Manager Finance & Control

Do you have a “can-do” mindset and the creativity and drive to make improvements happen? Are you looking for a role with impact at Wageningen University & Research (WUR), the most sustainable knowledge institution in the Netherlands, which contributes through its research and education to major societal challenges in the fields of food production, climate, and biodiversity? Join us.

We are looking for a Manager Finance & Control (F&C) for the Environmental Sciences Group. In this role, you work from a strategic perspective, share responsibility for the organisation’s financial policy, and ensure the quality of financial information for both the units and ESG as a whole. You contribute to executing the full planning and control cycle of ESG, with a total annual turnover of approximately €155 million and over 1,050 FTE. The F&C department consists of the business control team, the project control team, and the chair group administration team. The latter two teams are led by a team leader; you directly manage the business control team. In total, the department comprises roughly 44 FTE.

As Manager F&C, you are responsible for preparing the budget, annual closing, monthly reports, and the associated analyses. You oversee the annual (project) audits and ensure a timely execution. You closely monitor financial progress, identify risks, and proactively provide recommendations. At the strategic level, you advise the ESG management. WUR-wide, you participate—through the functional line—in the controllers’ consultation and actively contribute to WUR’s general financial policy.

• You connect people and teams: you ensure strong collaboration within F&C and effective communication throughout the organisation.
• You navigate smoothly in a complex environment, understand diverse interests, switch easily between organisational levels, and communicate information clearly.
• You take on complex substantive issues yourself and exert influence effectively.
• You are a solid sparring partner for management and the executive board, advising both upon request and on your own initiative about policy and its (financial-)economic implications.
• You think in terms of possibilities, encourage customer orientation within your team, and show a proactive attitude.
• You are closely involved in the organisation as a member of the team of staff heads and actively contribute to new policy and business operations within ESG and WUR.
• You participate in the Financial Policy Consultation and contribute from there to WUR-wide financial developments (for example, dashboard-based reporting, implementation of a budgeting tool, and a new project management system).

As Manager F&C, you report to the Director of Operations of ESG and maintain functional reporting lines with the WUR Director of F&C, the Managing Director of ESG, and other staff heads.

For this versatile role, we are looking for the following:

• an academic level of working and thinking, with a completed (BSc or) MSc degree in Business Economics, Accountancy, or a comparable financial discipline, preferably with a completed RA or RC qualification;
• extensive relevant experience within a complex project-based organisation;
• affinity with private and public funding issues in an international context;
• demonstrable experience in leading professionals; you lead in an inspiring, connecting, and coaching manner and guide your employees in their professional development;
• strong analytical skills and a solution-oriented mindset;
• an independent and critical way of thinking, which you are confident in expressing;
• a helicopter view combined with attention to detail;
• an enthusiastic team player who actively seeks collaboration to achieve results;
• strong communication skills in both Dutch and English, spoken and written.

In our international working environment there is an increasing amount of communication in English. For this position it is about language level C1.

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed year-end bonus of 8,3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. We offer, depending on your experience, a competitive gross salary of between € 5.972,- and €8.743,- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research (scale 14). Additionally, For this role a contract for 32 hours can be discussed. As for your contract, we initially offer a one-year contract that can be extended - if possible within (company) organizational circumstances - on good performance. happy to have a conversation with you if you have any questions about this.

Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment. For 20 consecutive years, we have been voted the "best university" in the Netherlands! A place to be proud of.

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.