Project Manager Food Safety

As a Project Manager, you will be responsible for the overall coordination and delivery of projects. You will work on a range of medium-sized and complex projects, bringing together different disciplines, interests, and activities. You will ensure alignment between the project's objectives, planning, capacity, quality requirements, and financial parameters, making adjustments when developments require it. Acquiring new projects will also be part of your responsibilities.

You will be the central point of contact for the delivery of your projects. In this role, you will work closely with researchers, laboratory analysts, team leaders, program leaders, and Finance colleagues. You will also maintain active contact with internal and external clients. You will align expectations, discuss progress and results, and advise on the decisions needed to deliver projects successfully.

Responsibilities.

• Independently preparing, planning, and coordinating medium-sized and complex projects involving laboratory analysis, quality assurance
• Translating project objectives into a realistic approach, schedule, resource plan
• Monitoring progress, quality, budget, and risks, and making timely adjustments where necessary
• Coordinating activities and priorities across different teams and disciplines
• Identifying bottlenecks and dependencies, and advising clients and colleagues involved in the projects on how to address them
• Maintaining professional relationships with internal and external clients and ensuring clear communication about progress, results, and any deviations from the plan
• Contributing to the further professionalization and improvement of project management practices
• Evaluating completed projects and translating lessons learned into improvements for future projects
• Where appropriate, contributing to the development of new assignments, for example by helping to develop project proposals and budgets and identifying opportunities for collaboration or business development

As a Project Manager, you maintain a comprehensive overview of everything happening within your projects, both in terms of people and figures. You recognize the individual needs and motivations of team members, as well as those of the team and the organization as a whole. You know how to create a socially and physically safe working environment in which open communication is encouraged. You are quality- and customer-oriented, skilled in process management, and able to work effectively under tight deadlines.

You work independently within the framework of project plans, know how to set the right priorities, and can switch effectively between different tasks.

What they ask

• Several years of demonstrable professional experience as a Project Manager, including experience in project management
• At least a completed university degree (WO level), or equivalent professional experience and level of thinking
• A flexible, proactive, decisive, and self-directed approach, strong planning skills, familiarity with budgeting, and political awareness
• An affinity with food safety
• A collaborative mindset: you involve the project team in decision-making while also being able to make the final decision when necessary
• Experience in writing project proposals and grant applications is an advantage
• A sound understanding of the laboratory and research environment, including ISO 17025 and ISO 9001

Languages.

• Dutch: C1 level (essential for contact with Dutch-speaking clients)
• English: C1 level (increasingly common in the international working environment)