Introduction

At Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) we are currently looking for a business controller to contribute to our school’s financial and economic strategy and its planning and control cycle.

As our business controller, you are a sparring partner for the Director of Finance in the Control & Risk department, and for business managers on topics related to strategy, goals, resources, investment plans, business cases, project organisation and risk management.

You report to the Director of Finance in the Control & Risk department in terms of line management, and you have five direct reports. You know how to keep close functional working relationships with executive board members, chairpersons and treasurers of academic departments as well as managers of business units.

RSM is one of the schools of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) and operates within the framework of EUR’s financial administration and planning and control cycles. As business controller, you liaise frequently with EUR central and you participate in various meetings and committees to provide RSM’s input in the development of new initiatives. You also cooperate intensively with finance and control colleagues at RSM BV, which is closely aligned with RSM-EUR under the ‘One-School’ principle.

Job description

For this function, you ensure the following:

Advise on and implement RSM’s Planning & Control cycle
Organise and implement the annual budget cycle (budget, prognoses, annual accounts and reporting)
Manage RSM’s financial processes and administrative organisation, and align them with the school’s strategy
Represent RSM in EUR Central demand management meetings to provide input on quality, quantity and costs of service delivery in the fields of finance, control, risk and procurement
Give input and coordinate the control measures for externally funded research projects
Line manage the business and project control unit
Contribute to the improvement of management information for planning and strategy formulation purposes.

Job requirements

Your experience includes:

A master degree in a relevant field; e.g., business economics, accounting & control or comparable, with accompanying high level analytical skills;
Demonstrable, high-level knowledge related to developments in business control, accounting, finance, administrative organisation and/or risk management
A minimum of five years of experience in the field, preferably in a higher education setting and/or in the public domain
Knowledge of and experience with the rules and financial rules and regulations of national grants and European Framework programmes
Experience with managing teams of finance professionals
Excellent written and spoken English and Dutch (C1) for internal and external communications (C1)
Affinity with and an understanding of academics and the academic world
Hands-on experience in SAP Fico, Purchase to Pay systems and Excel.

As business controller, you:

Have a clear vision on business control in a university or university-comparable environment and can translate this vision into concrete actions, projects and deliverables for the organisation
Are in possession of high-level analytical and planning skills
Achieve results and get things done by being persuasive, decisive and/or diplomatic, depending on what the situation calls for
Are a good people manager, who leads by example, has a hands-on mentality and stimulates development and growth in the team
Are accurate and have attention to detail
Have good social skills and the ability to navigate successfully in a complex organisation and with multiple stakeholders
Are proactive and take initiatives to continuously improve policy and processes
Possess excellent advisory skills to counsel various stakeholders at different levels in the organisation.

Employment conditions and benefits

The position is a fulltime position (0.8-1 FTE), with an initial one year contract. The intent is to make this permanent after one year, dependent upon successful performance.

The conditions of employment comply with the collective labour agreement for Dutch universities (CAO NU). Favourable tax agreements may apply to applicants who are not from the Netherlands.

Salary is subject to training and experience and may vary from a minimum of € 5,705 (CAO NU scale 12) and up to a maximum of € 7,904 gross per month (scale 13 CAO NU), based on a full-time contract of 38 hours.

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) has attractive employment conditions, which include a holiday allowance of 8 per cent, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3 per cent, and a considerate amount of vacation days.

EUR offers all employees an annual personal career budget which can be used to advance your skills and competences. There are lots of training, development and coaching opportunities at EUR too.

Erasmus University Rotterdam aspires to be an equitable and inclusive community. We nurture an open culture, where everyone is supported to fulfil their full potential. We see inclusivity of talent as the basis of our successes, and the diversity of perspectives and people as a highly valued outcome. EUR provides equal opportunities to all employees and applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, functional impairment, citizenship or any other aspect which makes them unique. We look forward to welcoming you to our community.

Employer

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 4.100 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Faculty / Institute / Central service

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is one of Europe’s top-ranked business schools. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam – a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who can become a force for positive change by carrying their innovative mindset into a sustainable future. Our first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes encourage them to become critical, creative, caring and collaborative thinkers and doers.

RSM is an equal opportunity employer and explicitly encourages applications from candidates of all genders, ethnicities, and nationalities.

Applying

Do you have questions about this vacancy or would you like additional information? Please contact Daniël Feenstra, director finance, control and risk at [email protected] or via phone number 06-28884373.

Please apply via button below.

Please note that this vacancy closes on 18 January 2026.