Team Leader, Incident and Crisis Preparedness

The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) monitors the safety of food, products, animals, and plants in the Netherlands. Because sometimes things go wrong—think of the fipronil in eggs, avian influenza in poultry, or Legionella in central heating boilers. In such situations, the NVWA plays a key role. As a manager, do you want to contribute to effective preparedness for these types of incidents, emergencies, and crises, and thereby serve a broader societal purpose? Then we’re looking for you.

Your role

As a Team Leader, you will provide direction to a skilled and motivated team. Together with your teammates, you will ensure that the NVWA can respond quickly and effectively to an incident, emergency, or crisis. Together, you will translate the NVWA’s incident strategy into a concrete annual plan for the ICB department and, together with the Team Leader of the NVWA Incident and Crisis Center (NVIC), the Crisis Coordinator, and the Department Head, ensure that this plan is implemented. Your team focuses on, among other things, the early identification of risks, the development of contingency plans, education, training, and further preparation for potential crisis situations. In this way, together with your team and other colleagues in the department, you ensure that all employees with a role in the crisis organization possess the knowledge and skills necessary to act in a crisis situation.

You: 

• motivates and guides the team to ensure that everyone’s strengths are fully utilized;

• serves as a sounding board for self-directed professionals;

• works with the management team members to create a safe, pleasant work environment that prioritizes personal development;

• provides personalized attention to your team members and supports their personal development;

• plays an active role during emergencies, incidents, and crises, as needed. That is why, in this role, you will also be on call.

What does your team look like?

The team consists of 21 members. Nine of these members handle reports of potential food or animal feed incidents at the national and international levels. The remaining 12 team members are responsible for general preparedness for incidents and crises across various public interest areas: animal health, plant health, food safety, product safety, and business continuity. They collaborate with staff from the department and with personnel working in the public interest sectors. This requires effective network management by the team. 

Your team, Preparation and Innovation (P&I), together with the NVWA Incident and Crisis Center (NVIC) team and the Crisis Coordinator, forms the Incident and Crisis Management (ICB) department. Furthermore, as the P&I team leader, you are part of the ICB Management Team. As part of the Management Team, you help set the direction for the department. Together, you ensure a healthy flow of communication between the front lines and management, and vice versa. This is essential for an effective crisis team. ICB is a dynamic department that coordinates during an incident or emergency. Together, the entire ICB works as a unified team to respond to an incident or disaster. 

As a team leader, you can make a real difference. Will you work with your team and colleagues in the department to ensure that the NVWA remains well-prepared for incidents, emergencies, and crises? And will you ensure that we maintain strong ties with relevant stakeholders by leading your team in a positive way? If so, this position is perfect for you. 

Due to the holiday break, please contact us starting January 5 with any questions about the job opening and the application process.