sr. HR Business Partner

at  Wageningen University Research

Are you an innovative, proactive Sr. HR Business Partner who enjoys initiating (organizational) changes? And do you want to help shape HR’s service delivery? Then we are looking for you!
Within our HR team at the Environmental Sciences Group, you will develop teams and the organization as a whole, contributing to the development of integrated HR policies. You will advise and support various education and research groups in implementing these policies. You will build professional working relationships with managers and, together with the Center of Expertise (CoE), contribute to the strategy & tactics of Recruitment, Vitality & Health, and Learning & Development. Your challenges within ESG lie in the areas of organizational development and change.

Your tasks and responsibilities as a Sr. HR Business Partner include:

• Sparring partner and advisor to managers and/or the board on organizational development and team-related cases;
• Actively contribute to the development and execution of strategic personnel plans and organizational issues;
• Shaping the HR agenda and sharing responsibility for the successful implementation of ESG-wide HR policies;
• Participating in various HR projects. For example, in the areas of Leadership, Organizational Design, Diversity & Inclusion, Social Safety, or Recognition & Rewards.

YOUR TEAM

You will work directly with our dedicated HR team, which will soon consist of 5 HR Business Partners. In the HR team, you will closely collaborate with HR Support and CoE colleagues; the total team size is about 12 people. We are currently also looking for HR Business Partners. You should really enjoy contributing to the formation of our team. Collaboration is an important value within our HR team. As a team, we believe it’s important that you work together, shoulder to shoulder, and help build the further professionalization of our services.

In total, approximately 1,100 colleagues work at ESG. ESG consists of the Department of Environmental Sciences (17 chair groups), which conducts fundamental research and provides education, and Wageningen Environmental Research (12 WENR teams), which conducts applied research, as well as ISRIC. ESG is highly internationally oriented in terms of staff, education, and research. When it comes to employment conditions, Wageningen University & Research has a lot to offer. Highlights from our collective labor agreement (CAO) include:

• Flexible working hours, determined in consultation, allowing for an optimal work-life balance;
• The possibility to accumulate extra compensatory hours by working more;
• Sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• A strong focus on vitality, with access to on-campus sports facilities at a favorable rate;
• A year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• An excellent pension scheme through ABP.

Alongside these outstanding secondary employment conditions, a competitive salary is also part of the package. Depending on your experience, we offer a market-based salary in scale 11. Working hours and days are negotiable.
Initially, we offer you a two-year contract. Of course, we are happy to discuss any questions you may have about this.
Wageningen University & Research promotes internal growth opportunities and mobility through an internal recruitment policy. There are ample opportunities for individual initiative in a learning environment, and we offer excellent training opportunities. You will have a varied role in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.
You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, at a university that has been chosen as the “best university” in the Netherlands for the 19th consecutive year. 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. You are innovative, curious, and take initiative, which enables you to stay well-informed and proactively offer appropriate advice or solutions. Through your advisory skills, empathy, diplomacy, and persuasiveness, you are able to build support and initiate changes. You are a critical conversation partner for our managers and are not afraid of having tough discussions.

You also possess:

• University-level work and thinking ability;
• At least 5 years of experience as an HR Business Partner or HR Advisor;
• Experience in a complex project organization is a strong plus;
• Good command of both Dutch and English.

In our international work environment, communication is increasingly conducted in English. For this position, a B2 language level is required. For more information about the position, you can contact Micheline Horstman (micheline.horstman@wur.nl) and/or Erica Steen (erica.steen@wur.nl), Interim Heads of HR ESG.
For more information about the procedure, you can contact Edgar Tijhuis, corporate recruiter, edgar.tijhuis@wur.nl

• Sparring partner and advisor to managers and/or the board on organizational development and team-related cases;
• Actively contribute to the development and execution of strategic personnel plans and organizational issues;
• Shaping the HR agenda and sharing responsibility for the successful implementation of ESG-wide HR policies;
• Participating in various HR projects. For example, in the areas of Leadership, Organizational Design, Diversity & Inclusion, Social Safety, or Recognition & Rewards