Adoption & Implementation Advisor

Do you want to use your technical expertise to make a real impact on the future of education? At Npuls, you’ll help drive the digital transformation of Dutch secondary education. As an Adoption and Implementation Advisor, you’ll ensure that sector-wide solutions aren’t just developed, but are actually put into practice. You’ll inspire people and help institutions take the leap from ambition to successful implementation.

Where you will work

SURF is the ICT cooperative for Dutch educational and research institutions. Together with them, we work on digital services and complex innovation challenges to enhance the quality of education and research. SURF works with educational institutions and partners to develop software and standards that support flexible education, digital learning materials, and the sharing of educational data.

SURF serves as the lead coordinator of the National Growth Fund Program Npuls, in which all public vocational schools, colleges, and universities collaborate on the transformation of higher education. Together, we are building an education sector that continues to contribute to a resilient society, broad prosperity, and a strong economy.

Npuls’s promise is that learners will be ready for the future. We can achieve this if they can learn without barriers, receive the best education continuously, and make valuable use of AI and data in the process. To do so, we need to transform our learning approaches together and collaborate on digital sector infrastructure.

With Npuls, we aim to rapidly modernize educational offerings, make them more accessible, and provide them flexibly. We do this by reorganizing the educational landscape. For example, we collaborate to reorganize the ICT infrastructure of education, share knowledge about education, and jointly develop and procure learning materials.

The team you will join

You will be working as part of the adoption team within the Accessible and Open Education & Research unit, a team fully dedicated to the Npuls program. Together with about 15 specialists in technology, policy, and processes, you will support institutions in public higher education in implementing sector-wide solutions that contribute to the future of education. This includes topics such as digital identity and making learning resources accessible via the Open Education API.

Together with colleagues from SURF’s product teams, architects, and partners within Npuls, you’ll ensure that institutions get off to a strong start in their transformation. You’ll work alternately at institutions, at the SURF office in Utrecht, and partly from home.

What you will do

As an all-around consultant and change expert, you are at the heart of educational innovation. You support vocational schools, community colleges, and universities in their transformation and help them successfully implement sector-wide initiatives. You are proactive and a true go-getter. You work pragmatically and with a focus on results, and you know how to translate complex issues into clear, actionable solutions. You bring clarity to change processes, unblock stalled procedures, and ensure that institutions can take concrete steps toward adoption and implementation

What else you do

• You guide the client from the institution through what is needed to implement sector-wide solutions, with an emphasis on (technical) adoption.
• You analyze the institution’s needs, identify specific objectives and challenges, and determine the corresponding adoption strategy;
• You align adoption and implementation plans with the institution’s goals and needs. Additionally, you help the institution get started with templates or an in-depth knowledge session; the educational institution itself is responsible for execution.
• You guide and support organizations through the adoption and implementation process. You help them maintain an overview. You also engage Npuls products or other specialists to ensure the smoothest possible implementation and adoption at the institution.
• You organize and deliver training sessions or knowledge sessions to stakeholder groups, and prepare supporting documentation and communication materials.
• You promote knowledge sharing and collaboration between institutions. You collaborate with other advisors and specialists within Npuls and SURF on best practices and ensure they are utilized. You stay up to date on the latest developments.
• You actively share your knowledge within Npuls and SURF, thereby contributing to our learning organization. You develop, improve, and devise new adoption products and/or services together with colleagues.

Your skills and experience

You are someone who quickly gets to the heart of complex issues and effortlessly navigates between technology, processes, and organizational interests. You combine analytical skills with persuasiveness and know how to engage people at various levels in the change process. You work independently and with a clear focus on your goals, while maintaining an eye for building support, demonstrating sensitivity, and delivering results. You are not afraid to take action, take initiative, and draw energy from achieving tangible progress.

In addition, you have:

• An affinity for technology and IT and the ability to quickly master new knowledge;
• Strong analytical skills and an understanding of processes and (architectural) standards;
• A university-level work and thinking style
• At least 4 years of experience as an all-round consultant and change expert; experience implementing complex information systems and the changes associated with them; customer focus and the ability to stay the course;
• Experience with stakeholder management and the ability to overcome resistance and engage administrators/education professionals in the transformation (people, process, culture);
• Experience with (educational) policy and describing processes; you can effectively interpret information expressed in Archimate, UML, ERD, and BPMN or are willing to learn these;
• Experience with agile working and the corresponding mindset
• Knowledge of and affinity with the educational culture is a plus.

Procedure

The first job interviews will take place on Friday, May 15, and Monday, May 18. We kindly ask you to keep this in mind when planning your schedule.

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