Appointment of Representative, The Netherlands Appointment Details – May 2024 Van Leer Foundation Inclusive societies begin with a good start for all children. Founded in 1949, the Van Leer Foundation is an independent Dutch organisation working globally to foster inclusive societies where all children and communities can flourish. We bring together people with different perspectives and support them to achieve large-scale impact. Our support involves a unique combination of funding, networks, executive education, technical assistance and knowledge.
The Foundation’s work covers our philanthropic work on early childhood, annual commitments to the Van Leer Institutions and responsibly manging our endowment.
Why focus on the early years?
The early years of life – from pregnancy to five years old – is a unique window of opportunity to transform lives. Babies’ and toddlers’ brains develop rapidly, and small changes at this young age can have positive lifelong effects. The Early Years also contribute towards more inclusive societies through building:
� Trust � Connection Our earliest experiences shape the parts of Focusing on the needs of young children brings our brain we use when we trust and connect leadership together from across the social and with other people. political spectrum.
� Fairness Investing in early childhood development reduces gaps in health, education, and income throughout the lifespan. The crucial role of parents and caregivers It is through parents and other caregivers that children are introduced to the world, and these relationships shape every child’s earliest experiences and development. Studies show that warm, stimulating, and responsive caregiving provides the foundation for children’s success in school and their future happiness and health as adults. Through the acts of talking, singing, and playing, caregivers contribute to the development of a healthy brain wired to learn and interact with others.
However, parents and caregivers also need support. We emphasise the importance of caregiver wellbeing, as it plays a crucial role in ensuring a good start for all children. In addition, governments, businesses, civil society, and philanthropic organisations all have a role to play in supporting families. Through working with leaders from different parts of society, we aim to scale policies and services that create support inclusive systems.
Investing in a good start for all children
For a child to thrive, they need good nutrition and healthcare, protection from harm, opportunities to play, and loving exchanges with adults. This is the foundation of a good start in life, and it has been the mission of the Van Leer Foundation for nearly 70 years.
Early childhood initiatives are a priority for us because hundreds of millions of young children across the world do not have access to a good start in life, which prevents them from reaching their full potential. It’s also an increasing priority for governments and other stakeholders worldwide as they recognise the exponential return on investments in the early years.
Traditionally, early childhood interventions can take many forms, from nutrition, health, water, and sanitation to education and social protection. We have been working to include a focus on the early years in other sectors that affect millions of young children’s early experiences, such as urban planning and humanitarian assistance. Further information on the importance of the early years can be found in our Early Years Starter Kit or in this persuasive TED Talk by 7-year old Molly Wright. Current strategy The Foundation has recently entered into its new strategy 2024 – 28. This strategy has three areas of focus, in which we provide funding and support for a diverse range of partners to implement promising solutions at scale.
Cities Building upon the work we have done in our previous strategy; we continue working with city-focused partners on Urban95. Launched in 2016, Urban95 is a global initiative created by the Van Leer Foundation that works with leaders, planners, designers, advocates and communities to support the healthy development of young children and the wellbeing of caregivers in cities.
Going forward, we will adjust our programming to increase scale, quality, and inclusion, providing policies and programmes with a stronger focus on neighbourhoods, peer learning and knowledge exchange. We have also adjusted our strategy to respond to growing interest around the word by offering the Urban95 Academy, an executive leadership course for city officials with the London School of Economics.
State and National Partnerships
Working with existing and new partners at the state and national levels reinforces our work with cities. Our partnerships at state and national levels enable us to have an impact through:
� Policymaking Some areas of early childhood development require advocacy or policy at higher levels of government. � Reaching more cities We can reach many cities without needing to engage on a city-by-city basis. � Reaching rural communities We can reach children and families in more remote rural areas, which, despite trends in urbanisation, are still 40% of the world population.
New perspectives We bring people who have different points of view and expertise into the field of early childhood. Engaging with diverse sectors and perspectives enables us to enrich our policy and programme options and nurture new leadership for the early years. We identify these new perspectives through three activities:
� Early Childhood Matters
Through the foundation’s signature journal, we explore topics. We are currently focusing the journal on parent and caregiver wellbeing, an area in our programming that we want to strengthen. � The Good Start Challenge We plan to run a global challenge with partners to discover innovations in caregiver wellbeing that have the potential to scale. � The Van Leer Fellowship We will launch a fellowship in 2025 to attract people from relevant other fields to shape the future of human development. This 16-month fellowship will be open to people of all ages who have demonstrated accomplishments in other sectors and want to explore how they can serve young children and families at scale. Global impact and learning Countries we work in We have offices in Brazil, India, Israel, Jordan, and the Netherlands, Additionally, we have opened a new portfolio with a geographic focus in Africa. In these countries, our on-the-ground teams work closely government, business, philanthropy, civil society, NGOs, communities, and others to refine and scale the most promising early-years innovations. Learning partnerships Through learning partnerships, we provide technical and financial support to partners outside our portfolio countries. Through learning partnerships, we aim to expand our impact and our learning. The Netherlands Portfolio The Van Leer Foundation has been active in the Netherlands since 1949. Our work focuses on supporting families to improve their children’s life chances and close the gap in development, health and education outcomes, where around 15% of families face serious challenges in being able to give their children a strong start in life.
The portfolio prioritises cross-sector collaboration to improve services, neighbourhoods,
communities, and policymaking. We work with our partners to increase (social) support for disadvantaged families, access and use of green public spaces, as well as family-friendly urban neighbourhoods. To institutionalise support to parents and caregivers of young children, we focus on and monitor the effects of policy changes, such as access to childcare and extending paid parental leave.
We prioritise support to parents and other caregivers living in disadvantaged settings by
strengthening the social networks and neighbourhoods, professionals and services that support them during the crucial first 1,000 days of their children’s lives. We also work closely with leaders to embed parent and caregiver wellbeing in all levels of government, with a focus on increasing access and scaling up policies and practices that support disadvantaged families in the early years.
The Netherlands portfolio strategy is currently being revised. This position will play a key role in designing and implementing the portfolio’s strategic partnerships in line with the Foundation’s new strategy.
Van Leer Foundation Governance
We are governed by an 8-member Board of Trustees who are leaders from diverse sectors, including non-profit organisations, business, and academia. Our team is made up of 40+ professionals from over 20 countries.
Our team has a wide array of expertise, including in early childhood development, urban planning, effective philanthropy, public policy, executive education, monitoring and evaluation, advocacy and strategic communications, behavioural science, impact investing, and financial management. Finance Our philanthropic activities were originally funded by the dividends of Royal Packaging Industries Van Leer. In 1996, its board decided on an IPO for the company, the ultimate process of which formed an endowment that funds our philanthropic activities today.
Our endowment value is approximately
840 million Euros. Each year, we make available 3.6% of the average value of the endowment over the last three years for charitable spending. In 2024, this translated into an annual budget of 28.7 million Euros.
840 million EUR
of endowment
3.6% available for charitable spending
28.7 million EUR
annual budget Job description Based in: The Hague, The Netherlands Salary Range: Level 17 Korn Ferry EUR 80.000 - EUR 100.000 (including 13th month and vacation allowance).
The Van Leer Foundation is currently looking for a passionate and strategic individual with a deep knowledge of the Dutch landscape to step into the role of Representative the Netherlands. Reporting to the Chief Programme Director, the Representative the Netherlands will play a key role in the operationalisation of the Foundation’s new strategy in the Netherlands.
The successful candidate will lead the Dutch portfolio, focusing on existing and new partnerships and grant-making efforts in alignment with the Foundation’s goals. They will oversee the monitoring and evaluation processes to assess the impact and efficiency of funded initiatives and foster strategic learning and continuous improvement and innovation.
Key responsibilities of the position:
Partnerships and grantmaking
1. Serve as the Foundation’s primary point of contact for partners in the Netherlands.
2. Build, strengthen, and maintain partnerships to: (i) advocate for and implement early childhood programmes that leverage the Dutch ecosystems; and (ii) grow and strengthen the overall field of early childhood in the country.
3. Manage a portfolio of a diverse range of existing grants, projects, and partners.
4. Be responsible for an early-stage incubator on caregiver wellbeing, with a focus on
embedding the knowledge gained from the innovative process and learning across the foundation and in other portfolios.
5. Explore transformative funding options that can embed the value that the Foundation brings to the early childhood landscape in the Netherlands.
6. Intentionally broker new partnerships in the Netherlands context that can help to advance progress on structural early childhood challenges (e.g., with community organisations, the private sector, philanthropies).
7. Lead coordination of technical assistance to partners, including through executive
education courses, study tours, and capacity building support offered by the Foundation and its partners.
8. Support the Foundation to align internal systems with external partnership objectives and progress. Monitoring, evaluation and strategic learning
1. Foster a culture of strategic learning in the team and partnerships.
2. Collaborate with a MEL Partner and other partners to improve measurement and evaluation across activities to assess progress and impact.
3. Lead periodical internal reporting activities on Netherlands Portfolio progress and
support Board report cycles with input from strategy and learning processes.
4. Contribute to the knowledge base of the Foundation by regularly sharing insights and knowledge coming out of the portfolio work with all Foundation teams.
5. Lead on the production and dissemination of knowledge and policy materials to
ensure the enactment of strategic learning.
6. Regularly convene a range of partners around strategic early childhood learning
questions or hypotheses (in collaboration with a MEL partner).
Other Responsibilities
1. Represent the Foundation through speaking and writing in public.
2. Contribute to the Foundation and its organisational priorities on a periodic basis, in
ways that may go beyond the specific responsibilities of the portfolio, including collaborating on some strategic projects with the Chief Programme Officer.
3. Manage a small team and consultants, and work closely with the Programme Support and Learning team based in The Hague.
Professional contacts
Inside the Foundation: Programme Team and all Foundation Staff
Outside the Foundation: Philanthropies, governments, technical partners, multilateral
organisations, and business Person specification The ideal candidate will possess a blend of strategic, operational, and interpersonal skills. You have a proven track record in managing partnerships and grant-making within the philanthropic or non-profit sectors, demonstrating your ability to align funding strategies with organisational goals. You possess strong leadership, collaboration, and negotiation skills, with the capacity to inspire and drive impactful initiatives. In addition, you are an effective communicator, networker, and advocate, capable of representing the Foundation externally to diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, businesses, donors, and community organizations. A deep understanding of the socio-economic landscape of the Netherlands, coupled with a commitment to the Foundation’s mission and values, is crucial.
Expertise and experience:
� Solid understanding of the socio-economic landscape of the Netherlands.
� Experience working in an international organisation in which team members around the
world collaborate remotely.
� 10+ years’ experience funding/designing/implementing social policy programmes is desired,
but we will also consider applicants with a private sector background who have a track record of building and managing high-impact partnerships and an interest in social change.
� Demonstrated capacity to build trusted relationships with a wide range of stakeholders,
including government, business, academia, non-government organisations, philanthropy, and civil society institutions.
� Previous track record of working on innovative projects and bringing broader perspectives to collaborate.
� Demonstrated capacity to deliver results through collaboration, diplomacy, and negotiation.
� Excellent leadership, strategic planning, and management of multi-stakeholder partnerships.
� Excellent planning, goal-setting, prioritisation and organisational skills.
� Experience in monitoring and evaluation.
� High degree of self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and empathy.
� Expertise in early childhood development, urban development, or both is an advantage.
� Able to fluently communicate and write in Dutch.
� Able to effectively communicate and write in English or willing to invest in becoming
proficient within the year.
We encourage applications from a wide variety of backgrounds, who would bring a genuinely cross-cultural experience. Wellbeing at work We offer a wide range of benefits to ensure staff can flourish.
� Flexible working hours
� Inspiring office spaces
� The ability to partially work from home
� A generous annual leave package aligned with the country where the position is based
� 30 days per year of remote working beyond commuting distance
� Reimbursement of public transport costs for work travel
� Paid professional development opportunities
� A vitality allowance of EUR 400 per year to cover physical or mental health activities. Appointment Process and How to Apply An executive search exercise is being undertaken by Perrett Laver to assist the Appointment Committee in identifying the widest possible field of qualified candidates and assisting in the assessment of candidates against the requirements for the role.
Informal inquiries and questions can be directed to Boris Evenhuis on +31 (0)202 404 378 or by Boris.Evenhuis@perrettlaver.com. Applications can be uploaded at https://candidates.per- rettlaver.com/vacancies/, quoting reference number 7380.
The closing date for applications is Monday 8th July at 09:00 CEST.
Applications should consist of a cover letter addressing suitability against the person specifications and a full curriculum vitae.
Applications will be considered by the Appointment Committee in July. Perrett Laver will conduct preliminary discussions with longlisted candidates in mid-July, and the Committee will then meet in August to decide on a shortlist of candidates. These individuals will subsequently be invited for a first and second round of formal interviews in August. Selection of and negotiations with the preferred candidate will take place thereafter.
A development assessment may be part of the procedure.
As defined under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Perrett Laver is a Data Controller and a Data Processor, and our legal basis for processing your personal data is ‘Legitimate Interest’. For more information about this, your rights, and our approach to Data Protection and Privacy, please visit our website https://perrettlaver.com/priva- cy-statement/ . Herengracht 450, 1017 CA, Amsterdam, Netherlands T: +31 (0) 202 404 372 E: amsterdam@perrettlaver.com www.perrettlaver.com
