Employee Council Student and Educational Affairs (SEA)
The Student & Educational Affairs (SEA) Employee Council represents all SEA employees and consults regularly with management. Its focus is the proper functioning of the organisation.
The Employee Council contributes to the smooth running of the department, promotes the well-being and interests of employees, and to the best of its ability, encourages openness, transparency and consultation within SEA.
What does the Employee Council do?
The Employee Council holds regular meetings on behalf of SEA employees with the management of SEA, i.e. Jeroen 't Hart and Saskia van der Ham. With them, it discusses the current situation within SEA with a focus on its operation as a collective whole.
The Employee Council gives solicited and unsolicited advice to management and in turn, management is obliged to respond. Furthermore, management must provide the Employee Council with information on its policies. When new policies are drafted, the Employee Council has, in some cases, a right of consent.
Among other matters, the Employee Council addresses issues in the area of health and safety, work pleasure, training and (re)organisation. They discuss topics such as job satisfaction surveys, working conditions, budgets and financial reports, the physical working environment and any problems within the department.
The SEA Employee Council operates in accordance with the University's Employee Council Regulations.
The Employee Council
The SEA Employee Council is composed of staff members of the Student and Educational Affairs department. It currently consists of 5 elected representatives. The Council can be reached via dienstraad@sea.leidenuniv.nl.
Representatives
As of 1 September 2023, the members are:
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Kirsten Lelieveld | Joint chair |
| Carine de Wilde | Joint chair |
| Cees Faes | General member |
| Crescel Martis | General member |
| Eden Pieterse | General member |
The members of the Employee Council find it important that SEA employees know how to find them. Here they would like to introduce themselves:
Kirsten Lelieveld
My name is Kirsten Lelieveld and since 2021 I have been working as Student Well-Being Project Coordinator. My work includes an interesting and broad range of tasks from which I derive a great deal of energy. I find it very important that students feel good about themselves and learn to be more resilient during their studies. Not only is the well-being of students close to my heart, I also find the well-being of us, as university employees, very important. As a student of Leiden University I served on the University Council in 2018-2019. Since joining the university as an employee, my interest in the Employee Council has grown. I enjoy connecting with colleagues and looking for opportunities within SEA to make our working environment more pleasant. Do you have any ideas on how we can do that? I'd love to hear them.
Carine de Wilde
My name is Carine de Wilde and I have been working as Senior International Relations Officer since April 2022. With my extensive experience and deep passion for internationalisation in education, I am eager to take on the challenge of being a member of the University Council. Some of the essential themes within internationalisation are inclusion, diversity and equality. I believe these values are crucial in any organisation in the broadest sense. In fact, an inclusive and diverse work environment is a breeding ground for creativity and innovation in the workplace. As a result, employees feel happier, comfortable, appreciated and engaged. This not only provides motivation, but also enables employees to reach their full potential. In my opinion, a win-win situation for both the employee and the organisation!
Of course, we as an Employee Council cannot achieve this alone. We also need you, our valued colleagues. So get in touch with us, drop by, or join us for a coffee. We are here for you and would love to hear what is on your mind.
Cees Faes
My name is Cees Faes and I have been working as EL CID Project Coordinator at the Student Support Services department for five years now. After my own board year in which I had the opportunity to organise the EL CID week in 2016, I had the pleasure of joining the university as an employee. In my current position, I am responsible for organising one of the annual introduction weeks. The practical organisational tasks fall mostly to an annually-rotating group of students who I guide in their learning process and in their personal and professional development.
I have been a member of the SEA Employee Council since September 2023. During my years as a university employee, I have felt a growing need to provide input and to help the university and our department make the most of the opportunities to give employees an enjoyable working experience. I feel it is important to contribute towards clear, open and honest communication within our department, in which all parties feel heard and understood. If you have any questions or want to drop by for a coffee and a chat, please feel free to contact me.
Crescel Martis
My name is Crescel Martis and since late 2021 I have been working at the SEA Admissions Office where I am part of the Master team. In my current position as Admissions Officer, and with my years of experience in the hospitality industry, I see how important it is to a streamline work processes whilst not losing sight of the needs of colleagues.
I am convinced that this contributes to a healthy workplace and a healthy atmosphere. Let's work together towards a balanced work environment in which all the factors are in place to allow the flow of information between the work floor and management. Together towards a successful future.
I would love to hear what you think is important and am always open to ideas that can contribute towards a pleasant working environment for everyone.
Eden Pieterse
I have been working as Functional Administrator for Team ATIE (Application, Admission, Enrolment and Exchange) for a year and a half now. In my work, I deal extensively with the processes involved in student enrolment and exchange. Sometimes this means designing a new process, and when doing so, it strikes me how we as employees always do our utmost to make sure processes run as smoothly as possible for students. This is one of the things I appreciate most in this working environment. The genuine empathy and interest of employees in their engagement with students.
But we as employees sometimes also need support to help us do our jobs well. A pleasant working atmosphere and good internal processes are incredibly important. As diverse as our students are, so are our staff. From this perspective, diversity and inclusion are also very important issues for me. How can we as SEA make sure our employees get the support they need, feel at home, and are able to maximise their potential?
On top of that, I would love to hear what’s happening with you and what we, as the SEA Employee Council, can do for you.
Contact
If you have any questions of if there’s anything you think we should be aware of, contact one of our members directly or send an email to dienstraad@sea.leidenuniv.nl.
Our work primarily covers collective issues concerning SEA employees. For issues of an individual nature such as labour disputes, the Employee Council will refer you to other guidance services for staff or to the unions.
Want to know more about employee particaption? Visit the Staff and student participation page.