Project assistant

Do you enjoy ensuring that projects run smoothly, answering questions from schools, managing online registration systems, and keeping content up to date? Then you’ll fit perfectly into our team. Would you like to help us make an impact by teaching children more about healthy and sustainable eating habits?

The Smaaklessen, EU School Fruit & EU School Milk team is responsible for three nutrition programmes for primary schools: the EU School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (www.euschoolfruit.nl), the EU School Milk Scheme (www.euschoolzuivel.nl), and the Smaaklessen programme (www.smaaklessen.nl). Our goal is to equip all children with essential food skills, enabling them to make healthy and sustainable choices independently.

We are looking for an enthusiastic project assistant to support several project leaders in the practical implementation of the EU School Fruit, EU School Milk, and Smaaklessen programmes. 

• You will be one of the contact points for schools and will answer their questions about the programmes, both by phone and email.
• Your work will involve a wide range of practical tasks, such as maintaining websites, co-organising meetings, campaigns and activities, and providing hands-on support for research activities.
• You will enjoy posting weekly content in newsletters, on social media and websites, and assisting in drafting weekly messages.

Your team
As a project assistant, you will be part of the close-knit and dedicated Smaaklessen, EU School Fruit & EU School Milk team, which is part of Wageningen Social and Economic Research (WSER). Within WSER, you will work in the Consumer Research (CR) expertise group. This group consists of 30 enthusiastic professionals working on research projects related to consumer behaviour. We have a full project portfolio and ambitious goals, which is why we are expanding our team with a project assistant to help strengthen and grow our work.

Are you the driven and independent colleague we are looking for to support the Smaaklessen and EU School Fruit & Milk team?

You are/have:

•  a completed MBO or HBO degree, preferably in marketing & communication or administrative/secretarial fields
• excellent verbal communication skills and a service-oriented attitude • experience working with CMS systems and websites
• experience with content editing tools such as Canva and Adobe, CapCut, GIMP, InDesign and/or Photoshop (a plus)
• strong writing skills
• affinity with nutrition, food education and/or education

In our international working environment there is an increasing amount of communication in English. For this position it is about language level B1.

Due to Dutch immigration laws, candidates from outside the EU/EFTA zone, can usually not be hired for this position. More information can be found on the website of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service.

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;
• 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 year-end 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 €2.824,- and €3.567,- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research (scale 6). Additionally, For this role we offer a contract for 28 hours. More hours can be discussed. Your workdays will be at least on a wednesday and a friday.   As for your contract, we initially offer a one-year contract that can be extended - if possible within (company) organizational circumstances - on good performance. 

Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment.

Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees. 

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family. If you come with a partner, we offer a Dual Career group program organized by our Welcome Center. This program helps your partner to get familiar with the Dutch culture, labour market and assists your partner to find a job.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, our Welcome Center can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example housing, opening a bank account or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.

For more information about the position, please contact Fieke Franken or Projectleader Karen Verhoosel via fieke.franken@wur.nl, karen.verhoosel@wur.nl or via 0317 - 48 59 66. 

Questions about the procedure? Get in touch with Jeanine van 't Veer, Corporate Recruiter, via jeanine.vantveer-drost@wur.nl.

Ready to apply?
Click on the application button next to the vacancy on our website. Only applications submitted through our website will be considered.

You can apply up to and including 20 March 2026.  Internal candidates are preferred to apply before 4 March 2026.

Procedure
As part of our selection process, an assessment may be incorporated within the procedure

Welcome, safe, and valued
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) highly values diversity and inclusion because we believe that different insights lead to innovative solutions. We create a work environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, and appreciated, regardless of background, identity, or experience. Together, we are building a culture where everyone's unique contribution adds to the success of our organization.

​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 the video below to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.

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