About Willeke Kloosterman
Willeke has an MSc in Industrial Engineering and Management from the University of Twente in the Netherlands. She joined Vattenfall in 2007 as a Development Manager.
“I began my career in project management, developing and constructing gas fired power plants. Being involved in a project from the start right through to delivery – and seeing the direct impact of decisions I made – was great experience.
I loved the responsibility and accountability involved but I also wanted to help find better ways of working to avoid the ‘ivory tower syndrome’ often seen in organisations. I came up with the idea for a new project improvement role to unlock the benefits of involving everyone in the process. The opportunity to do that shows how at Vattenfall you can determine your own path. You can set the bar as high as you want in terms of your career and you get the support to achieve it.
Flexibility valued
In my current job I now manage a team of 30 not only providing resources to the projects but also looking at ways to drive improvements across projects. That includes softer skills such as how we interact with contractors and develop the right culture.
By improving the way we deliver projects we are playing a vital role in helping build the assets which will enable Vattenfall to become fossil-free. Doing that while also making a profit won’t be easy but I feel that every decision made here is with that in mind and every employee is involved.
My job is challenging but there is a lot of focus on having a good work-life balance and as I have two young children I choose to work four days a week. Together with my husband we have built our own home and are now planning further work on it so havingthisflexibility in my job is very valuable.”