Chair of the Board of Directors

About WereldKidz

“WereldKidz provides meaningful public education to children and is committed to ensuring consistent educational quality at all of its schools”.

WereldKidz comprises 31 elementary schools and 2 special education schools, located across municipalities in central Netherlands, in the Maarsen, Zeist, and surrounding areas, Utrechtse Heuvelrug, and Veenendaal regions. With over 5,500 students and 662 staff members, we are committed to meaningful and innovative education. Our core values—meaningful, innovative, andinclusive—form the foundation of everything we do. We view constant change in our social context as an opportunity to grow, develop, and learn together. We embrace the enriching power of diversity and view our schools as safe learning environments for the citizens of the future. We are proud of our public character, where students from diverse backgrounds learn together. We offer a safe and challenging environment focused on talent development, digital literacy, and active citizenship. Collaboration and a strong moral foundation are central to this.

WereldKidz puts its values into practice by being open-minded and proactively taking responsibility for social challenges, such as providing education to newcomers and refugee children. Another example is our policy on equal opportunity and inclusive education. We have achieved this through a shared vision and conviction, but also through close (administrative) collaboration with municipalities and other partners in the six municipalities. You can find more information about our direction and ambitions in thestrategic policy planWereldKidz-Koers 2023-2027.

Organizational Structure

WereldKidz is led by a Chair of the Executive Board, who has overall responsibility for the entire organization. The Supervisory Board oversees its operations. The schools are organized into clusters, each led by a cluster director.

Within each cluster, school leaders work closely with their teams to ensure the quality of education at their schools. Department heads support the organization in strategic areas such as HR, education, finance, real estate, and IT. WereldKidz’s guiding principle is school autonomy within clear frameworks, with a focus on educational quality, equal opportunity, and inclusion. The chair of our Board of Directors leads an organization that is firmly rooted in its mission and core values.

What is our focus?

Establishing a strategic direction:

You will lead the implementation of our strategic policy plan and ensure that our core values are reflected in our daily practices. You will do this in part by leading by example. You will ensure consistent educational quality across all our schools and foster an inclusive culture that values diversity. You will foster innovation and a culture of quality within our schools. You will strengthen our position as a leading educational organization in the region. You will play an active role in the development of the educational region, collaborating effectively with municipalities, partnerships, and other partners.

Leadership

You embody good, modern employment practices in a people-oriented and inspiring way, with a focus on talent development and employee job satisfaction. In doing so, you maintain a balance between providing direction, making decisions, offering autonomy, and being accountable. You demonstrate courage and entrepreneurial spirit in taking a stand and making decisions based on societal trends and the best interests of our students. In doing so, you focus on collaboration and connection, both internally and with our stakeholders. You are a strong conversational partner and an inspiring leader in this regard.

Organizational Development

The major transitions of our time require organizations to be agile, with a strong focus on collaboration, learning, and development. You will help make WereldKidz agile—both organizationally and in its strategies—so that we can proactively respond to social, technological, and demographic changes. Agility also requires a highly developed capacity for learning. You will promote cross-cluster collaboration and knowledge sharing, and strengthen a culture of feedback and shared responsibility. You will facilitate the further professionalization of our support functions so that they contribute to the integrated responsibility of the cluster directors. Together with the cluster directors, the executive office, the GMR, and the Board of Trustees, you will strengthen the organization’s governance.

What do you bring to the table?

We are looking for a chairperson who combines vision with decisiveness and strategic leadership, guided by a collaborative approach. You have experience managing complex organizations and know how to create an inspiring and learning-oriented work culture where collaboration and innovation thrive. You understand the challenges facing today’s education system, such as equity, the teacher shortage, and issues related to citizenship, and you know how to work with stakeholders to find creative, practical solutions to address them. In a complex environment involving six municipalities and four partnerships, you serve as a unifying link operating at the intersection of strategy, policy, and implementation.

We are looking for a values-driven leader who operates with vision and decisiveness. Your profile should include the following qualities:

Vision and Strategic Leadership

• You are passionate about public, inclusive education and understand the importance of equal opportunity in this context. You know how to incorporate societal developments into our educational programs.
• You have a clear vision for digitization in education and can translate that vision into concrete strategies and policies.
• You operate with a keen sense of balance between providing guidance, allowing autonomy, and being accountable.

Personal qualities

• When making decisions that contribute to addressing societal challenges, you are independent-minded and show courage.
• You know how to set priorities and stay focused on what really matters.
• Innovation is in your DNA; you have the courage to encourage learning and experimentation and to embrace new solutions.

Relationship-oriented and approachable

• You are approachable and accessible to staff, parents, and students, and you actively encourage collaboration with the parent-teacher association.
• As a skilled networker, you know how to represent the interests of our schools in relevant strategic forums and build valuable partnerships.

Organizational and financial expertise

• You have extensive experience in organizational development and understand how to build an agile, learning, and future-proof organization.
• You have a strong background in finance and organizational management, with an eye for both strategic decisions and operational execution.

Experience and knowledge

• You possess an academic level of work and thinking and have extensive managerial experience at the executive level, preferably within the education sector or a nonprofit organization.
• You have experience with governance and understand the role of a Supervisory Board. You approach this collaboration with sharp insight, transparency, and diligence.

Passion for our values

• You identify with our core values (meaningful, innovative, and inclusive) and actively embody them in your work.

What do we offer?

WereldKidz offers you a dynamic work environment with plenty of room for your own input and professional growth. You will have the opportunity to make a lasting impact on the future of thousands of students. In addition, we offer a competitive benefits package commensurate with the responsibilities of the position. Compensation is provided in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Administrators in Primary Education. As a standard, fringe benefits are also provided in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement. Pay scale BD applies.

Interested?

WereldKidz is being assisted in this recruitment process by the executive search firm Colourful People. For more information about WereldKidz, the position, or the recruitment process, please contact Sandra Lutchman, senior partner at Colourful People (06 40744074). Are you interested in this role? You can submit your cover letter and resume via the Colourful People website. The deadline for applications is February 10 at 12:00 PM.