HR Business Partner Npuls

Are you an HR Business Partner who enjoys helping organizations grow and advancing the HR profession? In this multifaceted role, you’ll advise the Npuls program on a wide range of HR issues while simultaneously shaping Strategic Workforce Management within SURF. You switch easily between strategy and execution and know how to strike the right balance between flexibility and clear guidelines, even in a dynamic environment.

Where you will work

SURF is the ICT cooperative for Dutch education and research institutions. Together with them, we work on digital services and complex innovation challenges to improve the quality of education and research.

SURF serves as the lead organization for the National Growth Fund Program Npuls, in which all public vocational schools, universities of applied sciences, and universities collaborate on the transformation of higher education. Through Npuls, we aim to rapidly modernize educational offerings, make them more accessible, and provide them in a flexible manner—among other things, by restructuring the (ICT) organization of education, sharing knowledge, and jointly developing and procuring learning materials.

Working at SURF means working for a unique and open organization. You can see this in everything: the structure of the organization, the culture in our offices, and the atmosphere among colleagues. SURF offers excellent employment conditions and takes a flexible approach to work-life balance. Everyone is given the space and freedom to apply and develop their talents as effectively and broadly as possible.

The team you will join

You’ll be part of SURF’s HR team, which consists of an HR manager, HR Business Partners, HR staff, colleagues focused on external hiring, and recruiters. Together, we’re building a forward-looking HR organization. The HR team is evolving rapidly: we’re working toward a model in which each HRBP is responsible for their own portfolio and manages their own area of expertise.

Your portfolio is the Npuls program. Here, you’ll work closely with program management and leaders, while remaining part of the HR team in the organizational hierarchy and reporting to the HR manager. In addition to your role as an HR Business Partner, you’ll be responsible for the Strategic Workforce Management area of expertise. You’ll further develop this area, thereby actively contributing to the continued professionalization and positioning of the HR team. Depending on your experience and interests, there is an opportunity to take on a second area of expertise in the future.

What you will do

As an HR Business Partner, you will advise and support Npuls’ program management and leaders on a wide range of HR and organizational issues. You’ll operate in a dynamic program environment where you’ll need to make many things possible, while at the same time working within SURF’s agreements and governance framework. You’ll know how to strike the right balance between flexibility and structure, and translate policy into practical, workable solutions. In addition, you’ll actively contribute to the further development of the HR team and help shape the Strategic Workforce Management practice area.

Other responsibilities include:

• Coaching and advising managers on HR issues and case studies;
• Supporting recruitment, career advancement, and separation processes;
• Advising on the workforce mix of permanent employees, temporary contracts, and external hires;
• Contributing ideas on organizational structure and governance within the program framework;
• Supporting workforce planning and competency management, in alignment with SURF’s strategic workforce planning;
• Contributing to the further professionalization, working methods, and positioning of the HR team;
• Designing and implementing the Strategic Workforce Management practice within Npuls and across SURF;
• Translating SURF frameworks into practical solutions for Npuls;
• Coordinating the work carried out by the HR team for the program and ensuring adequate management information.

Your skills and experience

YYou are an experienced HR professional who effortlessly bridges the gap between strategy and execution and thrives in an environment where not everything is predetermined. You combine substantive expertise with organizational awareness and know how to reconcile differing interests. You are comfortable navigating the tension between flexibility and structure, and you translate policy and governance into practical solutions that work for the organization.

In addition, you have:

• Extensive experience as an HR Business Partner in complex organizations and a college-level education and mindset;
• An affinity for and/or experience in Strategic Workforce Management or workforce planning;
• Experience with organizational issues in program, project, or governance environments; experience with agile working, preferably in a public sector setting, is a plus;
• Demonstrable experience translating policies and frameworks into workable practices;
• Strong analytical skills and an understanding of administrative and organizational dynamics;
• The ability to independently develop and position an area of expertise within the organization;
• Excellent command of the Dutch and English languages.

Procedure

The first job interviews will take place on Friday, August 21 at our office in Utrecht. We ask that you keep this date open in your calendar.

For this position, submitting a Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG) is part of the hiring process.

SURF takes pleasure in doing its recruitment itself; acquisition is therefore not appreciated.