
The NVWA is seeking a Team Leader for Intelligence Gathering within the Intelligence and Investigation Service (IOD). As a unifying and visionary leader, you will guide a team of professionals in an open and collaborative environment. Would you like to help combat fraud within an investigation service? If so, please read on.
As the Intelligence Gathering Team Leader, you will lead a team that collects and analyzes fraud indicators for criminal investigations within the NVWA-IOD. Intelligence investigators process these indicators, supported by intelligence lawyers, and produce assessment and decision documents. You will work closely with the Intelligence Coordinator and the Functional Prosecution Service of the Public Prosecution Service. The team has many internal and external connections, which means you play a central role in the investigative process.
You are responsible for the quality and coordination of the products, serve as a sounding board, and are attuned to the political and administrative sensitivities of fraud cases. You understand the pressures on the criminal justice system and coach your team in making smart decisions. You also ensure strong collaboration with the Intelligence Analysis team, which combines analysis, international cooperation, and specialized internet investigations.
The Intelligence Gathering team consists of 11 colleagues, including an Intelligence Coordinator, an intelligence lawyer, and staff from the Info Desk, who manage the mailbox, run system queries, and perform administrative tasks. We are working to expand the team, with new hires joining throughout the year. You will oversee this growth, foster a positive work environment, and motivate colleagues, including those working remotely.
In addition, you will focus on three long-term priorities: streamlining the research process, strengthening information-driven work, and developing the Infodesk to improve management and monitoring.
As a team leader, you are part of the Intelligence & Strategy Management Team and contribute to the further development of the IOD. Together with fellow team leaders and the department head, you work to foster strong collaboration within the department and with Investigations, ensuring that fraud is effectively combated. You involve your employees in these developments and know how to inspire them. You provide direction, calm, and attention.
You embody the NVWA’s core values: transparency, reliability, independence, and professionalism. With your change management skills, you motivate your team and bring out the best in people, both personally and professionally.
The team works in a hybrid model, spread across locations such as Utrecht, Veenendaal, Wageningen, Zwijndrecht, and Eindhoven. Every first Monday of the month, there is a joint monthly kick-off in Utrecht, and team meetings usually take place in Utrecht or Veenendaal. You will coordinate your work location based on where your employees are based.
You are a collaborative team leader who knows how to empower a team. You coach, facilitate, and advocate for your team’s interests. You take ownership of your responsibilities and are not afraid to share your vision and implement improvements. You are flexible, have a good understanding of the organization, and know how to position yourself effectively within it. You are results-oriented and resolve bottlenecks. You are not afraid to be in the spotlight and can put things into perspective. You are adept at assessing the organization’s interests. While the team and organizational goals are your top priority, you always prioritize employee development. You are a good listener and easily grasp processes. Diversity, an open culture, and a positive atmosphere are important to you, and you actively promote these values.
The NVWA is committed to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of society and places great importance on an inclusive hiring policy. We therefore encourage everyone to apply, regardless of cultural background, age, gender identity, religion, disability, or sexual orientation.
In addition to an onboarding program tailored to your role and extensive training and/or coaching opportunities to support your professional growth, we also offer the following employee benefits:
The Central Government Performance Framework helps employees and managers establish performance and development goals during performance reviews and provides insight into career opportunities within the federal government.
For more information, visit the Central Government Job Classification System
You will be working in the Intelligence and Investigation Service (IOD) division. The IOD is one of the four Special Investigation Services (BOD) in the Netherlands and conducts criminal investigations across all areas of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). The IOD employs approximately 170 colleagues, divided across two departments and soon to be a total of eleven teams.
You will be working within the Intelligence & Strategy Department. This department consists of approximately 55 colleagues in four teams: two Intelligence teams, the Criminal Intelligence (TCI) team, and the Strategy and Advice team.
The Intelligence and TCI teams are responsible, among other things, for actively gathering information across the various domains of the NVWA. In doing so, the Intelligence team accesses information from so-called “open sources,” and the TCI team from so-called “closed sources.”
The IOD plays a key role in raising fraud awareness within the NVWA, with the specialized knowledge and products of the Intelligence teams being of great importance to the IOD’s operations. On the one hand, the teams contribute to up-to-date, in-depth knowledge of the various domains and supply chains that fall under the NVWA’s regulatory purview. On the other hand, the Intelligence teams, in close collaboration with the Criminal Intelligence Team, initiate the criminal investigations conducted by the IOD. Furthermore, the department ensures strategic and tactical coordination within the NVWA and beyond, including the commissioning ministries, the Public Prosecution Service, and investigative partners.
In the Netherlands, we take it for granted that the products we use and everything we eat are safe. We expect animals to be treated well, even if they are destined for slaughter. We want to be able to consume fruits and vegetables without a second thought, and other products are “naturally” fine too. We want to be able to walk in nature without worry and buy toys for our children without suspicion. As consumers, we simply rely on that; for us, it goes without saying.
But we sometimes forget that companies work hard every day to maintain those high standards. That it isn’t always easy for business owners to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. We also forget that the government oversees this. Safety sounds so simple, but it isn’t.
What does the NVWA do?
The staff of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) work hard every day to maintain that standard. Through dialogue with businesses in the hospitality sector, slaughterhouses, plant cultivation, and other producers, the NVWA monitors food and product safety, plant health, and the welfare of animals, nature, and the environment. We do so in accordance with national and international laws and regulations. We operate on a basis of trust, but we take firm action against businesses that do not adhere to the rules. In the interest of society.
We closely monitor where the greatest risks lie and where oversight is most urgently needed, so that we can inform consumers and others in a timely manner. The NVWA also plays a key role in export inspections and in the import of products into Europe.
What does the NVWA stand for?
The NVWA is responsible for overseeing animal welfare, animal health, food safety, product safety, tobacco and alcohol prevention, plant health, and nature and the environment.
The Dutch government strives to be an employer that every employee—regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background, or disability—wants to work for. Addressing social issues in diverse teams makes us more effective and innovative. That makes the work meaningful and challenging.
The NVWA is an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Nature (LVVN) and the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport.
The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) invites you to apply on their website. Clicking the'Apply' button will take you away from this site and directly to the application form. The government values a diverse and inclusive organization. Working in diverse teams makes us more effective, more innovative, and makes the work more enjoyable. Everyone is therefore encouraged to apply.
For more information about this job opening:
For more information about the application process: