Interim Project Manager Workforce Planning ZonMw

Project overview

What does working at ZonMw mean?

Working with knowledge for everyone's good health and thereby contributing to innovation in healthcare, health, and well-being. That means working at ZonMw, and that's what we, with over 500 colleagues, are committed to daily. We program and finance research, stimulate the use of developed knowledge, and identify where more knowledge is needed. We support the entire knowledge chain; from fundamental research to practice-oriented and action research to implementation projects. Our main clients are the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

The demand for personnel within ZonMw has been developing in recent years and remains dynamic, partly due to changes in the external environment and labor market. This requires a more integrated, organization-wide approach to managing the workforce and capacity deployment. ZonMw is financed based on an integral uniform tariff, while the scope and composition of the portfolio of assignments can vary. This demands coherent and future-oriented management of the balance between required and available capacity.

Furthermore, due to growth and (further) development of the assignment portfolio and changing working conditions, changing needs have arisen in the function, tasks, and responsibilities of the workforce. The (further) development of workforce planning or capacity management contributes to strengthening the organization's agility, flexibility, and continuity, ensuring the quality of service delivery, and maintaining an attractive working environment.

Against this background, ZonMw is looking for a Project Manager for Workforce Planning who will set up workforce management and embed it within the organization in close collaboration with HR, Business Control, and management.

As Project Manager for Workforce Planning, you are responsible for establishing organization-wide alignment between available capacity and future needs, at both strategic and tactical levels. You will focus on developing and realizing a coherent approach that responds to changing circumstances, including scenarios of growth and shrinkage. The assignment includes the (further) development and implementation of an integrated working method to efficiently and effectively align the deployment of people, resources, and priorities.

Among other things, you will also be responsible for setting up and embedding adequate management information and associated control mechanisms, so that decision-making can take place timely, substantiated, and transparently. You will create clarity in goals, progress, and results, and facilitate active management based on relevant data and insights.

Within this assignment, there is a dynamic context where timely decision-making and execution are essential. Measures can have consequences for the organization and its employees, making carefulness, transparency, and involvement important prerequisites. At the same time, ensuring the continuity and quality of service delivery remains central.

We are looking for an experienced project manager with a strong background in change and organizational issues and a vision for workforce management based on experience and the latest insights in this field. You are capable of bringing complex interests together, communicating clearly, and steering towards the realization of supported and effective solutions with a pragmatic and results-oriented approach.

Assignment

The project manager is responsible for strengthening organization-wide management of capacity and personnel deployment, at both strategic and tactical levels. The assignment primarily focuses on designing, implementing, and embedding effective control mechanisms, enabling the organization to better respond to changing circumstances, including scenarios of growth and shrinkage.

As a project manager, you will coordinate the development and realization of an integrated approach to capacity management. You will create coherence between processes, roles, management information, and decision-making, and ensure that these are actually applied in practice. You will create insight into current and future capacity needs and translate this into clear frameworks and action perspectives for management and the organization. You will connect different disciplines and ensure transparent and well-substantiated decision-making.

In doing so, you will build upon the building blocks already developed in this area. For example, there is already a tactical capacity meeting in the program department, and various agreements/policies have been made regarding the qualitative and quantitative deployability of employees in various departments (both billable and non-billable work). The demand for capacity based on external assignments (programs) and internal assignments (projects) is also largely understood. Tooling has been available for this at various times, and reports have been generated.

The coherence between these and broader and sustainable embedding in the organization is still lacking. Given the transformative circumstances (external and internal), this is necessary.

The assignment includes:

We are looking for an experienced project manager with a solid background in change management and organizational development, with a strong vision on workforce management based on experience and recent developments in this field. You have demonstrable experience in setting up control models and capacity issues in complex organizations. You are capable of:

The project manager will act as a coordinator of this change process, combining change management and organizational expertise with a hands-on approach to achieve concrete, supported results within the given timeframe. The project manager will advise the MT ZonMw and the Board on choices to be made and the management of this issue. As a project manager, you will work under the direction of the Head of Operations and in close collaboration with all disciplines within ZonMw.

Requirements/Knock-out Criteria

Clearly indicate in the CV to what extent you/the candidate you offer meet the criteria and (competencies). If information is not explicitly included in the CV or explanation, it will not be considered in the assessment.

Competencies

Project management skills; Collaboration and connection; Organizational awareness; Results orientation; Change orientation.

• Freelancers are allowed
• Ensure all requirements and wishes are clearly stated in the CV
• Developing a coherent approach to capacity management, partly based on the existing situation, including clear processes, roles, responsibilities, and prioritization frameworks.
• Advising on improving management information and developing analyses and scenarios that provide insight into the demand, supply, and utilization of capacity.
• Implementing the working method and ensuring adoption in the organization, with attention to sustainable embedding and continuous improvement.
• Connecting stakeholders and advising management and the board, with transparent communication about choices, progress, and results.
• Translating complex issues into concrete and workable solutions
• Connecting different interests and disciplines
• Communicating clearly and transparently
• Steering pragmatically and results-oriented towards realization
• Achieving sustainable improvements in management and decision-making
• Demonstrable completed education at a minimum HBO-bachelor level;
• Minimum 5 years of demonstrable work experience in the last 8 years as a project manager within a government organization.
• Minimum 3 years of demonstrable work experience in the last 8 years with capacity management, the relationship between financial and HR processes, and change management and client-contractor relationships. Specify in the CV where this experience was gained;
• Demonstrable work experience with developing and implementing policy frameworks, work processes, information provision, and relevant ICT systems. Provide a clear example of this in the CV;
• Demonstrable work experience with projects in collaboration with various stakeholders at different levels and backgrounds. Provide a clear example of this in the CV;
• Minimum 5 years of demonstrable work experience in the last 10 years as a project manager within a government organization
• Minimum 3 years of demonstrable work experience in the last 5 years with issues related to capacity management
• Minimum 5 years of demonstrable work experience in the last 10 years with the development and implementation of (HR) work processes, policy frameworks, and ICT systems related to workforce planning or capacity management. Provide a clear example of this in the CV
• Minimum 3 years of demonstrable work experience in the last 5 years with stakeholder management
• Available no later than November 15, 2026

Project details

• Start: 2026-11-01T23:00:00
• Location: Den Haag Zuid-Holland, NL
• Languages: Dutch