Manager Field Service and Operations Public Space

Project overview

Background

As of January 1, 2025, the field service will carry out a large part of the daily maintenance of the public space itself. As of January 1, 2026, weed management on paved surfaces will be added to this. In a short time, the team has grown from approximately 12 to 35 FTE and significant investments have been made in equipment, machinery, tools, storage, and housing.

In addition, the field service performs a wide range of tasks, including daily maintenance, public space notifications, on-call services, maintenance of technical installations in the sewer system, winter services, support for the recycling center, and waste-related activities.

In the past period, the focus has mainly been on building the organization, onboarding employees, and getting the new activities operational. This has been achieved in a relatively short time and can be considered a major achievement. At the same time, it has become clear which follow-up steps are necessary to ensure the organization's long-term success. The challenge is no longer primarily about growth, but about further professionalizing the operation.

To guarantee quality, continuity, and results in the longer term, more attention is needed for structure, work processes, collaboration, management, planning, reporting, ownership, and control. Now is the time to take that step before ambiguities, inefficiencies, or dependencies begin to affect the organization's results.

Assignment

The assignment focuses on the field service, the operational office, and the recycling center. The interim professional will take on the daily management of these components on behalf of the manager and help the organization reach the next phase of professionalization.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Interfaces

Although the assignment does not focus on the IBOR team, the interfaces are explicitly part of the assignment. The interim professional will contribute to improving collaboration, alignment, and work distribution between the field service coordinator, the operational office and recycling center coordinator, and the (3) employees of the operational office, the IBOR coordinator, the (2) IBOR area managers, and the manager. To help achieve these objectives, the interim professional will personally conduct at least two team coaching processes.

One will focus on regulatory capacity, namely: coordinators, area managers, manager. The other will focus on the operational office, namely: coordinator, employees, manager.

Required Expertise

The assignment requires a strong and experienced interim manager who is visibly present in operations and has experience in managing and developing operational organizations in a management and maintenance environment. The candidate brings structure, sets clear frameworks, addresses people where necessary, and knows how to not only advise on improvements but, above all, to actually implement and secure them.

In addition, the candidate possesses strong demonstrable team coaching skills. These will be used primarily towards the field service coordinator, the operational office coordinator and employees, the area managers, the IBOR coordinator, and the team manager. The goal is to guide them in strengthening role clarity, ownership, collaboration, communication, mutual alignment, creating connection, and reinforcing team spirit. The professional helps the team find peace, direction, and connection. We are looking for someone who has an eye for people and for the team as a whole.

Who looks at where the team comes from, what is currently happening, and what is needed to build further with confidence.

The assignment explicitly does not focus on coaching the employees as a group, with the exception of the operational office team. The operational employees have shown in the past period that they are capable of performing their tasks and enabling the organization's growth. The need is primarily for more structure, clear direction, better support, and clear work processes.

The interim professional is expected to work with the involved coordinators to create more overview and control over daily operations. This includes optimizing routes and work methods, utilizing practical experience and ideas from the field service, documenting work agreements, organizing better equipment and resource management, and strengthening support from the operational office.

Result

At the end of the assignment, the field service, the operational office, and the recycling center will be better organized, more effective and efficient, and less dependent on ad-hoc management. Roles, responsibilities, and work processes will be clearly documented. Support for operations will be strengthened, there will be more grip on planning, resources, and equipment, and employees will better understand what is expected of them and which tasks have priority.

In addition, collaboration between and within the different teams will be significantly improved, and a suitable form of management will be implemented that aligns with the size and complexity of the organization.

5 months - 32-36 hours per week - 0.89-1 FTE

Profile of the suited interim professional:

• Creating more overview, structure, and control in daily operations;
• Clarifying and documenting roles, responsibilities, work processes, work agreements, and consultation structures within the management and maintenance chain;
• Strengthening planning, prioritization, monitoring, and reporting;
• Further professionalizing the operational office as a supporting hub for operations;
• Improving the management of equipment, tools, supplies, logistics, and other resources;
• Strengthening collaboration between field service, operational office, recycling center, and interfaces with IBOR (Internal Management of Public Space);
• Further developing coordination functions so they are better positioned and less dependent on the direct involvement of the manager;
• Advising on and implementing a suitable and sustainable management structure for field service, operational office, and recycling center.
• Minimum HBO work and thinking level;
• Demonstrable experience as an interim manager with managing and developing operational organizations within a management and maintenance environment;
• Thorough knowledge of and experience with team coaching;
• Experience with guiding culture and team development and change processes;
• Experience within a municipal context, such as field service.

Project details

• Start: flexible
• Duration: 5 months
• Location: Leusden, Utrecht, Flevoland, NL
• Languages: Dutch