Amsterdam’s NGO sector, in short
Amsterdam is home to a working cluster of international NGOs and nonprofits, not just corporate HQs.
Greenpeace, Doctors Without Borders (Artsen zonder Grenzen), the Clean Clothes Campaign, Fair Wear Foundation, AFEW, IAVI, IUCN NL, the European Cultural Foundation, World Press Photo, VluchtelingenWerk Nederland, Wemos Foundation, World Granny and the Child Helpline International secretariat all run from the city.
A few major names sit just outside it.
Oxfam Novib, Unicef Netherlands, Cordaid, Hivos and Bernard van Leer Foundation are headquartered in The Hague, close enough that some Amsterdam-based jobseekers commute for the right role.
Start with the organizations directly
Most of these NGOs list vacancies on their own websites first, before any job board picks them up.
Checking each organization’s own careers page is still the most reliable route into a specific sector, whether that’s environmental policy, refugee support or global health.
For a first read on how the wider Dutch job market works -- visas, contract types, what recruiters expect -- Finding A Job In Amsterdam: What To Do First covers the basics before you start applying anywhere.
Recruiters: useful, but rarely NGO-specific
Amsterdam’s big recruitment agencies -- names like Randstad Multilingual Recruitment, Michael Page, Hays, Blue Lynx, Walters People and Undutchables -- mostly place candidates in corporate finance, tech, marketing and legal roles.
None of them specialize in the nonprofit sector specifically, so treat a general recruiter as one channel among several rather than the main route into NGO work.
They’re still worth registering with, especially if your NGO search stalls, because they hear about openings before they’re advertised.
How to Choose a Recruiter in Amsterdam walks through how to pick one and what to expect from the relationship.
EURES: the one official route worth knowing
EURES is the EU’s own job-mobility network, and it’s a genuinely useful official channel for cross-border roles, including at NGOs and intergovernmental bodies with a Dutch presence.
It runs through the European Job Mobility Portal, which is where to search and apply directly -- this site cannot submit an application on a reader’s behalf, so go to the portal itself to use it.
Volunteering as an entry point
Several Amsterdam organizations exist specifically to place people in volunteer roles, which is a common way into the sector before a paid position opens up.
The Vrijwilligers Centrale Amsterdam (VCA) supports volunteering placements across the city and is a sensible first stop if you’re building nonprofit experience from scratch.
Get the CV right before you apply
Dutch employers, including NGOs, expect a specific document, not a US-style resume.
Keep it succinct, tailor it to each role using the language of the vacancy, and always attach a short cover letter explaining the fit -- generic applications get filtered out fast.
CV vs Resume: What Job Seekers in the Netherlands Need to Know sets out exactly what belongs on the page and what to leave off.
If you’re applying through an agency, follow up if you haven’t heard anything within about five working days -- agencies expect it and it rarely counts against you.
Widen the search beyond NGOs
NGO hiring can be slow and seasonal, so it helps to run a broader English-language job search in parallel.
Where to Find English-Speaking Jobs in Amsterdam and the Amsterdam Employment Market Guide For Job Seekers both cover channels that overlap with nonprofit hiring, particularly for policy, communications and program-support roles.
