Adult Program Manager

Your playing field and the challenges

As Adult Services Manager, you will lead eight teams (56 colleagues) working at our branches in Eindhoven, Best, Waalre, and the Bibliotopen. Together with your right-hand people, who handle day-to-day operations, you will form a dynamic leadership team. Your primary challenge is guiding these teams toward self-organization. This involves a shift from a traditional hierarchy to a role in which you facilitate and coach. You are the connector who instills trust and provides space for self-development, enabling the teams to contribute autonomously to the goals of the Eindhoven Library. In addition, you contribute to a strategically operating Management Team (MT), where reflection and evaluation are central. This newly formed MT plays a crucial role in the further development and positioning of the library, with a focus on design thinking and networking initiatives in the city and surrounding area.

Key responsibilities:

• Leadership and Vision: You promote a culture of continuous development and learning, in line with our vision of positioning the library as a key contributor to personal development. You know how to inspire and motivate people as they move toward self-management and self-organization.
  
• Change Management: Drawing on your expertise in change management, you will lead and facilitate our teams’ transition to self-organization. The “Energy for the Future” initiative (a vision study conducted within the organization) identified three priorities: (self-)leadership, talent-driven management, and a single mission and a single organization (focusing on customer profiles based on these three themes).
  
• Strategic Partnerships: You will build on existing partnerships and actively seek out new collaborations within the municipality and beyond to increase our influence and impact.
  
• Innovation and Grants: You’ll discover grant opportunities and innovative projects that can enrich and expand our services.
  
• Progress tracking and monitoring: You ensure effective coordination within the matrix organization among operational teams, customer profile teams, and program managers. You also ensure effective monitoring and progress tracking of the implementation of the (annual) plans.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for a leader who embraces diversity and actively contributes to an inclusive workplace. You are a natural role model in both personal and professional leadership. You create a sense of calm, carefully consider your decisions, and operate strategically, with a keen eye for the long term and the development of your team.

Requirements:

• Experience: Demonstrable experience leading change initiatives, preferably in the social sector. You find great fulfillment in empowering individuals and teams, helping them reach their full potential. This is a key driving force in your personal and professional life.
  
• Skills: Excellent analytical, interpersonal, and self-reflective skills. You must be able to balance a results-oriented approach with process-oriented thinking. With your big-picture perspective, you keep strategic goals in sight while flexibly exploring the paths that lead to them. You continuously assess where employees stand in their development and what is needed to achieve the desired results.
  
• Attitude: You are a self-starter with a talent for organization, who takes a holistic approach and has strong communication skills. You are a well-organized person who naturally brings structure to the organization. You communicate openly and easily connect with people at various levels both within and outside the organization.

What do we offer?

• A dynamic work environment: Every day is different at the Eindhoven Library, with plenty of opportunities to put your talents to use and develop them.
  
• Contract and Salary: A one-year contract (32–36 hours per week) with the possibility of a permanent position, offering a competitive salary of up to €7,748 per month (for full-time employment of 36 hours), depending on experience. In accordance with the Public Libraries Collective Bargaining Agreement, you will also receive a flexible spending account, a bicycle allowance, and extensive opportunities for professional development and training.
  
• Opportunities for growth: The library is strongly committed to talent development and personal growth, including a talent assessment as part of the selection process.

Why the Eindhoven Library?

We are an enterprising and innovative organization that welcomes everyone. We encourage creativity and initiative, and we give you the freedom to shape your role within a supportive and stimulating environment.

We are always open to feedback and suggestions for improvement. In fact, we wholeheartedly encourage them. We strive to be an inclusive and diverse organization. That is why we are actively seeking new colleagues who can strengthen our organization by bringing a different perspective.

Apply now!

Are you interested? Send us your application, including your resume and cover letter!

Eindhoven Library is being assisted in this process by the executive search firm Colourful People. You can apply by submitting your resume and cover letter (both in PDF format) no later than January 3, 2025 send via the application form on the website. 

If you have any questions about this position, please contact Hatice Türkmen, a partner at Colourful People, at 06 46 08 12 32.

The online preliminary interviews will take place on January 6, 7, and 8, 2025. The selection interviews are scheduled for January 20 and 24. On January 24, speed dating sessions with various teams will be organized. A talent management analysis will be part of the selection process.