Office Manager at BISS (maternity leave cover)

We’re looking for a temporary Office Manager to cover maternity leave from January to May 2025. You’ll support our Managing Director and Senior Project Manager with diverse administrative tasks while ensuring the smooth operation of our office.

Job Description

As our Office Manager you will assist the Managing Director, Senior Project Manager and other colleagues in a variety of administrative tasks across our education, research, and project activities, while ensuring smooth day-to-day office operations.

You would be a part of a lively team working on various projects, here are only some of them:

• ELSA-lab brings together organizations to have an impact on poverty and debt in the Netherlands by using AI and technology in an ethically, legally, and socially responsible way. At BISS, the focus is on using data to improve early detection of debt, exploring if we can  increase empathy among policymakers by using VR, and fostering collaboration between academia, industry, government, and citizens to combat these challenges.
• Automated financial advice project aims to develop an automated financial advisor that provides reliable, objective, and easy-to-understand advice to answer such questions. To achieve this, we are exploring what constitutes good financial advice, addressing ethical considerations, aligning advice with personal goals, and ensuring complex financial information is communicated clearly. The end goal? To help people make informed decisions and turn their retirement dreams into reality instantly.
• Sound-recognition research combines Artificial Intelligence and neuroscience to explore how the brain processes acoustic sounds into meaningful information. By studying how we recognize events and objects through sound—even in challenging conditions like darkness or obstacles—the project aims to enhance our understanding of auditory perception. The insights gained will contribute to the development of artificial hearing systems and impro

Requirements

• Financial and Administrative Support: Assist our team with financial administration, HR tasks, and support for education and research-related activities.
• Agenda & Communication Management: Help with scheduling the meetings and managing online agenda systems
• Event and Meeting Organization: Assist in hosting guests and organizing internal and external meetings.
• University Policy Compliance: Ensure all activities comply with university policies and procedures, especially financial administration and record-keeping.
   

Brightlands Institute for Smart Society (BISS) is located in Heerlen, at the Brightlands Campus.

What we offer
As Office Manager at Faculty of Science & Engineering, you will be employed by the most international university in the Netherlands, located in the beautiful city of Maastricht. In addition, we offer you:

• Good employment conditions. The position is graded in scale 7 according to UFO profile Management/Office-assistent, with corresponding salary based on experience ranging from €2870,00 and €3771,00 gross per month (based on a full-time employment of 38 hours per week). In addition to the monthly salary, an 8.0% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus apply.
• An employment contract for a period of 5 months with a scope of 0,5 FTE. Obligatory office days are Tuesdays and Fridays.
• As Maastricht University, we offer various other excellent secondary employment conditions. These include a good pension scheme with the ABP and the opportunity for UM employees to participate in company fitness and make use of the extensive sports facilities that we also offer to our students. 
• Last but certainly not least, we provide the space and facilities for your personal and professional development. We facilitate this by offering a wide range of training programs and supporting various well-established initiatives such as 'acknowledge and appreciate'. 

The terms of employment at Maastricht University are largely set out in the collective labor agreement of Dutch Universities. In addition, local provisions specific to UM apply. For more information, click here.

Maastricht University
Why work at Maastricht University?

At Maastricht University (UM), everything revolves around the future. The future of our students, as we work to equip them with a solid, broad-based foundation for the rest of their lives. And the future of society, as we seek solutions through our research to issues from all around the world. Our six faculties combined provide a comprehensive package of study programmes and research.

In our teaching, we use the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) method. Students work in small groups, looking for solutions to problems themselves. By discussing issues and working together to draw conclusions, formulate answers and present them to their peers, students develop essential skills for their future careers.

With over 22,300 students and more than 5,000 employees from all over the world, UM is home to a vibrant and inspiring international community.

Are you drawn to an international setting focused on education, science and scholarship? Are you keen to contribute however your skills and qualities allow? Our door is open to you! As a young European university, we value your talent and look forward to creating the future together.

Click here for more information about UM. 

Faculty of Science and Engineering  
At the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE), we focus on themes such as circularity and sustainability, future farming, digitisation and (scientific) instrument development.  FSE's leading projects, like the Einstein Telescope Pathfinder, are sure to grab anyone's attention.  The faculty is a vibrant hub of education and research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS).  At FSE, over 450 staff members and 3700 students gather to explore e exciting interdisciplinary research and educational programmes. Feel welcome, be part of our team and put your brilliant mind to work!  
 

FSE at the Brightlands Campuses  
Maastricht, Sittard-Geleen, Heerlen, and Venlo, the home of four creative Brightlands campuses, are bustling with 30,000 entrepreneurs, researchers, and students working diligently to solve global challenges. The Faculty of Science and Engineering is active on all four Brightlands campuses, and this is where our impact reaches its peak. To give you an idea of what is happening at each campus: Sittard-Geleen is home to the largest chemical site in the Euregion, while Venlo is a large hub for agri-food innovation. Maastricht is the site of the Health Campus, and Heerlen is the place to be for Smart Services.  
 

Department
Brightlands Institute for Smart Society (BISS) is a research institute of Maastricht University dedicated to shaping the society of tomorrow through the power of AI and data science. Located at the Brightlands Smart Services Campus in Heerlen, BISS brings together a diverse team of scientists from disciplines such as ethics, consumer behavior, legislation, privacy, neuroscience, and digital technologies.
Our mission is to empower individuals and organizations by applying digital technologies in a socially responsible manner.

Curious?

Are you interested in this exciting position but still have questions? Feel free to contact Aleksandra Draper at Aleksandra.draper@maastrichtuniversity.nl for more information.

Applying?
Or are you already convinced and ready to become our new Office Manager? Apply now, no later than 20 November, for this position.
 

Please upload your CV and motivation letter.

The first interviews preferably take place in the week of 25 November. 

The vacancy is open for internal and external candidates. In case of equal qualifications, internal candidates will be prioritized.

Maastricht University is committed to promoting and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that diversity in our staff and student population contributes to the quality of research and education at UM, and strive to enable this through inclusive policies and innovative projects led by teams of staff and students. We encourage you to apply for this position.