(Senior) Project Controller for Grant Projects

Brightlands; Heerlen; Remote; EUR 70,000 - 76,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Work-from-home allowance

Travel expense reimbursement

One-year contract with extension

Job summary

Brightlands Data & AI Campus in Heerlen is seeking a (senior) project controller to lead financial oversight of grant projects, from early assessment through final reporting. The role emphasizes grant setup, risk identification, and professionalizing grant processes within the Finance team.

You will advise domain managers and project leaders, evaluate budgets and reports, and coordinate audits, ensuring compliance and optimized use of grants on cross-border programs.

Qualifications

• Extensive knowledge of grant processes and related laws/regulations.
• Experience advising on grant programs and grant reporting.

Responsibilities

• Advise domain managers and project leaders on grants at an early stage.
• Evaluate grant applications and budgets; monitor reports and change requests.
• Prepare grant accountability reports and organize external audits.
• Identify financial risks and bottlenecks, address them at the appropriate level.
• Contribute to planning and budgeting with focus on grant projects.
• Suggest improvements to combine grants and optimize the portfolio.
• Provide guidance on grant caps and new programs; evaluate existing programs.
• Develop a professional, standardized approach to grant oversight and PMO tasks.

Skills

Grant management

Financial reporting

Risk management

Stakeholder management

Process improvement

PMO coordination

Education

HBO-level work in finance/administration

Job description

Brightlands Data & AI Campus

Would you like to help drive innovation in Limburg as part of the Brightlands team?

Who are we?

Brightlands is the name under which Limburg is pushing boundaries. From four campuses, home to some 400 companies, 16,000 employees, and 14,000 students, we’re working on solutions to the major challenges of our time, from health to digitalization.

The Brightlands Data & AI Campus in Heerlen serves as Limburg’s innovation hub for data (science) and artificial intelligence. Here, academia, the business community, and government come together to develop new, smart solutions. A significant portion of these innovations is made possible by grants, and that presents a challenge: how do you ensure that a growing and increasingly diverse grant portfolio remains financially sound, transparent, and manageable? As a (senior) project controller, you’ll be the one to make that happen.

Your role?

You’ll be joining the Finance team: a small team consisting of a coordinator, a financial administration staff member, and you as a (senior) project controller. This role combines broad financial knowledge with specific expertise in the areas of grant projects, financial management, and accountability. We’re looking for a critical partner who can review potential grant projects from the very beginning, identify risks, and has the knowledge to stack grants and optimize the grant portfolio.

The process for grant projects already exists, but it’s ready for a new, more professional structure—and that’s exactly where you’ll make a difference. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to suggest improvements and take work processes and systems to the next level. So this isn’t just a monitoring and support role: we’re looking for someone who truly takes ownership of processes and professionalizes them. That requires someone who not only understands numbers and risks but also thrives on building new work methods, tools, and structures.

What are you going to do?

You will be the financial linchpin of our grant projects and a key partner for domain managers and project leaders, from the very first idea through to the final financial report. We are specifically looking for someone with proven experience in (setting up) the financial reporting and management of grants.

Specifically:

• You advise domain managers and project leaders at an early stage on grant opportunities, risks, and the feasibility of an application.
• You evaluate grant applications and budgets, and monitor progress reports, expense reports, and change requests.
• Together with project leaders, you will prepare grant accountability reports and organize external audits, including a complete and accurate documentation package.
• You will identify financial risks and bottlenecks in projects in a timely manner and ensure they are addressed at the appropriate level.
• You contribute to the overall planning and budgeting cycle (budget, monthly and quarterly reports, and annual financial statements), with a specific focus on and reporting regarding grant projects.
• You contribute ideas on how to combine grants and how we can utilize our grant portfolio more effectively.
• You provide advice on grant caps and new programs, and ensure that existing programs are periodically evaluated.
• You work toward the continuous improvement of a consistent, professional approach to grant oversight: from workflows and templates to adjustments in applications and clear agreements with project teams.
• You maintain capacity planning and take on broader PMO tasks related to

Who are you?

You switch effortlessly between implementation, policy, and oversight, and you know how to get others on board with a clear, consistent approach. You have strong expertise in the field of grants and have proven experience advising on grant programs and optimizing a grant portfolio (stacking). In addition, you take the initiative to optimize processes and professionalize project control. You are a constructive discussion partner, but you also aren’t afraid to be critical when necessary.

Furthermore, you recognize yourself in the following:

• Analytical and detail-oriented, while maintaining an overview of the big picture.
• Strong at advising and communicating complex matters in clear language.
• Organizationally savvy: you have a good sense of where and how to raise an issue.
• Focused on improvement and results, with an affinity for setting up and professionalizing processes.
• Skilled at collaborating, both with internal colleagues and external grant providers.

Knowledge and Experience

• HBO-level work and thinking skills in a financial or administrative field, such as Finance & Control.
• Experience in accountancy is a plus.
• At least four years of relevant experience in the field of grants, preferably including knowledge of cross-border/European grant programs.
• Extensive knowledge of grant processes and the relevant laws and regulations.
• Experience advising on grant programs, grant reporting, and complex grant-related issues.
• Experience in designing, redesigning, or coordinating processes: you have previously demonstrated the ability to introduce structure where it is lacking.
• Strong verbal and written proficiency in Dutch and English; knowledge of German is a plus.

What do we offer you?

You’ll be working on the Finance team—a small team consisting of a coordinator, a financial administration associate, and you as a (senior) project controller—within the broader Brightlands Data & AI Campus. In addition, we offer:

• A gross monthly salary, depending on your knowledge and experience, ranging from €5,800 to €6,350 (excluding vacation pay) based on a 40-hour workweek.
• A one-year contract for 32 to 40 hours per week (1 FTE) with the possibility of extension.
• 30 days of paid leave based on full-time employment, supplemented by six additional public holidays (Carnival Monday and Tuesday, Good Friday or Eid al-Fitr, Liberation Day, the day after Ascension Day, and New Year’s Eve).
• A work-from-home allowance and travel expense reimbursement.
• The first round of interviews will take place in week 44 or 45

Questions?

Questions about the position? Please contact Bianca van Kalsbeek.