Who are we?
Children stronger than war? Absolutely. But they can’t do it alone. Because where do you start when everything is different? That’s when we’re there. During, but also after the war. With mental help that strengthens a child’s resilience. And that only stops when children regain confidence in themselves and their environment. Our methods are scientifically proven and seamlessly connect with the world of experience of children. The result? Programs that take the war out of a child. So that they can and dare to believe in the future again.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for an expert and decisive Head of Operations who wants to make a difference within an organization with social impact. You are a strategically strong and people-oriented leader with a broad view of business operations, a keen eye for processes and a natural talent for collaboration. You have experience in managing complex organizations and know how to manage various disciplines such as Finance, HR, CRM, Customer Service and Facility Affairs in an integrated and efficient way.
You feel at home in a dynamic, hybrid work environment where continuous improvement, innovation and collaboration are central. You understand how internal processes contribute directly to the effectiveness of an organization and how strong support increases the impact on the lives of children worldwide. You move effortlessly between strategic issues and operational decisions and know how to inspire, coach and connect your team.
With your sharp analytical skills, excellent communication skills and result-oriented attitude, you know how to optimally align people, processes and systems. You have a strong
affinity with the mission of War Child and feel responsible for realizing a solid and future-proof organizational infrastructure.
Your responsibilities
As Head of Operations at War Child Netherlands, you are responsible for the strategic and operational management of the entire Operations department. You play a key role in ensuring an effective and efficient internal organization that contributes to War Child’s mission and growth ambitions. You manage the departments Finance, HR Business Management, CRM & Customer Service, Facility Affairs and Quality & Compliance. You work closely with the Shared Operations Team of the War Child Alliance for domains such as ICT, HR, Purchasing, Logistics and Legal Affairs.
Your main duties and responsibilities are:
- Strategy & Policy
- Developing and implementing a future-oriented Operations strategy and annual plans for the various domains within War Child Netherlands.
- Translating organizational goals into concrete operational policies and frameworks.
- Contribute to the overarching strategy formulation of War Child as a member of the Management Team.
- Quality, Risk & Compliance
- Responsible for compliance with relevant laws and regulations, donor guidelines (such as ECHO certification) and maintaining the CBF quality mark.
- Monitoring the qualitative design of processes and internal control mechanisms within the organization.
- Finance & Planning
- Leading the Planning and Control cycle and ensuring correct execution of financial administration, reporting and audits.
- Monitoring income and expenditure, in close cooperation with the War Child Alliance.
- Preparing and substantiating financial analyses and explanations on behalf of the Operations department.
- Team Development & Leadership
- Lead, coach and inspire the Operations team; ensure a safe, inclusive and purposeful working environment.
- Monitoring healthy staffing levels and compliance with HR policies and procedures.
- Promote collaboration within and outside the team, and encourage a strong sense of purpose and shared responsibility.
- Innovation & Optimization
- Initiating improvement processes, process optimization and digitalization across departments.
- Stimulating data-driven decision-making and exploring innovative technologies (such as AI) to increase efficiency and impact.
- Creating internal conditions that maximally support fundraising, engagement and brand goals.
- Culture & Connection
- Ensuring an internal organization that contributes to a mission-driven and inspiring working environment.
- Actively contribute to organization-wide collaboration and cultural development.
- Aligning operational decisions with War Child’s strategic and cultural priorities.
Your profile
- You are a leader with courage, vision and an entrepreneurial spirit.
- You think solution-oriented and cooperation-oriented. You are able to realize plans and objectives in a structured way.
- You are sharp on numbers and understand how these can enable the fundraising organization to excel.
- You empower your team and enable them to make the WCNL organization function optimally. You have excellent social, communication and coaching leadership skills.
- You have knowledge of general management, in particular financial management, with an affinity for HR, Risk and Data & Digital. You have insight into and understanding of the full range of activities and services within an organization.
- Experience in designing, implementing and adhering to good governance principles.
- Knowledge of relevant software applications and automation systems.
What we offer
- Salary ranges from €5131 to €6380 gross per month, based on 40 hours per week (the exact amount is determined by the years of your relevant work experience)
- 8% holiday allowance based on the annual salary
- An employment contract for 40 hours
- 29 days of vacation per year on a full-time basis (of which 3 predetermined days off)
- A pension scheme fully paid for by War Child
- Net contribution to home working and travel expenses according to our hybrid work policy
- Monthly mobile phone allowance of €25 net per month
- Good informal atmosphere in a growing, innovative organization that is passionate about the mental well-being of children growing up with war
Excited? You can apply via the button at the bottom of this page. The deadline for applications is July 15th.
Our organization
War Child is a dynamic organization with an informal atmosphere and plenty of room for creativity and personal initiative. The image that War Child projects externally is a blueprint of the work at the head office: it is dynamic, innovative, honest and focused on achieving results at low costs. War Child spends as much of its budget as possible on helping children in war zones and therefore does everything it can to keep costs as low as possible. Our employment conditions are at the level of the Dutch NGO sector. The office is located in the Amsterdam district of Watergraafsmeer. We work in a hybrid way, with a combination of home, office and of course sometimes on the road to clients in this role.
Safety
War Child operates on the basis of humanitarian values ​​and standards. We ask the same of potential new colleagues. For War Child, the safety of the children and young people we support is paramount. We combat any form of abuse. Because we want children and young people to run no risk, this is discussed extensively when recruiting new colleagues. As part of applications, we therefore ask for references based on the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and a recent Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG).
Equal opportunities
War Child dreams that all children can live in peace, whoever they are and wherever they grow up. That is why War Child is proud to offer equal opportunities to everyone who wants to work with us. We promote diversity and want everyone to feel at home with us. War Child selects potential new colleagues regardless of their gender, race, nationality, disability, age and/or sexual preference.
Applications
We spend as much of our income as possible on supporting children and young people. That is why we work efficiently. This means that we only consider applications that we receive via our websites. If we find a suitable person before the closing date, we will remove the vacancy from our websites. We will no longer be able to process applications that we receive later.