Team Manager, Income Policy

The position

As Team Manager for Income Policy, you will lead the Income Policy Team within the WPI (Work, Participation & Income) departments. You will lead with passion and decisiveness, demonstrating a strong awareness of your environment and a commitment to quality. You will actively build connections, think from the outside in, and provide both direction and autonomy to your team. Together with your team, you translate strategic and organizational goals into objectives, priorities, and a clear division of responsibilities.

You have a clear understanding of, and a vision for, the role of policy within an implementing organization. You understand what needs to be done at the team and individual levels, bring a sharp focus to delivering quality and results, and help provide both support and counterbalance when things get challenging. You champion ambitious team goals and ensure optimal collaboration within and across teams by fostering connections. Where necessary, you contribute to substantive issues.

In this role, you will be responsible for ensuring that your team provides high-quality policy advice to the Alderman for Poverty and the Alderman for Work & Income. You will also be responsible for advising the WPI management team, working closely with the strategic management advisor for Income.

Together with your fellow team manager on the Work & Participation policy team, you will provide direction and shape the collaboration among policy colleagues as well as the collaboration with WPI’s operational departments. Cross-domain themes, such as the Master Plans in Amsterdam or collaboration with the Neighborhood Teams and the social sector, will also be addressed jointly.

You will be part of the management team of the Policy & Quality department, to which your policy team belongs. In this role, you will present the key issues and development priorities of your policy team, serve as a sounding board for your management team colleagues, and take on management responsibilities that are important to the entire department.

Here's what you do on an average day

• You are a member of the Poverty Commissioner’s staff and regularly chair meetings of that staff.
• You will coordinate with the strategic management advisor regarding current or unexpected developments at the strategic and administrative levels and ensure that appropriate follow-up actions are taken.
• You will chair a weekly meeting to discuss strategic policy issues in preparation for decision-making by the alderman’s staff or the executive team.
• You hold a monthly team meeting with your team to discuss both substantive and team-related topics.
• You will be a member of the Policy & Quality Department’s management team, proactively setting the agenda for the team’s meetings, and working with the other management team members to shape the department’s management and further professionalization.
• You will coach members of your team and ensure the quality of policy recommendations.
• You will participate in WPI’s (decision-making) executive committee meetings when policy issues have been placed on the agenda by your team.
• You will fulfill your comprehensive management responsibilities by ensuring adequate staffing and operational management, conducting performance reviews and MAG meetings, engaging in strategic workforce planning, and posting job openings.
• You will facilitate sessions led by and for policy colleagues and other departments to share and expand knowledge and improve collaboration.

This is where you get started

We strive to be a great employer that ensures all our colleagues feel seen and valued. We embrace the differences among our colleagues; these differences lead to better results for both our organization and our city. We aim to build a workforce that reflects Amsterdam’s diverse population. So, whoever you are, you’re more than welcome here!

You will be working as a manager within WPI’s Policy and Quality Department. This is the policy and staff department of WPI’s executive board, which also oversees 16 operational departments. The Policy and Quality Department has two policy teams: in addition to your Income Policy team, there is the Work & Participation Policy team. The department also consists of a Data & Information team, an Executive Staff-Program Management-Research team, and a Professional Skills & Operations team. The department has approximately 120 employees.

Your Income Policy Team consists of approximately 25 policy advisors. Together, these advisors form three policy groups: Income, Poverty, and Debt Counseling. Each group is coordinated by a strategic policy advisor. It is a close-knit and dedicated team. The atmosphere within the team is collegial, and we place great importance on quality, personal growth and development, and adaptability. Major substantive challenges and issues on the agenda include livelihood security, poverty policy, debt assistance policy, the organization of comprehensive services in the area of Income, and enforcement.

Your staff will work closely with colleagues from WPI in the operational departments that together form the Income Division. They will also collaborate with colleagues from the Neighborhood Teams, the social services sector, and policy colleagues from other divisions, such as Education and Youth. Of course, there is close collaboration with colleagues from the Work & Participation policy team on cross-team themes such as “expanding reach,” “service delivery to target groups,” and “policy and implementation collaboration.”

What you bring

For this position as Income Policy Team Manager, you must have:

• At least 5 years of work experience in a political and administrative setting, preferably in the social sector.
• At least 3 years of work experience in a strategic role as a line manager or functional manager.
• An affinity for working in a (complex) implementing organization. Please explain this in your cover letter.

You should have the following skills:

• Environmental Awareness: Demonstrates a solid understanding of professional, organizational, social, and political developments, as well as other environmental factors, and knows how to effectively apply this knowledge to one’s own role or organization.
• Coaching: You provide guidance to employees in the performance of their duties and encourage their personal development.
• Persuasiveness: Uses personal authority to influence people and situations, with the aim of gaining acceptance and overcoming resistance.
• Inclusive thinking and action: You are able to create a socially safe environment where interactions are based on equality and where integrity, transparency, and clarity are central. You communicate with empathy and in a way that fosters connection.
• Development-oriented approach: Through your leadership style and collaborative approach, you build and maintain lasting relationships with employees and relevant networks.
• Creativity: Generates diverse, sometimes original ideas and solutions; is able to share these with employees and encourages them to do the same.

What we offer you

As an Income Policy Team Manager, you will join our team for a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 36 hours per week, and you can expect the following terms of employment.

• A gross monthly salary ranging from €5,631 to €7,417 (pay grade 13) based on a 36-hour workweek. The exact salary will be determined based on your education, knowledge, and experience.
• A one-year employment contract, with the possibility of a permanent contract thereafter, if you do not currently have an employment contract with the City of Amsterdam, or if you have only a temporary one.
• If you already have a permanent employment contract with the City of Amsterdam, you will retain it and be transferred.
• Opportunities for professional development and training. Our in-house training center, the Amsterdam School, offers a variety of training programs, professional development tracks, and on-the-job coaching to help you continue to challenge yourself.
• An individual flexible budget (IKB) equal to 17.05% of your salary, which you can use for things like additional pension contributions or extra days off.
• A pension plan with ABP, the pension fund for the public sector and education.
• A travel allowance of €0.10 per kilometer for travel by car, €0.15 per kilometer for travel by bicycle, and €0.21 per kilometer for travel by public transportation. This applies to a one-way commute of up to 45 kilometers and for the number of days you work in the office.
• Hybrid work: In this role, you can work partly from home and partly in the office. We provide the necessary equipment to help you set up a safe and healthy workspace at home.
• For days you work from home, you will receive a work-from-home allowance of €3 net per workday that you work from home.
• A monthly contribution toward health insurance.
• A cell phone and a laptop and/or iPad.
• Work in a diverse city with easily accessible locations in Amsterdam, including the Amstel, with views of the canals.

Interested in learning more about our employment terms and conditions? Check out the City of Amsterdam Personnel Regulations (PGA):www.amsterdam.nl/pga.

Apply for this job

• If this job opening interests you, please submit your applicationby November 3, 2024, using the application button.
• We would like to receive your cover letter, in which you explain—in no more than one A4 page—why you are interested in working in a (complex) implementing organization and why your work experience and skills align with this position. Your cover letter will be taken into consideration during the selection process.
• The selection process begins immediately after the application deadline and consists of a CV/cover letter review, an interview round, and a meeting with the advisory committee.
• If your resume meets the job requirements, we would be happy to invite you for an interview.
• The interviews will take place at our office located at Amstel 1 in Amsterdam.
• This job opening is being advertised internally and externally at the same time. Employees of the City of Amsterdam will be given priority in the hiring process.
• We require a recent Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG) from every colleague who joins our team.

Do you have any questions about this job opening?

For more information about the position, please contact Marianne Veenhof, Department Manager for Policy & Quality at WPI, via Marianne.Veenhof@amsterdam.en or call 06 5393 2969.

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