Management Assistant (32-40 hours per week)

We are looking for a management assistant to join our executive secretariat.

The position

As a management assistant, you are expected to carry out the following tasks with full focus:

  • scheduling various types of appointments, including handling the associated logistics;
  • managing the calendar and email inboxes of several members of the management team;
  • serving as the primary point of contact for practical matters for domain leads, impact leads, and other managers within the organization;
  • coordinating onboarding schedules for new colleagues in consultation with their managers;
  • scheduling meetings and gathering meeting materials.

We are looking for

KWR is looking for a management assistant with extensive experience in management support who can quickly master new tasks. You possess strong interpersonal skills and a confident, grounded approach. You know how to set the right priorities and thrive in a dynamic work environment. Furthermore, you are positive, flexible, principled, precise, highly organized, resilient under pressure, proactive, an excellent collaborator, and deeply service oriented. You take pleasure in core administrative tasks—such as archiving, scheduling, recording action items during departmental meetings, and managing calendars—and you carry out these duties with the utmost care.

Your profile

  • MBO/HBO (vocational/higher professional) level of working and thinking;
  • relevant educational background (e.g., secretarial or management assistant training);
  • proactive work attitude;
  • at least 3 years of work experience in a similar role;
  • proficient in the MS Office suite (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint);
  • good command of both Dutch and English (spoken and written).

Our offer to you

We place great value on personal growth and career development, offering various opportunities to support this—such as a thorough onboarding process, as well as a range of courses and skills training. We also believe a healthy work-life balance is important. KWR offers an excellent compensation and benefits package, including a 15.49% ‘Flexible Employment Conditions Budget,’ and operates under the Collective Labour Agreement for Water Companies (WWb). This position is classified in salary scale G (€3,329 – €4,316 on a full-time basis); the specific salary level will be determined based on your level of knowledge and experience.

Furthermore, you will be able to carry out your practical work in an attractive, sustainably constructed building, designed to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among colleagues, teams, and business contacts. With this position and our organizational profile, KWR offers a unique working environment.

The team

The executive secretariat is a small team—currently comprising four colleagues—that provides comprehensive support to the executive board, the management team (MT), the Supervisory Board, the internal Scientific Council, the External Scientific Advisory Council (ESAC), and middle management. Led by the executive secretary, the team also includes a policy support officer, a secretary for the executive secretariat, and a management assistant. While each team member has their own specific set of responsibilities, they also work closely together.

About KWR

KWR is an internationally renowned research institute in the fields of water quality, the water cycle, and sustainable development. Our mission is ‘bridging science and practice.’ From our nearly entirely sustainable building, equipped with state-of-the-art laboratories, our approximately 200 staff members—representing a wide range of disciplines—work on innovative projects in the Netherlands and, increasingly, both within and beyond Europe. Our shareholders are the ten Dutch drinking water utilities and the Belgian company ‘De Watergroep.’

Throughout 2025, we at KWR have been fully committed to addressing the societal challenges that lie ahead in a decisive and effective manner. Driven by a widely felt need for greater direction in our research, we have put significant effort and energy into developing our 2035 master plan: “Bringing the Values ​​of Water to Life.” More than a third of KWR’s staff contributed directly to this process—from the initial ‘moonshots’ to the final master plan.

A top priority within our strategy is ensuring an adequate supply of high-quality, safe, and healthy water in Europe. Our focus extends beyond drinking water to encompass other water sources and components of the water supply system—such as surface water, wastewater, drought management, and water storage—all of which are of great importance to our shareholders and clients. Our researchers operate at the intersection of science, industry, and society. Their strength lies in translating scientific knowledge into practical, applicable solutions for end-users within the Dutch and international water sectors. To support this research, KWR maintains specialized laboratories and a pilot-testing facility, and we design and construct our own pilot installations. Furthermore, we develop bespoke software tailored for use within our projects.

Do you see yourself contributing to the execution of our updated strategy? Please send your cover letter and CV by email to vacancy@kwrwater.nl, quoting vacancy number 232888. You may do so until November 20, 2026 at the latest.

The first round of interviews will be held on November 30 and December 2, between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM. Please keep these dates in mind for the first round of interviews. A second round of interviews will be conducted with a select number of candidates; the dates for this round have not yet been determined.

More information

For more detailed information about this position, please contact Mireille Henst (executive secretary) by phone at 030-6069747 or via email mireille.henst@kwrwater.nl.

For information regarding the application procedure, you can contact José van Lieshout (Human Resources Advisor) by phone at 030-6069536 or via email jose.van.lieshout@kwrwater.nl.

Solicitation in response to this advertisement is not appreciated.

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