Senior HR Consultant

ORGANIZATION

We believe in the power of culture. Getting actively involved in culture has a positive impact—on you and on society. Culture shapes, moves, and amazes us. Culture brings people together and fosters reflection, understanding, personal growth, and well-being. Culture makes a difference. Will you join us?  

The Fund for Cultural Participation encourages as many Dutch people as possible to actively engage with the arts and culture. Because culture has a positive impact on everyone. With an organization of over sixty full-timestaff members, a group of one hundred committee members, and a flexible pool of independent contractors, we are committed to our mission Culture makes a difference based on the core values ofcourage,commitment,care, anddelivering on our promises. 

We believe that diversity in background and experience makes our organization stronger. Do you think this position is a good fit for you based on your knowledge, experience, or talent? If so, we warmly invite you to apply.

THIS IS WHAT YOUR WORK LOOKS LIKE

As a senior HR advisor, you’ll be responsible for everything that happens within the HR team. You’ll primarily work at the tactical and strategic levels, but given the size of the organization, you’ll also handle operational tasks. This makes for a varied role where no two days are the same.

As a senior HR advisor, you will hold discussions with employees, teams, and managers. You will inspire, advise, coach, and empower our CEO, three managers, and seven operational leaders. You will serve as a strategic partner to the management team, while keeping a close eye on interpersonal relationships, behaviors, and the needs of employees.

Within the HR team, you will work alongside one other HR advisor who also handles HR administration. The team also occasionally works with independent contractors. The senior HR advisor serves as the operational manager of the HR team and is therefore responsible for the team’s operational and functional management, development, and performance.

You will divide the work in consultation with the HR advisor. In doing so, you will each be responsible for a number of specific HR areas. Your areas of responsibility include sustainable employability, coaching and training, workplace safety, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), labor law issues, organizational development, and absence management. Your colleague will handle recruitment and selection, onboarding, employee well-being, and communication regarding employment terms and conditions. For specialized HR topics, you can consult with external experts, such as for job evaluation and labor law matters.

In addition to your regular duties, the annual plan includes a number of HR projects each year. You will take the lead in recommending which projects these should be. For 2026, the focus is on leadership development. A leadership strategy has been developed for this purpose, which will serve as your framework. The strategy outlines specific interventions that you will implement and monitor at the appropriate time. You will do this in close collaboration with the implementation manager, who is responsible for this priority area within the Management Team.

Another key focus area from the annual plan is the biennial D, G & I survey. Through this survey and the discussion of its results, we continuously reflect on this important theme: how are we performing as an organization, and where do we still need to improve? The further development of in-person and online training courses within the Fonds Academie is also a project for 2026. The Fonds Academy is a development platform where our employees can further their education through online and in-person training courses and meetings. It is the result of collaboration among the HR advisors of the six National Cultural Funds. Exchanges on other HR topics also take place several times a year.

The job profile for Senior HR Advisor at the Fund for Cultural Participation corresponds to the Operations Advisor job profile in the Central Government Job Classification System. A detailed description of that profile, including outcomes, behavioral indicators, and competencies, can be found here. 

WHAT SHOULD YOU BRING?

To successfully perform this role, we are looking for a colleague who possesses the following skills.

Organizational awareness and a focus on results

You have a keen sense of what is happening within the organization, the dynamics between people, and the interests at play at various levels. You move easily between strategic, tactical, and operational levels and know what it takes to ensure HR initiatives are effectively implemented in day-to-day practice. Drawing on your organizational awareness and strong service orientation, you intuitively understand what employees, teams, and managers need. You tailor your approach accordingly. In doing so, you set clear priorities and ensure that agreements and projects are carried out carefully, with a focus on quality and progress.

Analyze

You quickly gain insight into complex HR issues and can get to the heart of a situation. You monitor and analyze new developments in HR, laws and regulations, and organizational issues, and determine which ones are relevant to the organization. You combine information from interviews, data, and organizational developments into a clear overall picture, for example in analyses or issues related to training needs. In doing so, you understand the connection between strategic goals and day-to-day operations and know how to translate this into concrete, well-founded, and practical solutions.

Advise

You are a strong, approachable, and persuasive point of contact for employees, supervisors, and management. You advise, coach, and challenge others, communicating clearly and adapting to different levels of interaction. Even when dealing with sensitive or difficult HR topics, you remain open and professional and know how to strike the right tone. You help formulate questions clearly, monitor agreements made, and provide clear feedback on progress, decisions, and outcomes, both verbally and in writing. Your advice is not only substantively strong but also realistic and actionable.

Collaborate

You work closely with the HR team and actively coordinate with colleagues, managers, and the CEO. You effectively align tasks and schedules, maintain an overview, and ensure a balanced distribution of responsibilities. In a coaching role, you foster ownership, development, and collaboration, both within and outside the HR team. You actively involve others in HR topics and projects and make a positive contribution to a pleasant, professional, and effective collaboration. You do this by writing updates for the intranet and giving presentations on your topics.

In addition to these skills, we believe it is important that you have a good understanding of yourself, are capable of self-reflection, and are eager to learn. By doing so, you set a good example and ensure that the HR team keeps pace with developments in the field and in society.

WHAT WE OFFER

Working at the Fund for Cultural Participation means making a difference by making culture accessible to everyone. You’ll help increase cultural participation and education in the Netherlands. You’ll do this alongside experienced, friendly professionals. Good employment practices are also one of our four HR pillars. This is reflected in our employment terms and conditions. We offer you:

• A one-year contract for 32 hours per week, effective April 1, 2026, with the intention of extending it indefinitely;
• A salary in pay grade 11 of the Central Government Collective Labor Agreement (CAO Rijk). Depending on your experience, the salary ranges from a minimum of €4,024.11 to a maximum of €6,110.94 gross per month for a 36-hour workweek. Please note: for other terms and conditions of employment, we follow our own employment regulations;
• 5 weeks of annual leave, with the option to sell one week for additional pay;
• 16.5% of your IKB budget, which you can use for tax-advantaged purposes, to purchase additional leave, or to have paid out at a time or times of your choosing;
• A good pension plan with the ABP;
• A modern office within walking distance of Utrecht Central Station;
• 100% reimbursement of commuting expenses for travel by public transportation based on second-class fares;
• The option to work from home, with at least 50% of our work hours spent collaborating in the office;
• Great employee benefits and activities, such as monthly chair massages, fresh fruit every day, discounts on gym memberships, a cultural budget, and a wellness week.

For this position, you are required to submit a Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG) upon starting employment. The Fund will reimburse the cost of this certificate.

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

APPLY

Do you see yourself in the role of Senior HR Advisor? If so, we’d love to meet you! You can apply until February 8, 2026, by clicking the button at the bottom of the job listing page, which can be found under “Job Openings” – “Careers at the Fund for Cultural Participation.”

Are we impressed by your application? If so, we’ll invite you for an initial interview. This may be followed by a second interview, a reference check, and a discussion of the terms of employment.

The first round of interviews is scheduled for February 12, the second round for February 17, 2026, and the discussion of employment terms for February 26. Would you mind jotting those dates down in your calendar?

During the first week of April, your predecessor will be happy to ensure a smooth transition; you’ll have time to familiarize yourself with the work and get to know your new colleagues at your own pace. If you have any questions about your start date, please give us a call.

Objective Recruitment & Selection

At the Fund, we want to give everyone an equal opportunity. That’s why your application consists of your answers to the questions below. This allows us to assess the unique skills you bring to the table. To ensure that all candidates are evaluated objectively and fairly, we will not review your resume at this stage. We will use only your answers to the questions below to evaluate you in the first round. So take the time to write your answers carefully, because this is the only way we will assess your application in this round. Please limit your answer to a maximum of 200 words per question.

1. What motivates you to apply for this position?
2. Describe an example of an HR issue in which you had to balance competing interests within the organization. How did you navigate between the strategic, tactical, and operational levels, and how did you ensure that this ultimately led to concrete results? What was the outcome?
3. Describe an example of a complex HR issue in which you combined various sources (such as interviews, data, or regulations) to reach a well-founded decision or provide sound advice. How did you go about it?
4. Describe an example of a complex or sensitive HR issue in which you advised a supervisor or management. How did you clarify the issue, what tone and approach did you choose, and how did you ensure clear agreements and feedback on the outcome?
5. Describe an example of an HR initiative or project (preferably in leadership development) in which you worked based on a defined strategy. How and with whom within the organization did you structure the collaboration? What interventions did you implement and when? How did you monitor them? And how did you encourage stakeholders to take ownership?

Do you have any questions about the Cultural Participation Fund or the position? Please feel free to contact Hanneke Hulshof (Senior HR Advisor) ath.hulshof@cultuurparticipatie.nl or call 06-21682395. If no one answers, please leave a message and we will call you back as soon as possible.

Please note: You can apply using the button at the bottom of the job posting. The full job posting is available on our website: Job Openings - Careers at the Fund for Cultural Participation