Interim People Captain for IT
What are you going to do?
"IT is changing. And somewhere between a new Product Owner, a full sprint, and a good conversation with a colleague, work still needs to work for people."
At Nedap, we increasingly work in value streams, with Product Owners who help create value for colleagues and the organization. We are building a digital operating model. Meanwhile, technology and AI are changing work faster than any organizational chart can keep up with. We want to shape that change actively. That takes people who can learn, collaborate, and sometimes ask: “Wait—how are we going to do this together?”
As Interim People Captain, you support the entire IT department. You step into the People Captain role as it exists today and provide a familiar point of contact during the transition. You have conversations, notice what happens between teams, and help when things get stuck. Drawing on that daily experience, you work with the IT Manager, Value Stream Leads, Product Owners, and HR to design and implement the future approach to people leadership. You keep things moving while embedding people and performance enablement, in line with Nedap’s approach, into IT’s daily work and review rhythm.
Your responsibilities
Your team
Your colleagues in IT, the IT Manager, and the HR Business Partner are your team. Your key stakeholders within this group are the stream leads for Modern Workplace and Secure Core & Resilience, and the Product Owners for PLM, Data & AI, and Business Platform. New people will be joining some of these roles, making this a good time to discover what each person brings and how the group can become stronger together. Some of the satisfaction in this role comes from those small moments when a conversation or an agreement suddenly resolves something.
The IT Manager is the sponsor of this assignment. At first, you work closely with the IT Manager and HR Business Partner to align your approach and prepare decisions together. As the way of working and its boundaries become clearer, you gain more room to act independently within them. Together, you make explicit which decisions fall within your mandate.
You develop proposals with input from Product Owners, Value Stream Leads, and the colleagues involved. You advise based on what you see in daily practice. The IT Manager decides on personnel matters outside your mandate and on the future structure, in alignment with HR and the direction set by the Nedap Leadership Team. You develop that structure within Nedap’s digital operating model, suited to an IT organization that learns quickly and focuses on value and impact.
Our offer
What's in it for you?
This is an assignment where you work closely with people and can see the results in their daily work. After approximately twelve months, people and performance enablement, in line with Nedap’s approach, will be demonstrably embedded in IT’s work and review rhythm. Product Owners and Value Stream Leads will take responsibility for development, performance, and collaboration. We will see this in the performance enablement cycle, regular reviews, and colleagues’ experiences. The future structure will be designed and implemented, with clear role agreements and a careful handover. This will help colleagues continue to develop and enable IT to deliver value and impact for the business.
This assignment is open to both Nedap colleagues and external professionals. We are looking for someone who works independently while collaborating closely with others, sees possibilities, and takes responsibility beyond the boundaries of a defined role. You combine supporting people with designing and implementing a way of working that helps IT succeed.
We aim for a start date of November 1, 2026, and a duration of approximately twelve months. You are available for at least three days a week and work from the Nedap Campus in Groenlo on those days. Terms for external contractors will be agreed separately.
Required skills
You know how to have a good conversation—and when a difficult one is needed. You see the individual in front of you as well as the pattern within a team. You work well with IT leaders and HR, offer clear advice, and help others take responsibility. A little humor often helps, as long as you take the question behind the conversation seriously.
- People leadership. Demonstrable experience with day-to-day responsibility for people, development and performance conversations, team coaching, and supporting leaders. You build trust, clarify expectations, and help others take responsibility.
- Change in practice. Demonstrable experience designing and implementing a future way of working. You help teams and leaders work with a stronger focus on value and impact, and put the conditions in place for them to succeed. You make agreements that hold up when things get busy.
- Understanding of IT and the business. You understand value streams, roadmaps, and sprints, as well as the collaboration between Value Stream Leads, Product Owners, and the colleagues who use IT. You can understand what stakeholders and the business need, or are willing to deepen that understanding. The same principle applies to everyone, including you: before acting, understand why the work is needed, who it creates value for, and what impact is intended. From there, you help determine how we work and what we do.
- Entrepreneurship. You take initiative, think beyond existing structures, and move confidently through areas that are changing and new to the current IT team. You offer IT leadership advice even when it has not been requested, take responsibility beyond the limits of a defined role, and bring people along while respecting their responsibilities.
Get in touch!
AI in your work
At Nedap, we see AI as a valuable tool to help us work smarter. We are curious about what it makes possible and actively explore how it can help us collaborate better, improve the way we work, and create solutions that truly matter. We expect you to do the same: remain curious, explore how AI can add value in your work, and use it thoughtfully, responsibly, and with sound judgment. We provide the tools, space, and support to do so.
About Nedap
Nedap is a global leader in Digital Twin Technology, bridging the physical and digital worlds in Retail, Healthcare, Livestock, and Security. Guided by our Technology for Life philosophy, we create smart, sustainable solutions that help people and organizations thrive in a rapidly changing world. With over 1,000 colleagues, we shape the future with meaningful innovations.
