• Employee
  • 15/09/2026
  • Nederlands

A suitable position for all CEC staff in new network

Change manager Pim van Zanen will present the plan for transforming TU/e’s communication service CEC to the TU/e Executive Board on September 17. According to CEC’s interim director, the new network structure offers a suitable position for all 90 employees.

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photo Angeline Swinckels

TU/e’s Communication Expertise Center – CEC for short – will become a network organization. This means that the employees will no longer be part of a single service, but that their positions will be distributed across four domains: General Affairs (GA), Education & Student Affairs (ESA), Human Resource Management (HRM), and Research Support & Valorization (RSV), as well as the faculties.

Change and transition manager Pim van Zanen, who is overseeing the change process, is happy to explain the plan, but begins with a disclaimer: “The plan is now entering the participation process, and the Executive Board has not yet made a decision.”

 
Pim van Zanen. Photo | Norbine Schalij
Participation

TU/e’s Dienstraad and six of the nine faculty councils will take a critical look at the plan in September and October, focusing in particular on the position of communication and marketing staff. Three faculties have their own communications staff, who are therefore not on CEC’s payroll.

The change manager’s aim is for marketing and communications professionals to become embedded throughout TU/e. “They will form a network connecting the existing chains between ESA, HRM, GA, and RSV and their contacts with all the different target groups we want to put at the center. These range from high school students to alumni and connections in the business community.”

Harmonization

Van Zanen sees a major advantage of the new structure in what he calls harmonization. “This will allow faculties, institutes, and services to benefit from a consistent approach to communication and marketing across TU/e.”

“If the Executive Board hopefully gives its final approval on October 29, the placement process will begin,” says Van Zanen. The plan also describes a new job framework. “What roles do we need at this university? This makes it clearer what we expect from communications and marketing staff and makes internal mobility easier.”

Employee placement

Each of the 90 positions has a specific UFO profile, salary scale, and area of focus. “There is an interchangeable position or a suitable position available for everyone,” Van Zanen assures us. “In the case of a suitable position, one or more characteristics of the position will have changed in the new situation.”

A major new phase will begin on January 1, 2027. By then, the new structure will be in place, employees will have been placed in their new departments, and the actual onboarding and new way of working will begin.

During his explanation in a ‘team talk’ on September 7, Van Zanen says he received “many good questions” from his employees. “Someone wanted to know whether it would be possible to express an interest in positions within the network.” The answer was no. “That’s not possible; everyone will be placed.” Another employee wanted to know whether she could still pursue additional training. “That is possible as a development opportunity, but not in order to qualify for a different position now. Everyone already fits.”

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.

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