Senior Communications Professional

The position

As a Senior Communications Professional, you will be responsible for internal and external communications for the Digitalization and Innovation Department (DenI). On behalf of the Digitalization, Information, and Innovation (DII) cluster, DenI serves as the strategic partner for the other departments of the City of Amsterdam. By identifying, prioritizing, planning, and organizing innovations, DenI contributes to the city’s challenges. As a department, we are committed to building an innovative and modern organization, from idea to implementation. At DenI, you’ll work with enthusiasm and curiosity on complex urban challenges in a city that’s constantly changing. The future of Amsterdam is characterized by being smart, circular, climate-adaptive, healthy, safe, and based on future-proof mobility. Your work will make extensive use of data analysis to support smart decision-making. You will collaborate with the cluster strategist for Digitalization, Innovation, and Information and the two other senior staff members from the four other departments within the cluster.

Here's what you do on an average day

• You will serve as the primary point of contact for the Digitalization and Innovation Department regarding communications.
• You will be part of the management team.
• You will analyze DenI’s communication needs and ensure that the appropriate approach is taken regarding capacity, strategy, methodology, and the development of communication tools.
• You maintain an overview and prioritize all communication requests from management.
• You will discuss the schedule for the communications calendar with managers.
• You will conduct annual intakes together with the mid-level and junior staff on four themes: digitization, sustainability, democratization, and mobility.
• In addition to serving as a point of contact, your focus will be on the topic of digital transformation, where you will mentor the junior staff; this includes conducting intakes at the project level for digital transformation initiatives (AI, Algorithm Registry, Tech Road Map, HackShield, Digital Resilience Ecosystem, Digital Perimeter).
• You will draw on the relevant expertise from the Communications Department (design, public relations, editorial).

This is where you get started

We strive to be a great employer that ensures all our colleagues feel seen and valued. We embrace the differences among our colleagues; these differences lead to better results for both our organization and our city. We aim to build a workforce that reflects Amsterdam’s diverse population. So, whoever you are, you’re more than welcome here!

The Communications Department is home to all of the City of Amsterdam’s communications professionals. Every professional contributes to clear, accessible, and reliable communication with Amsterdam residents, businesses, visitors, and the organization itself. With a workforce of approximately 19,000 employees, internal communication is just as important and challenging as external communication. The Communications Department is a full-service organizational unit. All aspects of communication are covered, such as: communication consulting, web editing, social media, public relations, events, campaign consulting, and copywriting. All these professionals work closely together to develop the right communication strategy.

What you bring

For this position as Senior Communications Professional, you must have:

• College or university level of work and thinking.
• Work experience writing in or working with the English language.
• Work experience managing colleagues.
• An interest in and/or experience with sustainability, smart mobility, and digitalization.
• You know your stuff. Communication strategies, stakeholder analyses, key messages, online communication, issue management, and positioning are all areas you’ve mastered.
• You can create a clear overview.
• A flexible work ethic.

You should have the following skills:

• Awareness of the broader context: You are well-informed about professional, organizational, social, and political developments, as well as other contextual factors, and know how to apply this knowledge in your work.
• Analytical skills: distinguishing between main and secondary issues, breaking down a problem into its components, and establishing logical connections between the various aspects.
• Results-oriented: using specific goals as a starting point for one’s own behavior and sticking to them until the goal is achieved.
• Initiative: Takes the initiative to act independently. Identifies opportunities and turns them into improvement and innovation initiatives that contribute to better organizational performance.
• Stress-resistant: continues to perform effectively under pressure, in the face of adversity, and in a hectic environment.

What we offer you

As a Senior Communications Professional, you will join our team for 32 to 36 hours per week and can expect the following employment terms:

• A gross monthly salary of up to €5,372 (Pay Grade 11) based on a 36-hour workweek. The exact salary will be determined based on your education, knowledge, and experience.
• A one-year employment contract, with the possibility of a permanent contract thereafter, if you do not currently have an employment contract with the City of Amsterdam, or if you have only a temporary one.
• If you already have a permanent employment contract with the City of Amsterdam, you will retain it and be transferred.
• Opportunities for professional development and training. Our in-house training center, the Amsterdam School, offers a variety of training programs, professional development tracks, and on-the-job coaching to help you continue to challenge yourself.
• An individual flexible budget (IKB) equal to 17.05% of your salary, which you can use for things like additional pension contributions or extra days off.
• A pension plan with ABP, the pension fund for the public sector and education.
• 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: In this role, you can work partly from home and partly in the office. We provide the necessary equipment to help you set up a safe and healthy workspace at home.
• A cell phone and a laptop.

Curious about all our employment terms and conditions? View the Amsterdam Municipal Personnel Regulations (PGA) at www.amsterdam.nl/pga.

Apply for this job

• If this job opening interests you, please submit your application by February 5, 2023, via the application form on our website.
• We would like to receive your cover letter, in which you explain, in no more than one A4 page, why your work experience and skills are a good fit for this position. Your cover letter will be taken into consideration during the selection process.
• The selection process begins immediately after the application deadline and consists of a CV/cover letter review and an interview.
• If your resume meets the job requirements, we would be happy to invite you for an interview.
• The interviews will take place in person at our office located at Amstel 1 in Amsterdam.
• We require a recent Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG) from every colleague who joins our team.

Questions about this job opening?
If you have questions about the position, please contact Rubia Jessurun, Team Manager of the DII Communications Team, at r.jessurun@amsterdam.nl or 06-83627747. If you have questions about the application process, please contact Rosalie van der Weijden, Capacity Advisor, at the Communications Department, via rosalie.van.der.weijden@amsterdam.nl or 06-13255475.

We do not appreciate unsolicited solicitation by recruitment agencies, and it may result in exclusion from our other recruitment efforts. We also consider the unsolicited submission of resumes by agencies to our employees to be solicitation. We will not consider these resumes.