Coordinator House of Sustainable Transitions

1 - Working at the VUB

The House of Sustainable Transitions (HOST) is an interdisciplinary platform at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel comprising 35 professors and over 180 researchers who bring together their expertise to support and enable the transition to a more sustainable world. We bring together experts and stakeholders from various fields to generate innovative solutions and drive positive change.

You will become part of the HOST support team, the team that supports and facilitates the daily operations of HOST. Within this team, you will work closely with the Host of HOST, the connector and the communication and event officer. 

For almost 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and connectedness. These values are strongly present on our campuses, in our students as well as our staff. At the VUB, you’ll find a diverse collection of personalities: pure innovators and especially people who are 100% their authentic selves. With about 3.500 employees, we are the largest Flemish-speaking employer in Brussels, an international city with which we are all too happy to be connected, and around which our four campuses are located. 

2 - Position Description

We are looking for a structured, proactive and relational HOST Coordinator to join our team. In this role, you will help coordinate the daily functioning of HOST while also strengthening its community, visibility and connections within and beyond the VUB.

You will help create overview, structure and follow-up, but you will also play an important connecting role: bringing people together, identifying opportunities, facilitating collaboration and helping HOST grow as a vibrant interdisciplinary platform. You will act as a first point of contact for members, partners and stakeholders, and help translate ideas, questions and opportunities into clear actions, responsibilities and next steps.

You are someone who combines organisational strength with a talent for connecting people. You enjoy turning ideas into concrete actions but also understand that HOST is more than a set of activities: it is a growing community of researchers, partners and stakeholders working together on sustainability transitions. You will contribute to the further development of HOST’s strategy, identity, community and external positioning.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Keeping an overview of HOST’s daily operations, ongoing activities, internal agreements, deadlines and priorities; 
• Bringing structure to processes, documents, planning and internal collaboration; 
• Following up administrative processes and ensuring that agreements, procedures and action points are clearly documented; 
• Supporting the financial follow-up of HOST, including budgets, orders, invoices, expenses, reporting and coordination with relevant VUB services; 
• Preparing, organising and following up meetings with the HOST support team, core team and advisory board; 
• Monitoring action points and ensuring that decisions are translated into clear next steps; 
• Supporting the Host of HOST in providing strategic direction, preparing decisions and following up key priorities; 
• Acting as a central contact person for HOST members, helping to connect questions, ideas and needs with the right people, expertise or opportunities; 
• Actively helping to strengthen the HOST community by connecting researchers, research groups, faculties, services and external partners around shared sustainability challenges; 
• Identifying and following up opportunities for collaboration, visibility, funding, events or strategic partnerships, in close collaboration with the Host of HOST and the connector; 
• Working closely with the connector on the practical, organisational and relational follow-up of new opportunities, project proposals and collaborations; 
• Helping to maintain and develop relationships with relevant stakeholders within the VUB, Brussels and the wider sustainability ecosystem; 
• Supporting new initiatives within HOST and helping to translate ideas into feasible actions, timelines, responsibilities and collaborations; 
• Following up the planning and organisation of communications and events, in close collaboration with the communications and events officer; 
• Contributing to the further development of HOST’s identity, strategy, way of working and external visibility; 
• Collaborating with colleagues across the VUB, including administrative services, research groups, faculties and central services; 
• Ensuring that information remains accessible, up to date and useful for the team and the broader HOST community.

For this position, the VUB Main Campus will be your home base, with the possibility of working from home.

3 - Profile

Who are you?

• You are strong in planning, organising and following up; 
• You enjoy creating overview, structure and clear agreements; 
• You work accurately and have an eye for detail; 
• You are a natural connector who enjoys bringing people, ideas and opportunities together; 
• You communicate clearly, kindly and purposefully, both within a team and with external stakeholders; 
• You feel comfortable initiating contact, following up conversations and helping relationships grow over time; 
• You can easily switch between practical tasks, people, processes and content-related questions; 
• You are proactive and notice what is needed to help things move forward; 
• You can work independently, but also enjoy being part of a team and a wider community; 
• You work well in a dynamic environment and know how to keep things moving without losing sight of the bigger picture; 
• You have a passion for sustainability, societal change and the role of research in this; 
• You have experience in coordination, project support, administration, budget follow-up, team operations and/or community or stakeholder engagement; 
• You are comfortable working with digital tools such as Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Excel and other planning or collaboration tools; 
• You have an excellent command of English and Dutch. French is a plus; 
• You preferably hold a bachelor’s or master’s degree, or have equivalent experience in a coordinating, administrative, project support or community-building role. 
• As a non-EEA national, you meet the conditions for obtaining a valid work permit for VUB and comply with the VUB residence requirements. More info here.

VUB wants to be a reflection of society, where everyone’s talent is valued, regardless of gender, sex, age, religion, skin colour, migration background, disability or neurodiversity. 

4 - Offer

• A meaningful role within an interdisciplinary platform working on sustainability, systemic change and societal impact; 
• A passionate team with enthusiastic colleagues; 
• A dynamic and inspiring working environment where collaboration, initiative and innovation are encouraged; 
• The opportunity to help shape the structure and functioning of a growing HOST community; 
• A role in which you can learn a lot about sustainability, research, project work, communication, events and community building; 
• A fixed-term contract (1 year, with the possibility of extension), with an employment rate of 80% to 100% (to be discussed mutually). You will be hired in grade group 5, 6 or 7, depending on your competencies and relevant work experience. 

At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to further build on your career. As well as this, you’ll enjoy various benefits:

• Full reimbursement for your home-work commute with public transport according to VUB policy, or compensation if you come by bike; 
• Cost-free hospitalisation and group insurance with guaranteed income; 
• The space to form your job content and continuously learn via VUB LRN; 
• Excellent facilities for sport and exercise; 
• Ecocheques; 
• Delicious meals at attractive prices in our campus restaurants; 
• An open, family-friendly work environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave, based on a full-time contract. 

5 - Interested?

Does this job appeal to you? 

You can apply via jobs‧vub‧be before July 27. To apply, you will need to upload the following documents: CV, cover letter, and diploma(s).

Our selection process will look as follows: 

Step 1: CV and cover letter screening by our recruitment team 

Step 2: The job interviews are scheduled for August 4, 5 and 6 and will take place at the VUB Main Campus. The exact date and start time will be communicated via email. 

Preferred starting date: 1 September 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter. 

Contact us! 

Questions about the job itself? 

Contact the HOST support team via house@vub.be. 

Questions about the selection procedure and/or the offer? 

Contact Barbara Van Belle via Barbara.Van.Belle@vub.be or Hanne Van Ende via Hanne.Van.Ende@vub.be 

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB and learn more about EUTOPIA?

Then visit jobs.vub.be and discover everything about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals, and colleagues, among other things.  

You can also read more at eutopia-university.eu if you’d like to learn more about our European network of universities. 

6 - For office use

Regulation:

Contract: Fixed-term contract of 12 months, with option to extend 

Head unit/faculty: Faculty Social Sciences & Solvay Business School

FTE: 0.8

Function: Administration expert

Pay grade group:  5-6-7

Recrutement type: