Team Manager, Building Inspection, Amsterdam-Center

As a Construction Supervision Team Manager, you will have overall responsibility for your team’s performance. You will work alongside your senior staff, who provide technical guidance and coaching to the team. Team members independently conduct inspections at construction sites and in and around existing buildings, verify compliance with laws and regulations on-site, and take action when necessary. As a team manager, you do not need to have personal experience with building inspection, nor do you need to visit the construction site yourself. What is more important is that you possess excellent management skills with which you guide and support your employees. In this way, you and your team contribute to the preservation and development of the architectural and historic quality of Amsterdam’s city center, as well as to the safety and protection of the surrounding area during the execution of construction work.

You are responsible for achieving your team’s objectives, policies, and (production) targets, and you direct and monitor progress toward these goals. You know how to translate management decisions into working methods, organizational frameworks, and projects. As a client, you also ensure that objectives and activities are prioritized, that roles, tasks, and responsibilities are clearly defined, and that agreed-upon work methods and results are achieved.

In addition, you are committed to motivating and developing your employees and the team. You are attentive to the well-being and job satisfaction of your team members, provide them with clarity about what is expected of them, and ensure a safe and trusting work environment. You are attentive to the individual needs and qualities of employees, coach them based on their talents, ambitions, and qualities, and encourage a sense of ownership. You lead in an inspiring way and empower employees to bring out the best in themselves. You are also responsible for HR.

You represent the team externally and contribute to strong collaboration among the building inspection teams in Amsterdam’s seven boroughs. Because your team’s results also depend on others, you build a network both within and outside the municipality. You do not take a passive approach; instead, you set the agenda in meetings and communicate the team’s vision. You ensure the development of building inspection in a changing environment. This includes: shifting responsibilities, engaging with the community, adopting a risk-based approach, and maintaining the appeal of the work for employees.

You serve as a link between the team and the board, management, and the community. The team’s actions can have a significant impact on residents, business owners, and property owners. We therefore expect you to recognize when the department head or the board needs to be involved and, within our guidelines, to think creatively to achieve our goals effectively and efficiently.

You will also help shape the team’s direction, both in terms of substance and the methods used to achieve goals. In addition, as a member of the Management Team (MT) of the Permits, Supervision, and Enforcement (VTH) Department, you will ensure optimal collaboration within the VTH chain at both the borough and city levels. Across boroughs, you will be responsible for the further development of at least one specific aspect of the VTH domain.

Here's what you do on an average workday

• You ensure that the fundamentals are in order. You make decisions based on available capacity and a clear overview of the workload. You are committed to ensuring that IT provides optimal support and to basing work-related decisions on valid information about risks.
• You promote self-organization. You give employees the freedom and responsibility they need, ensure they have the resources to achieve their goals, and keep the community at the center of everything we do: our work serves the city.
• You foster employees’ development and ability to learn, give them the space and trust they need, strengthen teamwork, and conduct regular check-ins to support these efforts.
• You will contribute to policy development and planning for the department’s key local and urban development initiatives (including the implementation of the Environment Act and the Construction Quality Assurance Act) and oversee their implementation within your team.
• You will advise the Executive Committee, the district secretary, and the VTH manager based on your team’s role and expertise, and ensure that administrative and management team decisions are implemented.
• As a client, you participate in urban planning meetings and projects, thereby making a substantial contribution to the ongoing development of the VTH domain.

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!

The Building Inspection Team of the Amsterdam-Centrum district plays a key role in preserving and enhancing the structural, architectural, and historic quality of Amsterdam’s city center, as well as in ensuring the safety and protection of the surrounding area during construction work. Our team consists of 25 professionals with associate’s degrees who have received technical or specialized training and come from diverse backgrounds. We understand both buildings and people, and we love our work.

What you bring

For this position as Construction Supervision Team Manager, you must have:

• A college or university level of work and thinking, acquired through education and/or experience;
• Experience managing and/or coaching a team;
• Experience in managing change;
• Experience in a setting where there are significant, conflicting interests at play, where you need to be confident and decisive, and where decisions sometimes have to be made quickly;
• Experience in building a network and establishing collaborative relationships in a complex, political environment.

You should have the following skills:

• Results-oriented: remaining focused on the agreed-upon result or the set goal, even in the face of problems, setbacks, opposition, or distractions;
• Collaboration: contributing to a shared outcome, even when it is not of direct personal interest. Working together with others to achieve goals;
• Environmental awareness: understanding municipal, political, administrative, cultural, and social developments; assessing their implications for norms and values, interests, and the perspectives of others; and being able to navigate these effectively. Translating these insights into and effectively applying them to one’s own actions and the municipality;
• Big-picture view: being able to see the forest for the trees, stepping back from the issue to identify the broader trends and recognize the overall picture, and easily connecting the individual pieces of the puzzle.

What we offer you

As a Construction Supervision Team Manager, you will join our team for 32–36 hours per week and can expect the following employment terms.

• A gross monthly salary of up to €6,616 (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, up to a 45-kilometer one-way commute, for the number of days you work in the office, and/or a work-from-home allowance of €2 net per workday that you work from home.
• A monthly contribution toward health insurance.
• 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.
• A cell phone and/or laptop.

Interested in learning more about our employment terms and conditions? Check out the Municipality of Amsterdam Personnel Regulations (PGA).

Do you have any questions?

If you have any questions, please contact Berend Kemper, Department Manager for Permits, Supervision, and Enforcement in the Amsterdam-Centrum district, at b.kemper@amsterdam.nl and/or 06-8364-5111.

Apply for this job

• If this job opening interests you, please submit your application by March 19, 2023, using the “Apply Now” button.
• 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.
• The selection process begins immediately after the application deadline and consists of four steps. First, we make a preliminary selection based on cover letters and resumes. We invite candidates who meet the above requirements to an interview. You will meet with the department manager, a team manager, and a manager from another city district. The best candidate or two candidates will be invited for a follow-up interview with the department manager and the team members. During these interviews, we’ll assess how your talents and skills align with the job requirements. Of course, you’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions yourself and to see if the position and the team are truly a good fit for you. You can do this even before you apply or have the interviews. If you’d like to do so, please contact the department manager. He’ll be happy to make time for you.
• The most suitable candidate will undergo a selection assessment. The assessment consists of a psychological test, a job-specific interview, and a role-play exercise, and also serves as a stepping stone toward the candidate’s further personal development.
• We require a recent Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG) from every colleague who joins our team.

We do not appreciate unsolicited solicitation from recruitment agencies, and such actions may result in exclusion from our other recruitment initiatives. We also consider the unsolicited submission of resumes by agencies to our employees to be solicitation. We will not review these resumes.

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