Team Manager, Specialized Custom Solutions Team

• Leading a team in development: you encourage collaboration and foster a sense of social safety.
  
• Creating clarity and structure: you bring focus to products and services and highlight common threads.
  
• Establishing a strong foothold in the supply chain: you’ll help the team establish its position and strengthen partnerships both within and outside the organization.
  

In short: Do you want to help your team work more effectively together while making a valuable contribution to the ongoing development of the social sector? Then this is your chance.

The position

AsTeam Managerofthe Specialized Custom Solutions Team, you’ll beat the heart of the social services sector. You’ll lead a team that provides advice on complex cases, analyzes them, identifies patterns, and thereby contributes to the learning process within the WPI chain (case management). It’s a dynamic and meaningful role in which you’ll foster collaboration, development, and strategic positioning.

Your key responsibilities at a glance:

• Management and Development– You provide guidance to an independent team with significant decision-making autonomy. You hold employees accountable for their personal leadership, encourage their development, and conduct performance reviews.
• Strengthening collaboration– you invest in social safety, vitality, and agility, so that the team works together more effectively and becomes more firmly established within the social sector.
• Learning and improving– you help professionals translate results into recommendations for improving policy and implementation. In doing so, you ensure that issues are addressed both tactically and strategically.
• Gaining a firm grasp of the subject matter– you bring structure to the flow of information and contribute to the professionalization of issue management within the Work, Participation, and Income division. In this way, you highlight common threads and enhance the organization’s capacity for learning.

What makes this so interesting?
You get the best of both worlds:

• People First– building a safe and strong team where diversity, inclusion, and development are central.
• Substantive impact– contributing to breakthroughs in complex cases and further advancing the social sector.

In short: you’re a strong-willed individual with vision, courage, and a knack for working with people. Someone who knows how to balance relationships and results, and who helps both their team and the organization continue to grow.

Here's what you do on an average day

No two days are the same as a Team Manager for Specialized Custom Solutions. You move seamlessly between people, processes, and strategy. On a typical workday, your schedule might look something like this:

• You start with a team meeting: you discuss ongoing cases, encourage collaboration, and check in with your employees—because staying in regular communication is essential.
  
• Next, you’ll take on the team coaching program: you’ll help the team continue to grow in professionalism, vitality, and expertise.
  
• Together with your colleagues, you’ll review the work process and KPIs: how can we work more efficiently and better focus on results?
  
• Later in the day, you’ll dive into the information management process: you’ll ensure that we have a clear understanding of and control over our products and services, so that the team and the organization know what they can rely on.
  
• In the afternoon, you’ll join a management team meeting. You’ll contribute ideas on the department’s future development and build relationships with internal and external partners, such as the urban renewal team and other departments within WPI.
  
• You work on the learning cycle: you translate key themes from stalled cases into insights and action plans, so that the entire organization can learn from them.
  
• Finally, you will draft an action plan or memo for the executive team, in which you will address specific issues and ensure that decisions are well-founded.
  
• In short: your days are filled with conversations, analyses, and decisions that matter. You’ll build a safe and strong team while simultaneously influencing policy and implementation in the social sector.
  

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 Work and Safety Department is part of the Work, Participation, and Income (WPI) Division. WPI enhances opportunities for Amsterdammers in vulnerable positions in the labor market by supporting their development and guiding them toward employment, education, or community participation. WPI also strengthens the income security of Amsterdammers who cannot (fully) provide for themselves. Finally, WPI alleviates the financial stress of Amsterdammers with problematic debt by preventing it, keeping it manageable, and resolving it. Together with partners in the social sector, WPI aims to provide Amsterdammers with a tailored solution to ultimately become self-reliant. The starting point for this is the individual’s own strengths. To achieve its objectives, WPI aligns itself with developments within the municipality in general and the social sector in particular.

Work & Safety Department
The Work & Safety Department (W&V) is one of 16 departments within WPI. Together with network partners, W&V supports Amsterdam residents facing challenges across multiple areas of life, including safety, healthcare, and livelihood security. For this target group, finding and retaining employment or daytime activities is often difficult, requiring professional support and coordination.
The department works closely with various partners in the care chain, including the Action Center for Safety & Care (AcVZ). The AcVZ is the care and safety hub for the Amsterdam-Amstelland region. It serves as the central point for an integrated approach to issues at the intersection of safety, care, and the social domain. It is a network organization with over 40 partners and is administratively housed within the Public Order and Safety Directorate. The partners are jointly responsible for achieving results regarding long-term issues within relatively high-need target groups. In addition to the basic services provided under the Participation Act, the department leverages its expertise to provide these Amsterdam residents with maximum support toward self-reliance and improved prospects.

The department consists of approximately 50 employees, divided into three teams:

1. The Detention and Return Front Office supports Amsterdam residents who are currently in detention or have just been released. To this end, the team collaborates with various partners in the healthcare and public safety sectors, as well as with various departments within WPI—for example, with the Special Target Groups department in cases involving homelessness.
   
2. The Intervention Team provides support to individuals (youth and adults) who have come into contact with law enforcement or the criminal justice system. To this end, the team collaborates with various partners in the healthcare and safety sector, as well as with various departments within WPI, such as the Youth Employment and Training Department.
   
3. The Specialized Customized Solutions Team supports professionals in achieving breakthroughs in complex cases related to social security. In addition, the team identifies and analyzes patterns in these cases and formulates recommendations for improvement (Issue Management). This team also collaborates with many partners, including WPI, the Care and Housing Nuisance Hotline, the Ombudsman, the Complaints Office and Dispute Resolution, the Breakthrough Team, and the Municipal Health Service (GGD).
   

What you bring

For this position asTeam Manager of the Specialized Custom Solutions Team, youmust have:

• A college or university degree and a completed college program.
• Management experience: at least three years, with a proven track record in team development and leading change. Please explain this in your cover letter.
• Comprehensive management and strategic consulting: You have broad experience, including in bridging the gap between policy and implementation. Please elaborate in your cover letter.
• A background in policy or project management: you’re used to writing memos and plans and know how to make complex topics accessible.
• Knowledge of laws and regulations in the social sector, including the Participation Act. Familiarity with the Amsterdam Customized Approach is a plus—or you must be able to quickly learn it.
• Practical experience in strategically positioning a team or program. Please explain this in your cover letter.
• Affinity with the target group: You understand the challenges faced by Amsterdam residents dealing with complex issues and are motivated to help ensure their livelihood.

You should have the following skills:

Inclusive thinking and action:You foster a sense of social security, recognize people’s strengths, and challenge them to grow in their professional skills and collaboration.

People-oriented/coaching leadership:Encouraging, motivating, and coaching employees so they can perform their jobs effectively and develop themselves.

Environmental awareness:You understand what is happening in the city, within the organization, and among partners. You recognize interests, developments, and sensitivities, and know how to respond to them in order to foster collaboration and achieve breakthroughs.

Vision:You are able to provide direction and maintain a long-term perspective. You can translate complex issues into a clear course of action for the team and connect them to the broader objectives of WPI and the social sector.

Results-Oriented:You stay focused on the task at hand, set clear priorities, and translate goals into concrete results. You balance relationship-building with performance management and are able to take decisive action when necessary. In addition, you can also work in a results-oriented manner when it comes to your own employees through results-oriented management.

Analytical skills & decisiveness: Youcan assess complex cases and identify patterns and common threads. Based on these insights, you make decisions even when they are difficult or unpopular, and you know how to clearly justify and communicate them.

What we offer you

AsTeam Manager of the Specialized Custom Solutions team, you will join us for a minimum of 32 and a maximum of 36 hours per week, and you can expect the following terms of employment.

• A gross monthly salary ranging from €5,172 to €6,999 (pay grade 12) 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 through ABP, the pension fund for the public sector and education. We pay 70% of your pension contribution.
• 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.
• 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.

Want to know more about our employment terms and conditions? Check out theCity of Amsterdam Personnel Regulations(PGA).

Apply for this job

• If this job opening interests you, we look forward to receiving your application no later than November 14, 2025 via the application form on the website.
  
• We would like to receive your cover letter, in which you explain, in no more than one A4 page, why your work experience and skills are a good fit for 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 series of interviews, an assessment, and a discussion of employment terms.
  
• A reference check is part of the selection process.
  
• If your resume meets the job requirements, we would be happy to invite you for an interview.
  
• The interviews will take place in person at one of our office locations 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.
  

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.

Do you have any questions about this job opening?

For more information about the position, please contact Azzedine Benali, Department Manager for Work and Safety, at a.benali@amsterdam.nlor 06-10588461. For questions about the application process, please contact Lizette Rijkelijkhuizen, HR Advisor, at l.rijkelijkhuizen@amsterdam.nl or 06-23952726.