Core Team Member, SWV Utrecht PO

Who are we?

We are the Utrecht Primary Education Partnership. We do whatever it takes to ensure that every child in the city of Utrecht has a suitable place in school. To achieve this, we share our expertise with everyone who, like us, always puts the child’s needs first.

We focus on building a strong foundation at school, on providing additional support in collaboration with our key partners (neighborhood teams, youth health services, and truancy prevention), and on supplementary support from specialized services.

At the heart of everything we do is creating space for freedom, building trust, and taking responsibility. We cannot ensure a suitable place for every child on our own. We do this together with the administrators and staff of approximately 130 schools, with parents, and with our partners in the city of Utrecht. Only by working together can we achieve the best for every child. We are convinced of that.

What do YOU do?

As a core team member, you will work closely with your fellow core team member on the HGD/HGA and Education & Youth Services themes. Together, you will be responsible for (long-term) policy development, collaborating not only on your own themes but also on knowledge sharing (both internal and external), quality, inclusion, and cooperation with parents. Within your areas of focus, you identify key developments, monitor progress and evaluations, and analyze what can be improved or done differently—both in writing through quarterly and annual plans and verbally during team meetings and working groups. In doing so, you always keep an eye on the connections between the various areas, managing internal and external communication and serving as chair of various meetings. You coordinate with and advise the executive director of the partnership.

You maintain the professional competencies required for the position. You hold a relevant degree at the university level and have extensive, demonstrable experience in developing, promoting, and advocating for policy; advising on relevant developments; and leading working groups and meetings.

You act with care and sensitivity. You constantly reflect on your actions. You are flexible, innovative, assertive, and analytical. You have strong communication skills and are able to connect with those you interact with. You demonstrate leadership when necessary. Our core values—trust, freedom, and responsibility—serve as a natural foundation for your actions.

Want to know more?

Within the SWV Utrecht PO, more than 100 elementary schools, four special elementary schools, and six special education schools work together to provide appropriate education in the municipality of Utrecht for over 30,000 children. Our motto is “good for each other.” This means that we consider collaboration with schools and school boards, key partners, parents, and children to be of the utmost importance. It also means that we aim to make optimal use of our expertise and resources for children who need a little extra support in their education. The SWV facilitates schools in providing appropriate education to every child and ensures a comprehensive and appropriate range of educational and support services. To this end, we use an action-oriented support structure. We work in self-organizing teams with appropriate education consultants who offer expertise and advice to the schools in their neighborhood.

Our mission: We make inclusive elementary education possible without leaving any child behind. Inclusive education means that every child has the right to an appropriate educational setting and appropriate support, as close to home as possible, so that every child can develop optimally and without interruption.

Our vision focuses on a strong foundation at school, additional support provided in collaboration with key partners (the neighborhood youth and family team, youth health care, and the truancy office), and specialized support from dedicated services.

Trust, freedom, and responsibility are our core values in this regard. Our guiding principle is to work together to create a well-functioning system in which our vision, approach, and methods are focused on preventive action, early detection, and a sustainable, integrated approach to educational and care needs. Teacher ownership is central to this system. Together, we shape the system.

In our quality narrative, we have chosen to adapt the four steps of the PDCA cycle. We have translated the terms PLAN, DO, CHECK, and ACT into four words that essentially convey the same meaning but help us infuse our quality narrative with a more distinctive character: BE-DO-KNOW-SHARE. We define what we ARE, and what we DO to achieve that. Then we want to FIND OUT whether we have lived up to who we are, and SHARE that with our partners.

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To apply, please send an email with a cover letter and your resume by Wednesday, June 1, to: secretariaat@swvutrechtpo.nl

If you have any questions about the job, please contact Diete de Vos at 06 82621711 or dietedevos@swvutrechtpo.nl

The first round of interviews will take place on Monday, June 13, and Tuesday, June 14, 2022.

You can find more information about our organization on our website: www.swvutrechtpo.nl