Policy Advisor for Public Affairs and Regional Cooperation

About the City of Amsterdam

Amsterdam is undergoing rapid development. There is still much to be done in the coming years. They could really use your ideas and expertise. The City of Amsterdam is a flexible employer that works for the city and its residents, businesses, and visitors—with pride, but above all, with a warm heart.

The Position

Colourful People has a fantastic political-strategic role available at the City of Amsterdam—a position that offers significant influence for an ambitious Administrative Advisor. You will serve as a key point of contact for the city’s leadership and senior civil service officials, both in terms of administrative lobbying toward “political circles in The Hague” and in fostering administrative collaboration within the Amsterdam region.

As a Public Affairs and Regional Cooperation Advisor, you will work with your colleagues on the Public Affairs team to monitor political and administrative developments in The Hague related to the physical environment. You will then use this knowledge to help realize our goals for collaboration and the physical environment in Amsterdam and the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (MRA).

You will advise the Mayor and Aldermen on administrative cooperation in the region with neighboring municipalities, the Metropolitan Area of Amsterdam (MRA), and the Province of North Holland. Your leadership helps the Amsterdam administration fulfill its special responsibility as the largest player in the regional landscape. You do this in collaboration with fellow (administrative) advisors in the policy departments, the MRA department, neighboring municipalities, the province, and the mayor’s office.

You will serve as a strategic liaison and sounding board for colleagues both within and outside Amsterdam. In addition to advising the board and executive management, you will also take a hands-on approach. You will work on specific lobbying initiatives and have solid experience in aligning processes to achieve a widely supported lobbying effort. You will also ensure successful implementation. In this way, you will contribute to the realization of the many substantive challenges facing the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, such as housing construction, accessibility, and the transition to a sustainable living environment. Furthermore, you will:

• Advise on advocacy and strategy for Amsterdam and regional partners on a select number of topics in the physical domain. This will often require you to be in The Hague in person.
• Providing advice on political and administrative decision-making within Amsterdam regarding regional governance, such as the MRA budget, cooperation agreements, and the MRA agenda;
• Maintaining a broad network of contacts with boards, board advisors, and personal assistants
• advisors in the region. You also chair a monthly meeting with the PA and Regional Cooperation board advisors and serve on the MRA Public Affairs committee
• Coordinating and aligning efforts on joint lobbying issues and carrying out joint advocacy;
• Coordinating administrative meetings and working visits.

Your Team

In this role, you will work in the Public Affairs department. The department’s goal is to effectively represent the interests of the City of Amsterdam so that policies at the regional, national, and international levels support Amsterdam in addressing the challenges it faces. Advocacy ranges from maintaining networks of contacts to directly influencing policy, from managing the City of Amsterdam’s positions to securing EU grants.

The Public Affairs Department consists of two teams. The National/Regional Team focuses on regional and national advocacy. The EU/International Team focuses on advocacy with the EU, international relations with other cities and networks, and securing EU grants for Amsterdam’s projects.

Both teams have their own areas of focus and separate portfolios, in addition to their comprehensive collaboration and knowledge sharing. As a Public Affairs and Regional Cooperation Policy Advisor, you will work on the National/Regional team.

Your Strength

As a Public Affairs and Regional Cooperation Policy Advisor, you are an enthusiastic, strategic connector who helps bring Amsterdam’s ambitions closer to fruition within the MRA and in relation to the national government. You also possess:

• At least 5–7 years of relevant work experience in a political and administrative environment;
• At least 3–5 years of experience in the field of public affairs, particularly in aligning processes to develop a well-supported lobbying strategy;
• An interest in developments in the physical domain, ideally in conjunction with regional issues;
• You have excellent communication skills, both verbal and written;
• You should have the following skills:
  • Results-oriented – You set specific goals as a guide for your own behavior and stick to them until the goal is achieved;
  • Initiative – You take the initiative to identify opportunities and turn them into improvements that contribute to better organizational performance;
  • Persuasiveness – You influence people and situations through your personal authority. You focus on gaining acceptance and overcoming resistance. You communicate ideas clearly and confidently;
  • Analytical skills – You can distinguish between main and secondary issues, break down a problem into its components, and establish logical connections between the various aspects.

The Offer

As a Public Affairs and Regional Cooperation Advisor, you will work 36 hours a week for the City of Amsterdam and enjoy excellent benefits:

• A gross monthly salary of up to €6,470 (pay grade 12) for a 36-hour workweek, depending on education, knowledge, and experience;
• A one-year employment contract with the possibility of a permanent position;
• A variety of training programs, professional development opportunities, and on-the-job coaching, allowing you to continue challenging yourself;
• An individual flexible budget of 17.05% for, for example, additional pension contributions or extra days off;
• A pension plan with ABP;
• A travel allowance of €0.10 per kilometer, up to a 45-kilometer one-way commute, for the number of days you work in the office, and/or a work-from-home allowance of €2 net per workday that you work from home;
• A monthly contribution toward health insurance;
• Hybrid work: alternating between the City Hall in downtown Amsterdam and working from home.

Diversity and Inclusion

The City of Amsterdam believes it is important for all employees to feel seen and valued. The City values the diversity among its employees, as these differences lead to better results for both the municipal organization and the city. In doing so, they strive to build a workforce that reflects Amsterdam’s working population. So, whoever you are, you are warmly welcome at our client, the City of Amsterdam.

The Procedure

The City of Amsterdam is being assisted by the executive search firm Colourful People in its search for a Public Affairs and Regional Cooperation Policy Advisor. For more information, please contact Henna Seedorf, Partner at Colourful People, at 06-24274368 or Henna.Seedorf@Colourfulpeople.nl. Apply by uploading your cover letter and resume no later than May 5. The first interviews will be held on May 15 and 16, and the second interviews during the week of May 22–26, 2023.