Let's reconnect!

Operational manager of the future

To minimise air travel and our carbon footprint, the conference was held simultaneously in six different regions: Washington DC, Pretoria, Cairo, Athens, Berlin and Bangkok. A small group of staff from The Hague joined the operational managers in each region, and specialists at the ministry shared their expertise via a livestream. By doing it this way, the operational managers showed how conferences can be organised in the most sustainable way possible. This was the first conference in a new series, with this particular edition focusing on the operational manager’s role and day-to-day tasks at the missions. The participants explored what the operational manager of the future needs in order to fulfil their role optimally and strengthen their mission’s management team. They shared their ideas in a relay exercise. A future conference will look more closely at the specific aspects of the job.

Let’s reconnect!

Joyce Nijssen, strategic adviser with the Operational Management Section (HDBV/BBV) and the conference’s project manager, attended the conference in Athens: ‘The aim of operational manager conferences is to strengthen ties between operational managers in the same region as well as cooperation with the ministry headquarters in The Hague. This creates a close-knit community of people sharing expertise and working together to build a robust and effective operational management organisation. The conference was a success right from the start. At the informal opening we were immediately able to live up to the theme “Let’s reconnect”. Staff really appreciated being able to meet each other in person. The focus shifted increasingly to peer coaching and brainstorming ideas, and new chat app groups were set up for staff to keep in touch.’

Operational management as a strategic partner

With almost two decades of experience at BZ, Joyce is a valuable link between operational management at the missions and the ministry in The Hague. She has worked abroad as head of operational management in Tbilisi, head of consular affairs at the Regional Support Office (RSO) in Kuala Lumpur and manager of Erasmus Huis in Jakarta. At the ministry in The Hague her positions have included head of payroll administration in the Human Resources Department (HDPO). At BBV she and four colleagues provide support to mission management teams, which operational managers are part of. ‘BBV is a strategic partner and adviser for management teams, helping them resolve operational management issues,’ says Joyce. ‘We make sure operational management runs smoothly. And we help them address complex challenges and assess whether policy adjustments are needed.’

Dream job

‘This really is the job for me,’ says Erwin Sluijter, who has been the operational manager in Baghdad for the past 18 months. He attended the conference in Cairo. ‘It was great to meet colleagues and talk shop. Operational managers play a central role at missions and are responsible for a wide range of matters, from IT and finance to HR and accommodation. Everything except policy, basically. An embassy or consulate represents the Netherlands, and I want to make sure the mission I work for makes a positive impression. At a mission you’re part of the management team, serving as an intermediary between the mission management and the rest of the mission staff.’ Edwin adds, ‘In this position you’re often faced with out-of-the-ordinary situations. So it’s invaluable to be able to connect and share ideas with colleagues who deal with the same issues.’

Juggling act

Erwin continues, ‘This job can be a real juggling act and you have to be able to set priorities, even when you’re under pressure. It’s your job to make sure policy officers can focus fully on their work without having to worry about operational issues’. Erwin was recruited from outside the ministry and completed the operational manager training programme. Before that, he spent 17 years working in emergency relief, mostly in war zones including Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Somalia. So he’s used to working in high-risk countries. ‘Complex consular issues like child abduction and forced marriage require operational managers to have a lot of cultural and organisational sensitivity.’

High-risk mission

‘We work in two teams, each made up of five staff posted from The Hague and a defence attaché (DEFAT). Each team lives and works together: four weeks on and four weeks off. We’re very close, which is important when you work in a compound. When I return to the Netherlands after four weeks away to spend time with my family, I also visit my colleagues at the ministry. I like to see the faces behind the SSP calls and emails and build my network.’ There are also nine local staff members at the mission, and Erwin stresses the importance of their role: ‘They know the country and the language better than anyone. Their local knowledge and connections are invaluable. And don’t forget that they have to get used to new managers every year, and they can’t go back to a safe country every month to rest and recuperate.’ The reality of the job became clear when Erwin had to leave the conference a day early to return to his mission because of the situation in Gaza. Despite the regional impact of the crisis the team feels relatively safe. But things could escalate at any time. Being able to cope with stress is essential at a high-risk mission.

From policy to implementation

‘In The Hague we don’t always realise that the focus of the information we provide is too narrow and very much policy-oriented. But what the missions actually need is clear, practical communication focused on implementation. BBV’s strength is that it bridges the crucial gap between policy and implementation. ‘We really focused on that aspect in the run-up to the conferences,’ Joyce says. There will be an online follow-up this year and in 2025 a large, in-person meeting in The Hague. ‘We want to bring staff from various departments together so that we can develop a joint, comprehensive approach to themes like diversity and inclusion. This will enable us to communicate a consistent way of working and thinking to the missions and offer a ministry-wide programme.