Executive Secretary

The position

As an executive secretary, you are an indispensable partner to the district director. You support and advise the director in their multifaceted role as general manager and strategic advisor to the Executive Committee. Through your efforts, you help strengthen daily connections with managers, employees within the district, the Works Council, and colleagues from other departments. Every two weeks, you will provide a concise, impactful summary that the director uses in consultation with district directors. In addition, you will prepare the quarterly performance review with the cluster director.

You also play a crucial role in the weekly management team meeting, where you advise the team on important documents, draft documents yourself, and ensure a clear schedule of deadlines. Your feedback and clear communication keep everyone on track and make shared agreements accessible to managers and colleagues.

In addition to providing support, you often take the initiative yourself. Whether it involves organizing projects such as events, management days, or appreciation lunches, you know how to make them a success. With your energy and persuasiveness, you drive processes forward and monitor progress, always striving for collaboration and comprehensive solutions that truly make a difference for the district.

Take on this role and help create an inspiring work environment where your vision, advice, and drive make a difference for the city and its people. 

Here's what you do on an average workday

• On Monday morning, check your inbox to see if you’ve received the input for the annotation for the district director. In the afternoon, there’s a meeting with the district directors, and at 11:30 a.m., you have a meeting with the director to go over the annotation. You combine the input you requested from various colleagues last week with your own input and go over the key points with the director.
• Next, you’ll put the finishing touches on a clear and concise document you’ve prepared for the managers regarding the rules for “working abroad.” Once it’s ready, you’ll add it to the agenda for the management team meeting.
• At 12:30 p.m., you’ll join the West District’s weekly kickoff meeting. You’d like to stay up to date on what’s happening in the district while enjoying a bowl of soup.
• In the afternoon, you’ll be preparing for the agenda meeting with the OC. Have we fulfilled all the commitments the director made, and what items do we want to add to the agenda ourselves for the meeting?
• You see in the director’s inbox that a newsletter for the directors has arrived. Please add this to the management team meeting next Wednesday.
• You’re adding a meeting to the calendars of several colleagues to prepare for the next all-management meeting. This time, the theme is integrity.
• At the end of the day, you quickly check AFIS and process a few invoices. You take a look at your calendar. Tomorrow, you’ll be attending the regional pool’s performance review. Feeling satisfied, you shut down your computer.

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!

You will be working in the Administration & Organization Department of the West District. The A&O Department is where all of the district’s responsibilities converge; it is a department that facilitates the achievement of both administrative and organizational objectives and operates at the intersection of the three pillars of “extended local governance – area-focused work – excellent implementation.” The department consists of the following units: administrative support, executive support, “IAV,” and safety. The position of executive secretary reports directly to the department manager.

What you bring

For the position of executive secretary, you must have:

• A university-level job and level of thinking;
• At least 3 years of work experience in strategic consulting;
• At least 3 years of work experience in a local government and civil service environment.

You should have the following skills:

• Focus on results: You remain focused on the agreed-upon result or the set goal, even in the face of problems, setbacks, opposition, or distractions.
• Collaboration: You prioritize collaboration without losing sight of your own organization’s interests.
• Persuasiveness: You are able to get others to accept a proposal, and you clearly have the upper hand.
• Environmental awareness: You have a keen understanding of municipal, political, administrative, cultural, and social developments, as well as an appreciation of their implications for the values, interests, and perspectives of others, and you are able to navigate these effectively.
• Planning: You efficiently plan and coordinate tasks and activities to achieve objectives within a given timeframe.

What we offer you

As an Executive Secretary, you will join our team for a minimum of 32 and a maximum of 36 hours per week, and you can expect the following terms of employment:

• A gross monthly salary ranging from a minimum of €5,070 to a maximum of €6,862 (pay scale 12) based on a 36-hour workweek. The exact salary will be determined based on your education, knowledge, and experience. 
• A fixed-term employment contract for a period of 24 months, if you do not currently have an employment contract with the City of Amsterdam or have only a temporary one, with the possibility of a 12-month extension thereafter.
• If you already have a permanent employment contract with the City of Amsterdam, you will retain it and be assigned to another organization under a temporary assignment agreement.
• 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 €0.21 per kilometer when traveling by public transportation, €0.15 when traveling by bicycle or on foot, and €0.10 when traveling by car. There is a maximum of 45 kilometers per one-way trip. 
• A work-from-home allowance of €3 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 work laptop.

Want to know more about our employment terms and conditions? Check out the Municipality of Amsterdam Personnel Regulations (PGA).  

Do you have any questions?

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Mirte de Groot, Head of Administration & Organization, by emailat Mirte.de.Groot@amsterdam.nlor by phone at 06-30516044. To learn more about the organization, please contact Houda Boukdid, Strategic Advisor, at 06-21111799. For questions about the application process, please contact Rina Stam, HR Advisor, atrina.stam@amsterdam.nl.

Apply for this job

• If this job opening interests you, please submit your applicationby January 12, 2025, usingthe“Apply Now”button.
• We would like to receive your cover letter, in which you explain, in no more than one A4 page, why your work experience, knowledge, 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 at least two interviews: an initial interview with a selection committee, followed by an interview with the director.
• 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 on Bos en Lommerplein in Amsterdam.
• We require a recent Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG) from every colleague who joins our team.

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