Senior Communications Advisor Utrecht Rural Area Program

The province of Utrecht is looking for one

Senior Communications Advisor Utrecht Rural Area Program

36 hours | Scale 12 | Indefinite period with intention to remain permanent

The province of Utrecht is looking for a hands-on senior communications advisor who will work on communicating the approach and goals of the Utrecht Rural Area Program. This concerns topics such as water, soil, nature (including nitrogen), climate and agriculture. Are you an experienced communications advisor and used to working in a political-administrative environment on complex social issues? Do you have an affinity with (the intended transition of) the rural area? Then we are looking for you!

What are you going to do?
Reducing nitrogen and greenhouse gases, improving water and soil quality and strengthening nature. These complex challenges affect the Utrecht rural area. The province of Utrecht is working on this based on the (draft) Utrecht Rural Area Program (UPLG). In this program, the province of Utrecht brings together knowledge and experience from different people and organizations to give our beautiful rural area a good future. With healthy nature and sustainable agriculture. We take the differences between the areas into account. Because every area is unique and requires its own approach. We call this the area-oriented approach.

The UPLG requires a clear internal and external communication strategy and the implementation of the various actions. We are therefore looking for a senior communications advisor to further shape and content our communications strategy and to implement the resulting actions.

The senior communications advisor is responsible for internal and external communication about the UPLG for the area-oriented approach. In your role you have an important initiating and driving role. You are expected not only to provide advice, but also to roll up your sleeves yourself.
You provide advice to and guide colleagues responsible for content, such as the program manager, project leaders and communication advisors in the area processes in determining the communication tasks. As a senior communications advisor, you maintain an overview, coordinate and determine and monitor our long-term communications goals and strategies. You also write stories and have videos made that make the work of the province visible in rural areas. Of course you don’t do this alone; you work together with other communications advisors who also work in and on assignments in rural areas.

Activities
As a senior communications advisor you are responsible for, among others, the following activities:

• the first point of contact within the Area-oriented Approach to Rural Areas program for internal and external parties with regard to communication;
• you draw up a communication strategy based on B. van Ruler’s strategic communication frame, for the current (draft) Utrecht Rural Area Program. You do this on the basis of the previously developed communication strategy. This includes a core message and implementation plan;
• coordinate closely with the communications advisors on the area-oriented approach to rural areas;
• coordinate with the internal stakeholders of other tasks and programs in rural areas;
• identify opportunities and possibilities in the field of positioning the Utrecht region and the province around the tasks in the rural area and translate these into concrete (online) communication actions;
• maintain contact with the communications advisors of various partners and stakeholders about communication during projects and meetings;
• you advise the program team on communication during activities and meetings and provide advice on creating various products such as presentations, newsletters, etc.;
• you think about the message in news and press releases and support the director’s spokesperson in the preparation of press questions;
• keep the website up to date and write texts for social media;
• advise you on internal communication to bring colleagues along and catch up;
• various activities, such as keeping the communications calendar up to date and sharing it, and maintaining a media overview.

Participation in corporate communication
To ensure good coordination with the corporate communications team and connection with the corporate communications strategy of the province of Utrecht, you structurally participate in corporate communications meetings. You participate in the biweekly consultations with communications colleagues on topics in the rural area and you work together with spokespersons, advisors and colleagues from the web team who manage the website, intranet and social media channels.

Who are we looking for?
A collegial and hands-on advisor with extensive experience in government communications. You have strong oral and written persuasive skills and are demonstrably capable of setting up strategies and giving good advice and implementing them. You feel at home in a field where you are surrounded by policy makers for whom communication is sometimes a new and unknown element in their work. You are a strategic driver and go-getter and can easily switch between strategic thinking, tactical action and operational action. You know how to complete and implement communication in line with the strategy created.

You have insight into political-administrative and organizational relationships and take everyone’s interests into account. You naturally work well together and easily build your network. Together with your excellent written and oral skills, this makes you an effective senior communications advisor for this challenging assignment.

• A communication course at university level.
• Experience in setting up communication strategies in highly dynamic political and administrative environments with complex content.
• At least 5 years of experience in setting up, implementing and executing communications in complex integrated projects within a government organization.
• Sensitivity: feeling for political, administrative and organizational relationships.
• Excellent written expression skills.
• Experience with storytelling.
• A hands-on mentality.
• Experience in setting up and maintaining communication within partnerships and with stakeholders.
• Affinity and/or experience with complex government tasks, such as the transition of rural areas.

What do we offer?
Working for the province of Utrecht means that you make a valuable contribution to solving social challenges. These tasks require bringing together many different disciplines and interests – especially outside, but also within the organization. As an employee you are the connecting link. We acquire knowledge, share our expertise and achieve success together. Together we get further.

We invest in the development of our employees. You will have plenty of opportunity for your own initiative and room to grow. We believe a healthy balance between work and private life is important. Everyone has the opportunity to work flexibly and according to their own abilities. At the province of Utrecht we work hybrid. We will shape what this looks like together.

The organization is developing. We are professionalizing and working in an increasingly task-oriented manner. If you enjoy taking the lead and want to continue building our organization, we guarantee you an exciting time.

In addition to challenging work and great colleagues, we offer you:

• a temporary employment contract of one year for a week with the prospect of employment for an indefinite period;
• a salary of a minimum of €4,466.67 to a maximum of €6,323.27 gross per month based on full-time employment of 40 hours per week (scale level 12); This does not include the 2024 collective labor agreement increase;
• an Individual Choice Budget of 22.37% on top of your monthly salary, which you can choose when it is paid out;
• 18 days of vacation and a generous ATV scheme with a maximum of 25.5 additional days off based on full-time employment;
• good pension accrual;
• a personal development budget of €5,000 per five years;
• the opportunity to develop yourself through the course offerings at the Utrecht Academy.

Contact information
For more information about the vacancy Senior Communications Advisor Utrecht Rural Area Program, please contact Anja Vonk, Corporate Communications Team Leader, telephone 06-40 92 23 45, [email protected].
For more information about the procedure, please contact Henny Willems, recruitment & selection advisor, 06- 38 57 32 85 or [email protected].

Apply
Are you interested? Please respond via our email no later than May 25, 2024 application page.

We believe it is important that everyone has the opportunity to work to the best of their ability. In the context of the Participation Act, we therefore also cordially invite candidates with a registration in the target group register to apply for this position.

We require a Declaration of Good Conduct (VOG) from every new employee. Integrity is reflected in the job interview.

Who are we?
Utrecht is a province to be proud of. Varied, vibrant and with a rich history. With many different lifestyles, cultures and personal preferences. Our region is a top region with an innovative knowledge economy.

Our task is to increase the attractiveness of our province and facilitate growth in such a way that the quality of our space is maintained. Together with residents, companies, organizations and other authorities, the provincial government and employees work with enthusiasm and decisiveness to create a healthy and sustainable living environment. We want everyone in the province of Utrecht to live, work and live fantastically. That is why we ensure a good balance between green and growth.

The Administrative and Management Support and Tasks domain (BDO team) advises and supports the board and management of the province of Utrecht. As a domain, we have a number of core tasks: supporting the King’s Commissioner in the performance of his government tasks; advice on administrative matters; coordination of activities in Europe; support for the board and management; (corporate) communication; and the implementation of inter-administrative supervision. We think strategically, are reliable and critical in our advice and support. We provide experienced people to manage complex tasks.

About the team
You will work within the Area-oriented Approach to Rural Areas programme. The team currently consists of 40 colleagues who are involved in policy, implementation and the area-oriented approach in rural areas. The program works on a future-proof rural area, in which healthy nature, a climate-proof landscape and economically profitable and sustainable agriculture go hand in hand. An integrated approach is assumed for the improvement of nature, water and climate.

The target groups of the external communication include: nature organizations, water boards, municipalities, the agricultural sector, individual farmers, (social) interest groups and residents of the province of Utrecht. Internally, communication focuses on colleagues within and outside the program.

You also work closely with the communication colleagues from the area-oriented approach, and with the communication colleagues from other departments (including nature, water, agriculture) and from corporate communication (including spokesperson, web editing).

Acquisition in response to this vacancy is not appreciated.