Business/Project Controller

Business/Project Controller

Do you want to work together with inspired colleagues to create a world in which nature and people thrive? And help build a ‘nature positive’ impact in biodiverse priority landscapes around the world by mobilising people to act? That is what you will do when you work at WWF Netherlands (WWF-NL).

WWF-NL is a professional and dynamic organization with an informal working culture based in Zeist, the Netherlands.

The organisation consists of four departments: Conservation, Engagement, Organization & Talent Development (OTD) and Finance & Operations (F&O). The F&O department is responsible for the business operations of WWF-NL and consists of the Finance, ICT and Legal & Compliance Teams. The Finance Team is responsible for the planning & control cycle of the organization, external reporting, the financial, personnel and payroll administration and the financial planning and monitoring of the global WWF nature conservation projects and the Engagement income.

In this light, the Finance Team at WWF-NL is seeking a proactive and analytical

Business/Project Controller

to drive financial insight, optimize reporting, and professionalize our performance tracking. In this role, you will play a key part in enhancing our reporting, managing our projects and improving financial decision-making. Your ability to translate complex data into actionable insights will support key decision-making and help shape the future of WWF-NL.

The Business Controller reports directly to our Teamlead Business Control, Ben Steijns.

Key Responsibilities

As Business Controller you will work within the annual plan as drawn up by the CFO and you support the Engagement & Conservation department in financial management. In this role you have the following tasks and responsibilities:

1. Financial Controlling & Analysis

• Monitor and analyze financial performance, variances, and trends;
• Develop forward-looking insights to support strategic decision-making;
• Ensure financial processes are aligned with organisation goals;
• Advise on the financial and tax aspects of business cases.

1. Project Reporting & Management

• Prepare financial reports for internal and external stakeholders.
• Oversee financial aspects of projects, ensuring compliance with donor requirements.
• Coordinate with project managers to ensure financial accuracy and efficiency.
• Identify and mitigate financial risks within projects.

1. KPI Tracking, Dashboarding & Reporting

• Define, refine, and implement new KPIs that reflect business success;
• Establish automated, real-time performance tracking methods.
• Design and implement new dashboards to improve financial and operational visibility.
• Optimize reporting structures to make data more accessible, accurate, and timely.

Competencies

• You are analytical, data-driven, quality-oriented with expertise on tools such as Power BI, Tableau;
• You enjoy diving into the figures and spending extensive time working with Excel to analyze and manage data;
• You are proactive, a self-starter and can work independently, you make proposals and take actions that lead to process / efficiency improvements;
• You enjoy interacting with colleagues both in your team as in the organization and the wider international network, e.g. business partner;
• You are collaborative and cooperative and find it easy to share knowledge, information and ideas on your own initiative;
• You are customer-oriented and respond alertly to requests from the (internal) client;
• You work to the highest level of integrity and confidentiality.

WWF-NL is part of a large international network, so good mastery of the English and Dutch language (both verbal and written) are necessary.

Education and experience

• Educational background in Finance, business economics or business administration;
• 1-5 years of work experience as a controller, and ambition to learn and grow in the job;
• Fluent verbal and written command of Dutch and English languages are essential;
• Experience with grant applications and working with Exact Globe, Salesforce, BI tooling is an advantage.

Core values

You recognize yourself in the core values of WWF-NL:

• Courage
• Integrity
• Respect
• Collaboration

What do we offer?

• An office surrounded by nature;
• Fun colleagues and the chance to build up an international network;
• An employment contract of 32-40 hours. We initially offer a fixed-term employment contract of one year with a one-month probation period;
• Salaries that are in line with the standard in the Dutch not for profit sector; the minimum gross salary for the Business Controller role is 4.147 EUR per month and the maximum gross salary is 5.752 EUR per month depending on relevant experience (based on a 40 hour contract) (Please note, due to the maximum salary, we are not able to sponsor a knowledge migrant permit for people above the age of 30. Please see the IND (Immigration & Naturalisation Service of the Netherlands) website for more information);
• Staff receive a personal budget that is made up of 8% holiday allowance and 2,08% flexible budget, and receive 6 weeks of holiday per year (based on a 40-hour contract);
• We offer a hybrid working environment, 50% of your working time you can work from home;
• We stimulate flexible working arrangements, the use of public transport and bike for work related travel. Employees receive an NS Business Card for 2nd class travel to and from work and for every working from home day, staff can request a reimbursement of €2,40.

We actively strive for our employees to reflect society and the international character of our organization. We therefore especially encourage candidates with backgrounds that are normally underrepresented to apply. To reduce the impact of unconscious biases during a recruitment process, (semi)structured interview templates are used.

We consider the safety and protection of our colleagues as important. The successful candidate is therefore required to complete an integrity statement and supply a Certificate of Good Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent Gedrag). We may also ask for references.