All Things Urban

In 2011, The Class Foundation was founded in response to a growing student housing crisis in the Netherlands. This regional scope widened throughout the past decade but the core purpose remained; unveiling innovative solutions to the common challenge in solving the student housing crisis.

The 5 Basics:

• A fulltime position in a lively 12 people co-working space in the heart of Amsterdam
• Be the face and the voice of the Europe’s leading think tank on student accommodation, coliving, urban campus and university-cities
• Elevate the think tank to the next level by strengthening our content team
• Lead an ambitious, international and fun team
• Travel across Europe’s most exciting cities

The leading think tank on student and young professionals’ living, working and learning in Europe is looking for a managerial level real-estate investment and urban development expert to join our growing team. As higher education is becoming a global industry, the way in which universities, cities and countries attract talent is changing. Our foundation connects the international communities of real estate, student housing, blended living typologies, higher education and urban development.

What will you be doing?

You are responsible for further strengthening our think tank proposition and for developing The Class of 2020 platform. You enrich our expertise with the team and present our insight to the growing ecosystem of stakeholders. You will be the face and the voice of the organisation, leading interaction with relevant partners and driving our ambition to become the world’s leading think tank with advisory services and partnership driven activities. The Class specialises in 4 distinctive yet connected expertise: research, advisory, events and training. As a supervisor of the content team and a sparring partner of the Managing Director, this position focuses on the first two while supporting the organisation achieving the excellence of the last two. You report directly to the Managing Director and liaise closely with the Founder.

It is our mission as a think tank to lead the trends and set the most urgent, relevant and important agenda for our industry. Our commitment towards making student and young professional living more professional, welcoming and international inspires us to organise specific events in numerous European countries. Through these events we raise awareness on the topics of our choice, increase the knowledge base of the industry and facilitate networking between universities, providers, investors and policy makers. In the year 2020, The Class of 2020 will celebrate our GRADUATION year and will continue making the positive impact on the society with our community via organising the following core events and projects:

• The Class Conference, November 2020 with over 75 speakers and 1000 people attending (expected)
• 7 Regional Sessions in UK, Spain, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Italy with expert panels and 200 people attending (expected)
• 2 professional development trainings in Europe with 80 strategic and operational staff attending (expected)
• 1 intercontinental event (The Class Conference Preview in New York City in September)
• An advisory and research projects throughout a year together with partners
• Publication of The Class Trend Report that will be released during The Class Conference

Your 5 priorities – lead the leaders of the industry

• Be the thought leader and trend setter: Identifying the current trends within and beyond the industry and forecasting the future of alternative real-estate investments
• Stay curious and stir curiosity: Investigating further to dig deeper into the potential impact and implications of the identified topics and trends
• Create relevance, urgency and importance: Initiating and deepening the conversation with the relevant stakeholders to showcase the shared value that can be created together
• Stimulate public-private partnerships: Connecting parties that can benefit from each other - investors, developers, operators, cities, universities, service providers, etc.
• Generate movement: Enhancing government, university and student housing collaborations and their ability to attract and retain talent for university cities

To be a successful candidate for this challenging yet exciting position, you will have expertise in alternative real-estate investment, city/urban development and a true passion for growing with others. You thrive on fast-paced business development and have a very outgoing personality. The successful candidate for this role will be highly organised, engaging as a motivational leader and a great networker and storyteller, with the ability to seize commercial opportunities and respond to the needs and wants of different stakeholders.

5 things we look for:

• Critical and analytical thinker with 5+ years of proven experience in advisory, research, partnerships and team management; with a strong capability to represent the organisation as an engaging storyteller and conference host
• Proven capability to quickly translate knowledge into actions; including experience with industry foresights and leadership development, quantitative and qualitive research, project and stakeholder management
• A start-up can-do mentality and the leadership skills to grow and coach a young, international and dynamic team in our Amsterdam HQ
• Relevant MA/MBA level education or equivalent experience, preferably in real estate, urban planning, city policy making, investor relations or a related field; affinity with the student housing, coliving and other blended living typologies and urban regeneration is a must
• Fluent in English both spoken and written; fluency in Dutch is a plus

If you meet the requirements and are keen to join the Class of 2020, please send your CV and motivation letter to Ms. Yoony Kim via work@theclassof2020.org. The Vacancy will remain open until the position is filled. We are looking to start this position as soon as possible.

We’re not fully sure whether this role is open to international candidates. If you would need visa sponsorship or work authorisation, we recommend checking directly with the employer before applying.