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Level 2 Tactical management

Last updated on 17 June 2026
From managing employees to integral management.

At VU Amsterdam, we distinguish 4 levels of leadership within the management framework

  1. Level 1 Operational management
  2. Level 2 Tactical management
  3. Level 3 Strategic management
  4. Level 4 Administrative management

This page describes level 2, Tactical management.

Responsibilities

  • Manages employees and team
  • Integral team responsibility (management, appointment, finances)
  • Sometimes also manager of operational management

Career stage

  • Directly supervising employees (and sometimes also operational management)
  • Integral team responsibility
  • Contributing to departmental strategy. Ranging from novice (1-3 years) to experienced management (>3 years)

The management framework (pdf) has the same format for all levels.

  • Career stage 
  • Managerial tasks and Leadership - Art of Engagement
  • Development and training
  • Positions and roles

Managerial tasks and Leadership - Art of Engagement

  • People management

    • Monitors careful and diverse recruitment and selection, actively focuses on diversity, inclusion and the application of the Collective Labour Agreement.
    • Stimulates employees in their development and careers and focuses on the use of everyone's personal talents.
    • Coaches and directs employees and teams in achieving performance in line with the strategy.
    • Is a case manager in case of illness leave.
    • Proactively invests in the social cohesion of the team and creates a natural learning environment.
    • Makes clear decisions and proactively manages the division of tasks to clarify expectations and keep the workload healthy.
    • Periodically carries out strategic personnel planning (including development plan) and applies succession management. 
    • Proactively informs employees about organizational developments and policies and everyone's responsibility in these.
  • Financial management

    • Carefully checks budgets of project plans.
    • Actively and regularly manages budget spending and cost control.
    • Thinks along about the budget of the department and critically questions those involved about planning and spending.
    • Accounts for their own budget and implementation in the P&C cycle and reports on progress. 
    • Always applies the four-eyes principle (dual control) in financial management.
  • Process management

    • Performs professional commissioning for programs such as coordination of complex tasks, prioritization and communication.
    • Monitors progress, improvement and reporting of projects and programs.
    • Invests in their own digital knowledge and involves this in strategy, planning and process management. 
    • Monitors the safety of facilities (e.g. lab).
  • Strategic management

    Not in this role.

  • Leadership - Art of Engagement

    • Shows exemplary role in Art of Engagement:
      1. Contributes to the bigger picture
      2. Is bold and decisive
      3. Is clear and transparent
      4. Listens and gives room for growth
    • Continuously develops own leadership qualities and takes responsibility for improving feedback points. 
    • Invests in self-insight and in exemplary role by sharing about their own development and mistakes.

Development and training

Positions and roles

  • Positions and roles of academic staff

    • Professor 1, 2
    • Senior Lecturer 1
    • Head of department (with management of employees)
    • Section head
    • Program director of Studies

    Cursive positions are not a formal UFO position but a VU-specific position or role.

  • Positions and roles of support staff

    • Head of department 2, 3 (with management of employees)
    • Coordinator operations 1, 2
    • Substantive position with managerial aspect (including policy officer; controller; project leader; ICT consultant)

    Cursive positions are not a formal UFO position but a VU-specific position or role.

Four levels of leadership

Learn more about management and leadership:

Rolien Walinga

b.r.walinga@vu.nl

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