working in a political and administrative environment, it is important that you have a good understanding of administrative decision-making processes. You can navigate complex environments, bring structure to them, and intuitively sense what constitutes effective interventions. You are an excellent coordinator and able to gather the right input from colleagues and process it into the desired end result. You do not shy away from speaking up when necessary, even to administrators.

You will also need to bring:

• At least a college-level standard of work and thinking
• At least 4 years of work experience as a consultant/coordinator. Preferably, you have gained this experience at a government agency or government-related organization

Here's what we offer you

You’ll have the opportunity to put your experience as a strategist to work for the fastest-growing region in the Netherlands. With concrete challenges ahead, you can make a real impact on Utrecht’s job market. To inspire you, you’ll be working in a dynamic environment. Our 21-story city hall is located right in the heart of this rapidly developing city.

Of course, this comes with a competitive salary. Below you will find our offer; please also click on the link provided for more information on the other terms and conditions of employment.

• A 32- to 36-hour workweek with a gross monthly salary ranging from €3,701 to €6,103 based on a 36-hour workweek (pay grades 11 and 12). The exact amount will be determined based on your knowledge and experience
• A one-year temporary employment contract, which we would be happy to convert to a permanent position if your performance is satisfactory
• An Individual Choice Budget (ICB). The ICB allows you to tailor your employment conditions to your own circumstances. For example, you could use it to purchase additional leave hours. The amount of the Individual Choice Budget (ICB) is 17.05% of your salary
• At the City of Utrecht, we operate on a hybrid model. This means you’ll have the option to work from home. Of course, we’d love to see you in the office from time to time
• For an overview of all other employment conditions, such as travel expense reimbursement, please clickhere.

This is good to know

If you’re interested in working as a senior economic and strategic advisor for the City of Utrecht, apply now. There is no application deadline for this position. As soon as we’re impressed by your application, we’ll invite you for an interview.

If you have any questions about the job opening, please contact Jacqueline van der Schagt (Manager of Housing & Economy) at 06 - 39 88 46 64. If you have questions about the application process, please contactAxel Overmeen, corporate recruiter, at 06 – 28 82 65 20. If you can’t get through, please send a text message.

The City of Utrecht is an inclusive organization that welcomes everyone and harnesses the power of its workforce’s diversity to achieve better results for the city. Talent as our foundation, diversity as our strength. You are most welcome!