Senior PMO Advisor

Are you building structure that takes complex changes further? As a Senior PMO at WUR, you combine strategic advice with process improvement. You provide insight into progress, finances and risks and help colleagues to make better decisions together and to successfully realize programs.

In the Digitalisation, Information & Archiving Solutions (DIAS) department, you combine two roles. You are the strategic right hand of project and program managers and keep an eye on progress, finances and risks. At the same time, you build professional PMO processes and standards that help to manage projects and programs better and better.

You bring structure, make information reliable and accessible and help colleagues to apply agreements in a consistent way. This makes it easier to make adjustments in time, make good decisions and realize changes in coherence.

Your role: building, improving and connecting

You will develop and implement the working methods, formats and reports required for professional project, programme and portfolio management. Together with the programme manager, you translate methodologies and agreements into daily practice.

In doing so, you look beyond processes alone. You will investigate how information and support can contribute to better management and decision-making. You take colleagues along in new ways of working, create support and ensure that improvements continue to work in the long term.

What will you do?

• Professionalize PMO processes: you design, improve and implement unambiguous processes, templates and reports that meet the needs of the organization.
• Providing insight into progress and risks: you set up periodic reports and ensure that information about planning, finances, capacity, dependencies, risks and results is available in a timely manner.
• Preparing decision-making: you clearly identify points of attention and decision points, prepare consultations and monitor the follow-up of decisions and actions.
• Keeping programs manageable: you support program managers with planning, budgets, risk registers and progress reports of complex programs.
• Landing new ways of working: you help program managers, clients and other stakeholders in the application of processes and organize knowledge sharing to promote a consistent way of working.
• Continuous improvement: you identify where processes and information provision can be smarter and translate those opportunities into practical improvements.

Where will you be working?

You will become part of DIAS (Digitalisation, Information & Archiving Solutions), the department that contributes to the digital development and information provision of WUR.

In this role, you will work together with programme managers, colleagues and stakeholders from different parts of the university. You operate at the intersection of process design, information provision, digitization and organizational development.

You will be given the space to help build a professional way of working that helps WUR to realise complex change tasks in a coherent manner. Your work makes visible where programs stand, what requires attention and what choices are needed to move forward.

You combine analytical skills and accuracy with a sense of people and organization. You can quickly see where a project stands, recognize risks and know what information is needed to move forward. At the same time, you understand that sustainable change requires cooperation, patience and support.

In addition, you bring:

• A college or university degree, preferably in a business, economic, public administration or organizational science.
• At least five years of relevant experience as a PMO, Project Officer or Project Controller, of which several years in a pioneering role in setting up, structuring or professionalizing project and portfolio processes.
• Experience in a complex matrix organization or political-administrative environment, for example within government, healthcare or education. You know how to create support, even without formal power.
• A certification in or in-depth knowledge of PRINCE2, Programmatic Creation, Agile/Scrum or IPMA, complemented by strong skills in Excel and project or BI tools.
• Experience with digitization or IT-related change processes.
• An excellent command of Dutch and English, both orally and in writing.

You are pragmatic and set up processes that help the organization move forward, without adding unnecessary bureaucracy. You work carefully, communicate clearly and know how to bring different interests together.

Do you want to contribute to the professionalization of portfolio and program management within WUR and do you enjoy building processes, applying structure and actually realizing improvements? Then we would like to meet you.

When it comes to terms of employment,  Wageningen University & Research is the right place for you. Highlights from our collective labor agreement are: 

• working hours that can be determined in consultation, so that an optimal work-life balance is possible;
• sabbatical leave, study leave and partly paid parental leave;
• There is a lot of attention for vitality and you can use the sports facilities available on campus at an attractive rate;
• a structural end-of-year bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme through ABP.  

Of course, these excellent fringe benefits also include an appropriate salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a salary of a minimum of € 3.554,- to a maximum of € 6.471,- for a full working week of 36 hours according to the Collective Labor Agreement Wageningen Research (scale 10/11). An appointment of 32 hours is negotiable for this role. When it comes to your contract, we initially offer a one-year contract with the intention of converting it to an indefinite contract. 

We encourage development and mobility within our organization. In our recruitment and selection policy,  you can read which conditions apply specifically to you as a (former) employee. If you have any questions about this, we are happy to help you.

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

For more information about the position, please contact Diana Hoogeveen, Department Manager Development, via diana.hoogeveen@wur.nl

Questions about the procedure? Please contact Edvard Jongschaap, Sr Corporate Recruiter, via edvard.jongschaap@wur.nl or by phone: 0317 – 489 178.

Apply? 
Click on the application button for the vacancy on our website. Only applications via our website will be processed.

You can respond up to and including 30 November 2026. Preferably, internal candidates  apply before 8 November 2026.

Applications are reviewed regularly. It is therefore possible that the vacancy has been filled earlier than the stated closing date.

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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