Project Manager

The VO-raad is committed to initiatives that help school boards and schools find solutions to these challenges. As an association, we are committed to achieving sustainable, structural solutions to the teacher shortage in the long term. The VO-raad aims to respond effectively and adapt to the planned further development of regional cooperation. We will support our members as best we can in their work within the region.At the same time, we will ensure that our members’ perspectives are clearly represented in discussions at the national level and in the political arena.

The position

In the role of project manager, your primary focus will be on contributing to and strengthening collaboration aimed at ensuring a well-functioning labor market in the region, both among school boards and with regional partners, such as teacher training programs, the teaching profession, other education sectors, and municipalities. You will also focus on increasing the number of people entering the teaching profession from other fields. As a project leader, you will contribute to measures that are well-thought-out and feasible and that help school boards and schools move forward. You will support members of the VO-raad in a proactive manner regarding the aforementioned developments and, in collaboration with the relevant policy advisors, ensure the right framework conditions (such as legislation and regulations, funding, and administrative agreements) for cross-administrative and regional collaboration.

As a project manager at the VO-raad, you will maintain close contact with school boards and schools and keep them regularly informed. You will take a proactive and needs-based approach, effectively and efficiently consulting with stakeholders to identify their wishes and needs. Based on this, you will develop a streamlined support package tailored to the VO-raad’s available capacity and formulate policy positions.

In addition, you will facilitate consultation and coordination among various internal and external platforms and parties involved in supporting the sector, such as Voion and the “Training and Professional Development Together” Platform.

You bring together local governments and schools from various regions at the sectoral level, and work with them to analyze situations and issues in order to advance knowledge across the entire sector. You translate lessons learned from pilot regions (or early adopters) into (proposals for) national frameworks applicable to all regions.

In short: you generalize, abstract, translate, and specify.

As part of your responsibilities, in addition to providing project leadership for the

regional cooperation in the areas of the labor market, training, and professional development, as well as contributing to various national projects aimed at increasing lateral entry into the profession, such as Trainees in Education and Co-teach Computer Science. These are not projects of the VO-raad, but we are involved in them. For example, you will prepare steering groups, consult with other parties about these projects, and participate in advisory committees. You will coordinate these activities with the relevant policy advisor at the VO-raad.

You will be part of the Professional School Organization team and will work closely with the team leader, policy advisors, and other project leaders. The final scope of responsibilities will be discussed and determined with you and the team. As part of this team, you will also collaborate extensively with other relevant teams and colleagues within the VO-raad. In your role as project leader, you will be responsible, among other things, for coordinating and aligning activities related to Attractive Work (Continuing Education).

We are looking for

We are looking for someone with a college-level education and mindset who:

• has experience with project leadership in a political and administrative environment;
  
• is results- and action-oriented;
  
• takes the initiative and can turn analysis into action;
  
• is able to—building on the relationships you already have—proactively reach out to school boards and schools, build connections with the field, and remain relevant to it;
  
• is able to operate tactically and feels comfortable dealing with parties that have divergent interests;
  
• is a team player.
  

What do we offer you?

• The opportunity to contribute to the core activities of the VO-raad and, by extension, to primary and secondary education in the Netherlands. You’ll be sitting at the table with all the key stakeholders in education. And you’ll gain demonstrable sector-specific knowledge about primary and secondary education.
  
• This position initially involves a one-year employment contract for 32 or 40 hours per week at pay grade 11 or 12 (CAO-VO), with the starting salary determined based on education and work experience.
  
• An excellent benefits package, including a generous number of vacation days, an end-of-year bonus of 8.33%, an excellent pension plan through the ABP, and an annual training budget.
  
• We offer a supportive, informal, and dynamic work environment with opportunities for personal growth. We have a flat organizational structure and short lines of communication.
  
• Good opportunities to work in a hybrid model (combining office work with remote work) where desired and where possible.
  

Apply

If you are interested in this position, please email your cover letter and resume to vacature@vo-raad.nl by April 16 at the latest, with the subject line “Application for Project Manager: Strengthening Regional Cooperation on the Labor Market and Training.” Further information about this position is available by email from Bas de Wit, Team Leader of Professional School Organization, at basdewit@vo-raad.nl. The first round of interviews will take place on Wednesday, April 19, or Thursday, April 20; the second round on Tuesday, April 25, or Wednesday, April 26.

Recruitment agencies are asked to refrain from contacting us regarding this job opening.