Contract Manager

Do you see it as a challenge to make a real impact on water safety and quality of life through the right agreements and collaborations? And would you like to use your knowledge and organizational skills to create a sustainable and innovative working environment? Then we would like to meet you.

Location

Groningen

Number of hours

32-36 hours per week

Salary

Scale 11, Minimum 4628, Maximum 6373

Interested?

You can respond until Thursday, February 26, 2026.

Apply now

Head office of water authority with the text "vacancy"

Are you going to do this?

It's early in the morning. You're cycling along the canals in Groningen, the air is crisp, and as you pass the locks, you see how calmly the water flows. That is precisely where your work begins, even though you are not yet sitting at your desk. Because behind every safe dyke, every clean watercourse every well-maintained pumping station a world of agreements, partnerships, and smart choices. And you know that if that world is in order, everyone and everything in our area can rely on the water.

As a contract manager at Waterschap Noorderzijlvest, you are the one who ensures that what we promise—safety, quality, and continuity—can actually be delivered. Not by getting your hands dirty yourself, but by ensuring that the right people, resources, and agreements work together at the right time. You build relationships, spot risks before they become apparent, and help your colleagues do their work better and smarter every day. This is where your work has meaning. This is where you make an impact on an environment that affects everyone.

What are you going to do?

As a contract manager, you are the linchpin who ensures that everything related to our most important contracts and suppliers runs smoothly and professionally. You work closely with colleagues from Management & Maintenance and regularly liaise with suppliers and colleagues from other water authorities. In addition, you will contribute to the further development and implementation of policy for professional contract and supplier management within our water authority. You will inform and advise stakeholders on the effectiveness and efficiency of current contracts.

Contract management:

  • You support colleagues in concluding new contracts and in renewing or terminating existing agreements.
  • You contribute ideas about clear performance agreements and ensure that they are correctly recorded.
  • You take into account applicable laws and regulations and the program of requirements.
  • You identify risks and help to manage them.
  • With your practical legal knowledge, Health that contracts are both legally and practically sound.

Supplier management:

  • You maintain and strengthen relationships with our suppliers and know what is going on.
  • You monitor performance, provide feedback where necessary, and make adjustments.
  • You think ahead: how can suppliers contribute to innovation and future developments?
  • You advise team managers and clients and contribute to improving purchasing and contract processes.

This is what we ask of you

You are collaborative and flexible: you switch easily between colleagues and suppliers and adapt quickly to new situations. You work in an organized and accurate manner, allowing you to maintain an overview and monitor agreements in detail. You identify bottlenecks and risks in a timely manner, analyze them, and translate them into clear solutions. You communicate clearly and energetically, both verbally and in writing. In addition, you work independently and take responsibility where necessary. You also have:

  • At least a completed higher professional education (HBO+) degree
  • Affinity with the field of technology and/or business operations (an advantage);
  • Completed relevant professional training, such as (Nevi1 and Nevi2 or CATS CM), and has broader knowledge of procurement and/or contract management;
  • Practical legal contract knowledge and knowledge of relevant laws and regulations (competition, market & government, etc.)
  • Knowledge of the standards and services used in this field

This is what we offer you

  • A job in a socially relevant field
  • A one-year contract of employment, which will be converted to a permanent contract if performance is satisfactory.
  • A salary of up to €6,373 gross per month (scale 11) for a 36-hour working week.
  • On top of your gross salary, you will receive a 21% Individual Choice Budget (IKB), which you can have paid out or use in another way, for example to purchase extra leave.
  • A pension plan with the ABP pension fund.
  • Achieve a healthy work-life balance with our remote work options.
  • A personal budget of €6,000 (€12,000 for those under 35) for training courses and reimbursement of commuting expenses or a work-from-home allowance.
  • Your place of work is Groningen. Our office is easily accessible by bicycle, public transport, or your own car.

Where will you be working?

With approximately 400 employees, we are a professional, decisive, and innovative water authority. Every day, we contribute to waterproofing the future. After all, we work to provide clean, healthy, and treated and ensure sufficient water in every season. As a Contract Manager, you will work within the Procurement team of the Finance & Procurement department. You will have a functional relationship with the procurement advisors, who will provide guidance on the frameworks for procurement and contract management.

Are you interested?

Are you enthusiastic and do you have the required qualities? Then upload your motivation letter and resume by 12:00 noon on February 26, 2026. Interviews will take place on March 10, 2026.

  • Would you like to know more? Please contact Harma van Steenwijk-Moek, purchasing coordinator/senior purchasing advisor (phone number +31 (0)6 20 13 12 34).
  • If you come to work for us, you must submit a Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG).

Your future department and organisation

About the Noorderzijlvest Water Authority

The Noorderzijlvest Water Authority is located in a unique area where subsidence by natural gas extraction and earthquakes significantly affects water management. The consequences of these developments, as well as climate change, are affecting the (waste) water system. Rising sea levels, more frequent and longer periods of heavy rainfall, interspersed with prolonged droughts, as well as challenges in the areas of sustainability and new (problematic) substances: these are problems that require robust solutions. We want our (waste)water system to function as naturally as possible and to be climate-proof, resilient, and healthy in the long term. This requires us to take appropriate and affordable measures in a society that wants to discuss and influence these issues.

To water authority manage the challenges facing our water authority , we are implementing organisation measures to improve our ability to work in a forward-looking and integrated manner. We believe this will provide a solid foundation for strategic thinking, enabling us to translate our plans into our daily work and carry out our tasks as efficiently as possible. This is becoming increasingly important in a changing society that demands a lot from us.

Questions about the procedure for this vacancy?

Please contact Eilana Maring, Recruitment and Selection Advisor, at 050 304 89 11 or werven@noorderzijlvest.nl.

Are you enthusiastic? Apply now!

Fill out the application form and we will contact you as soon as possible. Apply now

Dynamic water world

Are you a thinker or a doer? We would love to meet you. At the water authority , no two days water authority the same!

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