“Babbage had remembered well that I wanted to work in a government department”

For over 25 years, we have been connecting organizations with the best marketing, communication and content professionals. We find suitable assignments or positions for junior, medior and senior professionals. In Spot On, we would like to introduce them to you. This time in Spot On: Tanja Snip-Arends about her role as Senior Communications Advisor (ai) at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK).

“Take a step back and look around you, it has brought me so much.”

Everything is communication

“My background is hospitality. I went to secondary hotel school and from there I got into marketing, communication and PR. I wanted to develop myself even further by learning the theory behind the practice that I had been doing for years and thought 'everything I do is communication'. So when my children went to school, I went to college to study communication. My first assignment after that was at UWV and now I have ended up at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate via Babbage Company. That is a whole new experience.”

Something new

“I was at UWV and I really enjoyed it, but as an external employee you have to leave after four years. I had indicated on LinkedIn that I would be available again and Babbage sent me a message asking if I would like to meet them. I then went for coffee with Carina and that was a super nice conversation! She had remembered well that I would like to work at a ministry in a next step. At Babbage they ask a little more, it is nice that they are very accessible. Now I am working on the I-strategy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. I am now closer to the policy and that was my goal.”

The role of communications professionals

“The link to doing this was the IT component. Within the project, we are very focused on technological innovation with, for example, data, robotics and artificial intelligence. That is an angle that I find interesting because it can have a lot of impact. But I can also think about how we can position this. With the program, we want to get something moving, ensure that employees understand how digitalization is changing the world and what that means for policy dossiers and implementation. And that they will act on it with stimulation and support from our program.

What we do is really meant for better policy and better implementation. That is the higher goal. That can have to do with nature in the city or with CO2 emissions. I have the idea that this matters. It is political The Hague, it is about something. I think that is important.

The program is mainly internally focused, but I do not rule out that this will change. It is developing so quickly now, especially the data component, which is large with a lot of external contacts. That can be very useful for the entire program.”

Advice to other professionals

“Keep developing yourself. And if you think 'it doesn't suit me at all', then do something else. Communication is so broad, you can go in all directions. But give it time, that's what I learned at UWV in particular. Take a step back and look around you, that has given me so much. I apply that here again. And if you have doubts about something or you don't know, just say it, that helps.”

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