Chairperson

Who are we?

We are the Creative Coalition. We are an association of 44 advocacy groups from the cultural and creative sector, representing a total of more than 45,000 members. Together, we advocate for the interests of everyone working in the cultural and creative sector. We are committed to ensuring a healthy, safe, and fair labor market in our sector. Fair Practice—including Fair Pay, Fair Share, and Fair Chain—are the Creative Coalition’s priorities for the coming period.

Following its founding phase, the association is currently in a transition toward stabilization. There is a strong emphasis on connecting and professionalizing the association’s members, representing the association externally, and collaborating with the labor organization. In recent years, the Creative Coalition, together with its members, has gained an increasingly strong foothold in The Hague’s political arena and has represented the voice of working people. It is partly up to the new chair to continue these developments. A director is being recruited to lead the labor organization.

Who are we looking for?

You are passionate about the cultural and creative sector and the labor market challenges it faces. You are a trailblazer and a connector, and you are open to new ideas. You are decisive and able to translate the sector’s challenges into policy at a conceptual level, communicate this policy externally, and, in consultation with the director, translate it into action internally. The chairperson, together with the board and the director, leads the association, with support from the working group. The board consists of a minimum of five and a maximum of ten members, with responsibilities divided into portfolios. The chairperson is the only independent board member; the other board members are elected and appointed from the member organizations of the Creative Coalition. You have a university-level education and way of thinking.

The administrative staff supports the association and the board. The administrative staff consists of a director (0.8 FTE), an office secretary (0.6 FTE), a project manager (0.8 FTE), a marketing and communications officer (0.6 FTE), and staff hired on a (freelance) project basis.

If you'd like to learn more about what we do, please visit our website: de creatievecoalitie.nl

What are we looking for?

We are looking for an experienced leader to serve as our new chairperson, who can fulfill three key responsibilities:

• Building the Creative Coalition: The chairperson serves as a unifying force within the association, effectively harnessing the strengths of the various member organizations and their representatives to advance the professionalization of the Creative Coalition. This involvement can range from participating in lobbying discussions to contributing to networking events; from deepening substantive knowledge to strengthen the associations to helping draft sound policy guidelines.
• Management: Together with the treasurer and secretary, the chairperson serves as the primary point of contact for the director.
• Lobbying and policy advocacy: Through their network, experience, and personal skills, the chair is able to make an effective contribution to the Creative Coalition’s lobbying and policy advocacy efforts. The chair conducts lobbying meetings as needed. The chair can provide guidance and coaching to members in the area of professional development.

What will your responsibilities be?

• Help establish effective decision-making processes within the association and prepare for and chair meetings with the board and members.
• Help develop strategic frameworks for the association’s development, the organization, and the lobbying agenda.
• Conducting lobbying discussions and supporting member representatives in those discussions, based on the jointly agreed lobbying agenda.
• Monitoring progress and ensuring the strategic implementation of the Creative Coalition’s mission.
• The association, in consultation with the director, represents itself or arranges for representation at meetings and in the media.
• Maintain external contacts and promote the association’s activities through them.
• You are the director's primary point of contact.

What skills do you ideally bring to the table?

• The ability to reach decisions in a participatory manner with members.
• Experience in the cultural and creative sector and a vision for a fair and safe work environment for those working in this sector.
• Experience in advocating for workers with the aim of improving their position in the labor market.
• Experience in establishing and expanding an organization and fostering connections among members.
• A (political) network that is relevant to the mission of the Creative Coalition.
• Experience in lobbying, negotiation, and conflict resolution.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Transparency, sensitivity, accessibility, and the ability to inspire, delegate, and empower people.

What do we offer you?

• A challenging position in a young organization with ambitious goals in a complex social sector.
• The position is part of the board of the Creative Coalition.
• The term of office is four years, with the possibility of being reappointed for an additional four-year term.
• This is an unpaid position requiring an average of about six hours of work per week, for which an expense allowance of 12,000 euros per year is available.

We strive to achieve a good balance of diverse backgrounds within our board and our organization, including age, sex, gender, experience, and cultural background. We therefore warmly invite all interested candidates to apply.

If you are interested, please email your cover letter and resume by February 25, 2023, to annemarieharmsen@decreatievecoalitie.nl, addressed to Anne-Marie Harmsen. For more information: 06-46613250. Initial interviews are scheduled for the last week of February and the first week of March.