Director of Urban Planning

Your role

As Director of Urban Planning, you will help shape the development of the Urban Development cluster and the goals it is tasked with achieving. In addition to leading the three departments, you will be responsible for the Urban Development budget program, which brings together major urban spatial challenges with social impact and the associated investments for the city. Urbanization, attractive living environments, the energy transition, a clean living environment, new construction, and challenges in the existing city all require coherence and an integrated approach to spatial planning. The design of public spaces and mobility are essential prerequisites in this regard.

Your role involves a higher-than-average level of complexity due to:

1. a high level of ambition that requires the ability to bring ideas to fruition, a holistic approach, and the ability to set priorities or make choices—at the urban, regional, and national levels
2. a broad scope of operations that requires collaboration and an integrated approach both within and outside the department, with a focus on the quality of the built environment and
3. multiple funding streams in achieving the goals. 

You are expected to:

• As a member of SO’s executive team, you will help strengthen our ability to work as a unified team and make comprehensive decisions. In addition, you will collaborate on shaping and implementing the ongoing development of SO’s organization, including continuously investing in a professional organization, strengthening employees’ integrated approach to work, fostering inclusive leadership among managers, and delegating responsibilities as far down the organizational hierarchy as possible;
• continuously invests in a professional organization as part of its organizational development, with a commitment to inclusivity and diversity; this also ensures that employees can perform their jobs to the best of their ability and that sufficient attention is paid to their performance, development, and job satisfaction;
• is building a leadership culture where caring for and valuing people is second nature, a culture in which employees feel empowered and grow, thanks in part to your leadership;
• are able to clearly formulate and assign tasks
• from a task-oriented perspective, steers the Urban Development budget program (particularly in conjunction with other budget programs and societal challenges) and the tasks outlined in the coalition agreement, and oversees coordination and provides advice to aldermen and the municipal executive;
• have the skills to engage in targeted lobbying. Participation in the network of relevant ministries is essential to achieving our goals.

Your profile

You are completely in your element within the political and administrative sphere. You believe in giving people space and trust, and you are not the type of person who prefers to always “do things yourself.” You have a keen eye for placing the right expertise in the right place and for identifying the conditions needed to tackle the city’s major challenges. You listen, ask questions, and are able to provide clear guidelines, offer incisive advice, and set priorities where necessary. You value creating a people-oriented work environment where employees can develop their talents and potential. You lead by example and inspire managers to do the same.

You have gained extensive leadership experience and enjoy communicating easily with a wide variety of stakeholders—from landscape architects to a director-general at the national government, and from housing associations to the DCMR. Your empathy and strategic perspective help you quickly grasp what is happening within a given environment and what is needed. You serve as a figurehead for both internal and external stakeholders: communicative, approachable, and able to inspire others through a shared vision and values.

In addition to the qualities described above, you are someone who:

• has knowledge and experience with multifaceted and complex physical issues in metropolitan areas and strategic spatial considerations regarding substance and quality;
• has experience in financial governance involving multiple funding streams;
• is able to set the course in collaboration with others and ensure a holistic and coherent approach. You involve executives and your own organization in this process in a transparent manner. Where necessary, you prioritize in an environment with many ambitions and challenges. You help set priorities and make decisions, but always with an eye for the appropriate level at which those decisions should be made. In doing so, you are skilled at bringing dilemmas to the right tables for discussion;
• builds and maintains a network across the board in a natural way;
• adopts a curious and self-reflective attitude. You are aware of your own pitfalls, ask questions, encourage reflection, and make adjustments where necessary;
• has a university-level education and intellectual capacity.

Rotterdam needs inspiring directors who will take the lead and demonstrate leadership in shaping the city’s challenges, from the neighborhood level to the regional and national levels. Together with policymakers and the residents of Rotterdam’s neighborhoods and communities, we make a difference. This requires flexibility, adaptability, and a commitment to building and working on the basis of trust.

Being a director at the City of Rotterdam also means that you draw energy from seeing employees grow stronger and develop—both as individuals and as a group—thanks in part to your leadership. You value those around you, and inclusivity is in your DNA. You understand that it is important for the city that we bring in and nurture diversity of perspectives. And you help build a leadership culture where caring for people is second nature. You are visible and approachable, and together with colleagues, you actively engage with the city in all its facets to stay connected with all levels of the municipality and the city you serve.

Our offerings

The position is classified in pay grade 17 based on a 40-hour workweek. The gross monthly salary ranges from €7,888 to €11,170 based on a 40-hour workweek. The City of Rotterdam’s terms and conditions of employment are based on the Municipal Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Are you interested?

Procedure

A detailed job description is available. The deadline for submitting a written application, including a cover letter and resume, is October 17, 2023. You can apply via our website: https://www.werkenvoorrotterdam.nl/vacatures/directeur-stedelijke-inrichting-18176

For questions regarding the content, please contact Hermineke van Bockxmeer, Group Director of SO, through her secretary, Amanda van Nugteren, at 06-38163093.

If you have any questions about the procedure, please contact Lineke Verwijs (c.verwijs@rotterdam.nl) at 0612155199.

Urban Development and Urban Planning Division

Rotterdam aims to be a resilient and sustainable city—both now and in the future—where people can live, work, and spend time: what can we do in the city, in the neighborhoods, in the port, and in collaboration with the region? How can we ensure that people can live and reside close to work, shops, public transportation, and other amenities? In a green environment with clean air? How do we ensure sustainable and new forms of energy in the process? And how do we respond to changing employment patterns? These are the challenges we at Urban Development work on every day. We do this together with Rotterdam residents, entrepreneurs, governments, and other partners—in the city, the port, regionally, and internationally. In this way, we work together on the future of the city and the city of the future.

Under the current organizational structure, the Urban Development (SO) cluster comprises five divisions: Existing City, Urban Planning, Economy and Sustainability, Area Development, and Project Management and Engineering. The Urban Planning department consists of the Mobility, Spatial Design and Advisory (ROA) and Space, Housing, and Environment (RWM) divisions, with over 400 employees who formulate and implement policy and/or act as the administrative client.