Are you strong in developing and coaching professionals? Can you find a good balance between organizational and team needs? Are you someone who can connect stakeholders? Do you have a passion for healthy and safe food? We are looking for a new team leader for the Pesticides 2 team. Will you be our new colleague?

Your Job
As the team leader of Pesticides 2 within WFSR, you focus on the optimal functioning of the employees in your team and the development of the team as a whole. You ensure they can perform their work well in a pleasant and socially and physically safe work environment. As a team leader, you are fully responsible for your team of approximately 25 professionals.

Your tasks and responsibilities as a team leader are:

• the scientific and technical quality of the products your team delivers. To this end, you organize the work processes in such a way that the team achieves optimal results, with everyone taking their own responsibility;
• the personal development of your team members and their well-being. Besides individual growth, you also ensure that your team continues to develop professionally as a whole;
• project management: You guide project leaders in the execution of project management, staff planning, management of laboratories and analytical facilities, and the preparation of project reports. You also make connections with expertise available more broadly within WUR;
• managing your team's finances and being responsible for both financial and operational results;
• acquiring new projects: You focus on (inter)national research conducted within your team and look for new opportunities for your team.

Additionally, together with your fellow team leaders, you will be part of the management team of the business unit. You contribute to translating the WFSR vision and strategy into an annual activity plan and strategic personnel planning for your team. You will represent the business unit in one or more internal working groups.

You are a true people manager: you have an eye for the individual needs and motivations of your employees, as well as for the team and organizational needs. You know how to create a socially and physically safe environment with open communication. You have successfully completed an education at WO level, related to the field of work of the team (life sciences).

You also possess:

• experience in leading people with various educational levels in a scientific, multidisciplinary research environment;
• a good command of the English and Dutch languages or a willingness to learn Dutch;
• experience with project management is a plus.

For a team leader at WFSR, the following competencies are important: coaching, connecting leadership, result-oriented management, persuasiveness, organizational sensitivity, planning & organizing.

Where you will work
Wageningen Food Safety Research conducts research into safe and reliable food. We are specialists in (forensic) measuring large quantities of samples and developing analytical methods to detect unwanted substances in food. In the team, we research pesticides in the food chain, where these substances occur in the environment, how they spread and accumulate in humans and animals. We investigate new methods to detect pesticides, including permitted substances and their metabolites as well as substances that are not or no longer permitted in the European Union.

The focus is on the analysis of vegetation and crop protection products, animal products such as meat, milk, and eggs, and the analysis of human materials such as urine, stool, and blood. To work safely with these biological materials, we have a BSL-II laboratory.

The Pesticides 2 Team, together with 5 other WFSR teams, forms the Contaminants & Toxicology business unit, within which, in addition to pesticide research and routine food and feed analyses, analytical-chemical research and the development of new chemical analytical methods also take place.

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation hours by working more;
• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8,3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. We offer, depending on your experience, a competitive gross salary of between € 4862,-. and € 7306,-. for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research (scale 13). Additionally, a contract for 32 hours can be discussed.

You will initially receive a two-year contract, which will be extended to an open-ended contract upon in mutual enthusiasm.

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a multi-faceted position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland and with your work you have a clear and positive impact on society. At WUR we work on the most pressing challenges of our time, like climate change and feeding the world in a sustainable way.

Wageningen University & Research

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves and do not appreciate unasked for services from recruitment agencies. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.