Project manager Field Crops

Do you want to contribute to more sustainable food production as a project manager? Do you get energized by leading and organizing meaningful national and international projects? Then you are in the right place at WUR Field Crops!

As a project manager, you will be involved in innovations in arable farming, fruit, tree, and open-field vegetable cultivation. Sustainable energy production and its integration into green spaces also play an important role. Projects are increasingly large in scope, requiring you to coordinate with large numbers and diverse groups of stakeholders. Examples include the Farm of the Future, PPP Soil, and AGROMIX. In this role, you balance coaching leadership and decisiveness, understand the interests of both the client(s) and WUR, and translate these into feasible concrete goals and actions for the project. Besides this client orientation, you also ensure the scientific integrity of your projects.

Your tasks and responsibilities as a project manager include:

• Leading complex and large projects;
• Managing the external environment (clients, partners, adjacent projects) and ensuring the internal organization is well-aligned;
• Responsibility for financial management, project administration, ensuring data management, and timely achievement of agreed results;
• Building a network of various (international) partners and financiers from the public and private sectors.

Team
As a project manager, you are a crucial link in the execution of applied research projects within the Field Crops business unit at the Lelystad and Randwijk locations. You will work with a wide variety of expert colleagues on different challenges in the field. You see good collaboration within a project as an end in itself.

You have the ability to manage projects in a motivating and coaching manner within a knowledge-intensive environment. You also possess good social skills, an analytical mindset, and a client-oriented attitude. Working on multiple projects simultaneously with tight deadlines energizes you.

You also possess:

• An academic working and thinking level with several years of experience in project management;
• General knowledge of agriculture is a plus;
• The ability to reflect on your role and the willingness to continue developing along with the organization;
• Project management skills such as: co-formulating a project work plan, monitoring, supervising, and reporting on project progress, managing budgets, leading project teams, and dealing with involved stakeholders;
• Experience in acquiring (subsidized) projects;
• Excellent communication skills in both Dutch and English, both verbal and written.

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;
• the option to accrue additional compensation hours by working more;
• 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 December 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 € 3.693,- and € 5.737,- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research (scale 11). Additionally, a contract for 24 to 36 hours can be discussed. You will initially receive a one-year contract, which will be extended to an open-ended contract upon in mutual enthusiasm.

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a multi-faceted position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland and with your work you have a clear and positive impact on society. At WUR we work on the most pressing challenges of our time, like climate change and feeding the world in a sustainable way.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.
Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.

Wageningen University & Research
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 this video to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves and do not appreciate unasked for services from recruitment agencies. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.