Professional Competence Specialist - Staying Competent Team

What are you going to do?

As a professional competence officer, you are responsible for ensuring that our operational firefighters maintain their professional competence. You serve as the point of contact for the fire stations assigned to you, where you are also present on agreed-upon days and times. With a passionate, proactive, and supportive approach, you provide the fire station with effective support for all matters related to training. Together with the professional competence commanders at our professional fire stations and/or post-drill coordinators at the volunteer fire stations, as well as colleagues from professional competence and other departments, you will plan drills and training sessions at the fire stations, BOCAS (our education and training center), and external training centers.

Training schedules are tailored to each fire station and are based on the station’s needs, the standards associated with its roles and responsibilities, and developments identified through incident evaluations and other regional and national trends.

In this role, you’ll take the initiative and play an advisory role, actively supporting and coaching the fire stations to help them improve their professional skills in a positive and educational way. Together with the fire station instructors and drill leaders, you’ll be involved in preparing and supervising drills and training sessions.

Who are you?

You are a collaborative, pragmatic, and flexible consultant who is client- and results-oriented. You thrive on helping colleagues grow and on developing training programs, refresher courses, and exercises that genuinely contribute to improving your colleagues’ professional skills—in terms of knowledge, attitude, and behavior. In addition, you are skilled, enthusiastic, positive, and highly creative. You have consulting and project-based experience in the field of professional competence and in creating a stimulating learning environment for various target groups within the fire department. Having been actively involved in one of the (repressive) roles we train is a plus.

You'll recognize yourself in this

• You have a high school diploma or equivalent;
• You have strong communication skills and aren’t afraid to strike up conversations and approach others;  
• You thrive on working with and alongside colleagues and know how to contribute positively to the team’s cohesion and goals;
• You enjoy actively connecting with colleagues in the emergency response team (both volunteer and professional) and know how to help them develop their professional skills.
• Working from home isn't for you, but being physically present at the barracks is;
• You identify areas for improvement and proactively contribute ideas for improvements;
• You serve as a role model and help foster a safe learning environment and ensure that established guidelines are followed.

Do you have relevant training in the fire service? If so, that’s a plus

Here's what you'll get from us

At the Amsterdam-Amstelland Safety Region, you can work as part of a friendly, fun, and knowledgeable team where you can grow professionally.

• Depending on your education and experience, a salary in pay scale 8 or higher, with a maximum of €4,302.00 per month based on a 36-hour workweek.
• A job for 32–36 hours per week
• A flexible spending allowance equal to 18.63% of your gross annual salary. This includes your year-end bonus and vacation pay.
• 187.2 hours of leave based on a 36-hour workweek, 33 of which are overtime hours.
• A one-year appointment, with the possibility of a permanent position.
• A generous pension plan through ABP, 70% of which is paid by us.
• Monthly health insurance premium.
• Free use of all sports facilities at the fire stations.
• We place a strong emphasis on (personal) development, offering opportunities to participate in courses, training sessions, and workshops.

The department

The Professional Competence Department consists of approximately 45 dedicated professionals and is responsible within the fire department for ensuring the professional competence of all operational firefighting personnel in terms of knowledge, skills, and behavior. In short: the extent to which firefighters, from rank-and-file personnel to on-duty commanders, are competent in the firefighting profession. In this way, the department serves as the driving force in the development of professional excellence.

The Professional Competence Department consists of three teams: Learning and Development, Maintaining Professional Competence, and Developing Professional Competence, which includes the Amsterdam-Amstelland Uithoorn and Schiphol Fire Service Education, Training, and Drill Center (BOCAS). Your position is part of the Maintaining Professional Competence team.

Want to learn more about our team and the Amsterdam-Amstelland Safety Region? Visitwww.veiligheidsregioaa.nl

Information

Do you have any questions or comments regarding the job posting after reading it? Please contact: Toine Vlugt, Team Leader, Professional Development (toine.vlugt@brandweeraa.nl and/or 0611083957) or Bart Richter, Manager, Professional Development Department ( bart.richter@brandweeraa.nl / 0652620912)

George van Ee, corporate recruiter, is available to answer any questions about the application process. George.van.ee@veiligheidsregioaa.nl or 0615694619.

You can submit your response through April 13, 2025

We are a safety region in the Netherlands made up of all kinds of people. For us, diversity is key to creativity, inspiration, innovation, and strong teams. Every day, we work to foster an open culture where there is room for everyone’s talents. No matter who you are, we’re here for you, and you’re more than welcome to apply!

Internal and external recruitment take place simultaneously, and an assessment may be part of the process.

We don't appreciate cold calls, but we do appreciate sharing!