The Audit unit is a small organisational unit that is primarily focused on identifying opportunities for process improvements. It does this by conducting audits. Each year, it selects a number of processes that it believes are in need of optimisation. These processes may be related not only to finances, ICT and human resources, but also to teaching and research support. The actual audit (from the Latin audit, he hears) consists of ‘hearing’ a number of involved and interested parties and studying the process results. On the basis of this input, the unit formulates an opinion on the management of the process. It then makes a number of recommendations for improvement, in consultation with the process owner. The opinion and the recommendations are recorded in an audit report. If the Executive Board adopts the report, this automatically leads to a binding improvement programme.

The UvA’s Data Protection Officer (FG) ensures that the UvA applies and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The FG is supported in this task by a small team (the DPO Office) of 2 privacy officers and 2 privacy lawyers, one of whom is on secondment from Legal Affairs. In coordination with the FG, the team advises and supports the UvA in the area of privacy and works closely with the decentralised privacy contact officers (PCOs) active within each unit and faculty.

Headed by the Secretary General of the UvA, the Executive Management Support division provides direct assistance to the Executive Board and the Secretary General. The division comprises Official Secretaries, as well as the Clerk and secretariats of the Executive Board and the Secretary General.

The secretariats of the Central Works Council (COR), the Joint Works Council for the shared service units (GOR) and the Central Students Council (CSR) also formally form part of the Executive Management Support division. These secretariats provide support to the representative advisory bodies and are primarily supervised by the managing committee of the relevant representative advisory body.

The Office of the Rector comprises the secretariat of the Doctorate Board and the Office of the Beadle.

The Doctorate Board (College voor Promoties) comprises 7 members – the deans of the UvA’s 7 faculties – and is chaired by the Rector Magnificus of the UvA.

The Doctorate Board is legally authorised to confer doctoral degrees. To this end it establishes General Doctorate Regulations (Algemeen promotiereglement), outlining the procedures relating to the preparation and defence of a doctoral thesis. In addition, the Doctorate Board is entitled to confer honorary doctorates to mark distinguished contributions to a field or society in general. The Board also plays a role in the establishment of special chairs and the appointment of Honorary Professors.

The secretariat assists the Board in its daily activities, and is the first port of call for questions concerning the Board’s responsibilities and the registration of doctoral candidates.

The Office of the Beadle administers the timetable of the locations where the doctoral defence ceremonies take place, namely the Aula and the Agnietenkapel. It also organises and supervises academic events, such as doctoral defence ceremonies, inaugural lectures and the Dies Natalis (the UvA’s birthday).

The Legal Affairs department provides support and advice to the University of Amsterdam’s Executive Board, the management of the faculties and the central units. It is in charge of processing objections and appeals submitted by UvA staff and students, and advises the UvA’s many and diverse departments on the implementation and interpretation of laws and regulations and of case law in a range of areas.

Read more about the Legal Affairs department

The Head of Operational Management is responsible for the coordination of financial, accommodation, ICT and personnel matters and for the associated internal communication.

The Head of  Operational Management is also responsible for the secretariats of the Executive Staff, the Joint Works Council for the shared service units (GOR), the Central Works Council (COR) and the Central Student Council (CSR). The Head of Operational Management also supervises the assistants of the University Professors.

In addition, the Head of Operational Management also manages the Office of the Rector, which is comprised of the secretariats of the Doctorate Board and the Office of the Beadle.

The P&O department formulates the strategic policy in terms of labour relations, HRM, organisation development and social matters. In addition, the department interprets the employer responsibility of the Executive Board (including the CAO and specific rules relating to the legal position and terms of employment at the UvA). The department is responsible for the proper functioning of the entire chain of activities in the field of P&O.

The Department of Records and Information Management Services (DIV) is in charge of carrying out the statutory archival task for the university. One of tasks of the department is to disclose all administrative documents of the Executive Board and the Executive Staff and to keep them accessible. Other tasks of the department include writing policy papers on record management and advising faculties and other units on the Public Records Act and regulations derived from it.

Academic Affairs is responsible for formulating strategic policy on teaching, research and students, including policy on professorial appointments, doctorates and the internationalisation of teaching and research.

The Finance, Planning and Control division is responsible for the financial and managerial control, the UvA-wide financial planning and control cycle (budget, interim reports and annual accounts), and all dealings with the accountant and the tax office.

The Human Resource Management unit formulates the UvA's strategic policy with regard to labour relations, HRM, organisational development and social affairs. In addition, the unit represents the Executive Board in the matter of employer responsibility (with regard to, among other things, the collective labour agreement and UvA-specific legal status and terms of employment regulations). The unit is also responsible for the operation of the entire chain of the UvA’s P&O activities.

The Strategy and Information division is responsible for strategic governance, the provision of executive information (including the management and development of UvAdata), the operational audit function and all Executive Staff matters which transcend departments.

The Information Management (IM) unit is the UvA’s policy unit for information/data management and ICT and is part of the Executive Staff unit. The unit advises the Executive Board on strategic and tactical aspects of the university’s ICT policy. In coordination with relevant stakeholders, the IM unit draws up university-wide frameworks and policies, such as the information security and information architecture policy. In addition, the IM unit prepares the annual ICT portfolio, which is the implementation plan for the UvA’s digital renewal agenda. It also monitors progress on the key points in this agenda.

The Director of the Communications Office is charged with managing and supervising the UvA’s central communications division. The Communications Office supports the Executive Board, faculties and other shared service units in the formulation and execution of the UvA’s communication policy. In addition the department is the first point of contact regarding alumni relations, relation managment, fundrasing and fund management, and it advises the boards of the UvA Alumni Association and the Amsterdam University Fund foundation.