Interreg Meuse-Rhine programme manager/adviser (1.0 FTE) for the Province of Limburg
For the duration of the Interreg Meuse-Rhine (NL-BE-DE) programme until 1 January 2030 at the latest As an experienced, committed, creative, and enthusiastic programme manager, you will contribute to the success and further development of the Interreg Meuse-Rhine programme. A good understanding of and practical experience in managing EU territorial cooperation programmes and/or projects is highly important in this position.
In this position, you will be part of the Interreg Meuse-Rhine cluster
Welcome to the Meuse-Rhine region, where crossing borders is part of everyday life. When you work in this region, you can start the day in Maastricht (the Netherlands), move on to business meetings in Liège (Belgium), and end the day in the beautiful old city centre of Aachen (Germany). The region’s more than four million inhabitants appreciate its borderless combination of vibrant cities, world-class research, rich cultural heritage, and unspoiled nature every day.
Since 1991, cross-border cooperation projects between the Belgian, German, and Dutch partner regions have received support from Interreg. The sixth Interreg Meuse-Rhine (NL-BE-DE) programme encompasses the territory or parts of the territory of the Dutch Province of Limburg, the Belgian Province of Limburg, the Aachen Region, the Province of Liège, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate. The European Union and its programme partners (Member States, regions) have made a total of € 176 million in public funding available to tackle the great societal challenges facing the programme area. These challenges include the industrial transition, the green transformation, healthier citizens, tourism in a high-quality region, and living and working without borders. Key drivers are innovation, sustainability and the social agenda.
The Dutch Province of Limburg has been designated as Managing Authority (MA) for the Interreg Meuse-Rhine (NL-BE-DE) programme 2021-2027, which effectively runs from the time of approval in mid-2022 until the end of 2029. This makes the Province of Limburg effectively responsible for the implementation and management of this cross-border programme. The task of coordinating internationalisation and regional activities within the scope of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR) falls to the King's Commissioner for the Province of Limburg. The cluster reports to the Director of the Province of Limburg Regional Ministry.
The Interreg Meuse-Rhine programme manager’s/adviser’s tasks
As programme manager, you must have well-developed communication and organisational skills, be a real team player and perform well in an intercultural environment. You will use your attention to detail, your flexibility, and your results-driven approach to help you handle a wide range of tasks without compromising the outstanding quality of your work. At the same time, you will carry out your tasks independently and punctually. You will focus on efficiency and, of course, on getting results.
The position is twofold in nature:
You will advise the Managing Authority (MA) for the allocated programme on how best to fulfill its role by:
- advising and supporting the board and management of the Province of Limburg with regard to the MA policy under development;
- drafting the annual summary;
- implementing decisions on or adaptations of the cooperation programme already approved by the Monitoring Committee;
- carrying out or supervising activities associated with the programme’s evaluation;
- preparing, following up on and attending meetings of the bodies involved in project-related administrative and decision-making procedures;
- drafting procedural documents related to the work of Joint Secretariat (JS) staff.
You will bear responsibility for the cooperation programme in accordance with the principles of sound financial management by:
- exercising management and ensuring that the programme achieves its intended results;
- supporting the programme Monitoring Committee and furnishing it with all the information it needs to discharge its duties (in particular, data on progress towards meeting the targets of the cooperation programme, financial data, and data on indicators and milestones);
- submitting annual reports and a final report to the European Commission after approval by the Monitoring Committee;
- ensuring that selected operations fall within the scope of the Fund concerned and can be allocated to a category of aid identified in the priority or priorities of the cooperation programme;
- taking effective and proportionate fraud prevention measures based on the risks identified;
- establishing procedures to ensure that all documents relating to expenditure and audits required to ensure an adequate audit trail are maintained in accordance with set conditions and statutory requirements;
- preparing a management statement and annual summary;
- performing accountancy tasks by preparing and submitting payment claims as well as preparing and submitting accounts to the European Commission.
You will successfully fill the position of Interreg Meuse-Rhine programme manager based on your proven advisory skills, ability to liaise with project partners, and negotiating skills. You will do this by exploiting your strong analytical skills and your ability to properly structure and present complex issues. You are intrinsically motivated and have a positive attitude towards change and challenges. You will be able to draw on your knowledge and experience of working with Interreg programmes and the relevant EU rules.
Working for the Province of Limburg is surprisingly different
Working for the Province of Limburg means working to promote the welfare and prosperity of Limburg and its people. Our shared mission is to achieve results that have an impact. The Province of Limburg is growing towards an open, learning governmental organisation within which professionals have the scope to pursue innovations in cooperation with relevant partners. This requires employees to shoulder responsibility for their own development. The Province provides strong support for personal development and expects its employees to take initiatives and make efforts in that regard.
The following requirements apply for this position:
- university degree or comparable in socio-economics;
- broad knowledge of the focus area, requiring an understanding of political-administrative matters in a broader context than one's own focus area;
- proven experience in managing EU-funded programmes or projects;
- experience in financial management, the use of simplified cost options (SCOs), and/or management of State aid;
- oral and written proficiency in the languages of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (French, German, Dutch), and fluency in English (C1);
- understanding of administrative-political relationships and developments.
We offer you:
- A minimum gross monthly salary, based on a 36-hour working week, of € 3.935,54 and a maximum of € 5.564,56, in salary scale 11 (depending on age, educational background, and experience);
- An Individual Choice Budget (ICB) of approximately 22%, including holiday allowance (8%), and a structural year-end bonus (8.3%). This budget comes on top of your fixed salary and can be paid when you need it. You can also use it, for example, to purchase a bicycle, sports club membership, or extra leave;
- Personal training budget of € 5,000 for a five-year period;
- Pension accrual at ABP (Dutch pension fund for civil servants)
Other information
At the end of the selection procedure, we will ask the selected candidate to apply to their municipality for a Certificate of Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag, VOG) and, after obtaining the approval of Justis, to submit it to us. This position is associated with an integrity risk profile. Representatives from the cluster will be involved in the final stage of the selection procedure.
Are you interested?
Then we are happy to receive your application before 18 September 2023 via the following link to our system: Programmamanager/Adviseur Interreg Maas-Rijn (1,0 fte) - Provincie Limburg
Only applications submitted via the system of the Provincie Limburg will be considered. If you would like more information, contact Jean Philippe Odeurs, senior programme manager, at +31 (0)6 29 47 73 65 or Paul Heuts, senior programme manager, at +31 (0)6 11 38 69 82.