Municipality of Alphen-Chaam: Clerk to the Council

The job description

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The municipality of Alphen-Chaam

The municipality of Alphen-Chaam is seeking a temporary clerk to the council due to the departure of the current clerk. For 32 hours per week.
Period: from December 1, 2025, to February 1, 2026, with an option to extend until July 1, 2026.
The extension depends on the filling of the vacancy of clerk to the council.

Information
The municipality of Alphen-Chaam is a green and sustainable municipality with approximately 10,000 inhabitants located south of the Breda-Tilburg line. The municipality consists of six unique cores: Alphen, Chaam, Galder, Strijbeek, Bavel AC, and Ulvenhout AC, each with its own character and charm. Currently, several large projects are underway in the municipality, including the realization of a joint municipal administration building and a new children's center in Chaam.

The municipality has the Cittaslow label. This is an international label for municipalities with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants that excel in terms of living environment, landscape, local products, hospitality, environmental protection, infrastructure, cultural heritage, and preservation of identity. The municipality offers a sea of tranquility and space where residents and visitors can enjoy nature and the landscape. There are many walking and cycling paths, and the countryside is ideal for a beautiful walk over sandpaths. In Alphen-Chaam, people still have time for each other.

The council and municipal administration
The council of Alphen-Chaam consists of 15 seats. Currently, there are seven factions represented in the council. Besides the council members, there are a total of eight citizen representatives. Alphen-Chaam has a council where debate is not always avoided, but where listening to each other and seeking consensus is part of our DNA.

The college consists of the mayor and three aldermen.

The clerk's office
Next to the clerk is the council advisor (also acting as a deputy clerk) and a communication/clerk's assistant. The format of the clerk's office amounts to a total of 2.4 FTE. All basic processes are in order. To ensure continuity, we are looking for an experienced clerk for the period until the current clerk departs and a new clerk is appointed. Important here is preparing for the municipal council elections in March 2026 and helping the new council get started. Furthermore, we expect the council advisor who recently started to be further guided through the integration process.

The administrative organization
The ABG organization is a joint arrangement and provides from January 1, 2016, all products and services for the municipalities of Alphen-Chaam, Baarle-Nassau, and Gilze and Rijen. Together with the three municipal administrations, they ensure that the products and services are tailored to the local needs of residents, businesses, and interest groups. Additionally, the ABG organization provides support to the administration of the three independent municipalities. Through this collaboration, you will have a lot of collegial contact with the clerks of Baarle-Nassau and Gilze and Rijen.

Job content
The clerk is the first advisor and supporter of the council and plays a central role in the triangle where administrative coordination takes place between the council, the college, and the administrative organization. The clerk advises the council and individual members of various committees on their working methods, ensures an optimal setup and execution of procedures, and acts as a representative on behalf of the council. He/she monitors the quality of the political decision-making process and connects political, administrative, and organizational processes. Together with the clerk of Baarle-Nassau, the new clerk regularly gives the course 'Politiek Actief' to residents. Additionally, the clerk leads the clerk's office.

The tasks of the clerk are based on the generic job profile for the clerk that the VNG established in 2022, namely:
1. Strategic advising (members of) the council
2. Supporting the council
3. Business operations
4. Integrated management
5. Networking

Competencies
The ideal clerk fulfills an independent and neutral role and has a strong developed ability to empathize and connect. This person is proactive, innovation-oriented, and innovative. The clerk is stress-resistant, remains calm under pressure, and knows how to communicate convincingly when necessary. Furthermore, the clerk gives positive, coaching-like leadership to the clerk's office.

• Candidate meets the education requirements mentioned in the job description. This must be evident from the CV.
• In connection with the Wet Deregulering Beoordeling Arbeidsrelaties (DBA) can, due to the nature of the assignment, this assignment not be filled by a ZZPer. Interested ZZPers can only be detached in employment via an agency. Bureau constructions (with a model agreement) are not permitted. With your registration, you declare that your candidate will be detached in employment.

• Candidate has 1 or more references
• Candidate has recent work experience in a comparable function. This must be evident from the CV.
• Is candidate able to start on the mentioned start date with the assignment?
• Is candidate available for the number of hours per week as mentioned in the application?
• Candidate has good communication skills. This will be tested in a personal interview.
• Candidate has political and administrative sensitivity. This must be evident from the conversation.
• Candidate is result-oriented. This will be tested in a personal interview.
• Candidate can work both independently and in team settings. This can be tested in a personal interview.