Athena Waanders, development manager
4 November 2021
What is it like to work as a development manager at Blink if you have no background in the industry? And what makes this job so much fun? Athena Waanders, development manager in Hengelo, tells you all about her experience!
How long have you been working at Blink?
“Since March 2021. Before that, I worked in corporate brokerage for ten years. I really wanted to go into the property development business after my studies, but I graduated during the crisis and then you are happy to find a job. When this opportunity came along at Blink, I grabbed it with both hands!”
What does a regular working day look like for you?
“I am responsible for acquiring new sites, which means I deal with various stakeholders. These include municipalities, housing associations, estate agents and investors. I have a lot of contact with people, which makes the work very fun and very varied! Sometimes I am spotting new locations and negotiating with the owner, other times I sit down with the municipality about zoning plans or have a meeting with an architect to update made plans. It is sometimes very good planning, but I get tremendous energy from this!”
What do you find the biggest challenge in your work?
“Realising affordable housing. Land is scarce in the Netherlands. This combined with the mismatch of supply and demand in the housing market, low interest rates, high construction costs and long lead times of zoning procedures, makes it difficult to realise a development now. Although I believe there are definitely still opportunities! This is where my background in corporate brokerage comes in handy. Thanks to this experience, I have an edge in the commercial field. I am well informed about what is going on in the market and what the needs are by staying in conversation with my network, which enables me to quickly identify opportunities.”
What is the best project you have ever worked on and why?
“I have spotted several beautiful locations, about which I am in contact with the owner or municipalities. However, these are long-term processes. Longer than I am used to from brokerage. There, I could complete a deal within a few weeks (laughs). But I am already very happy with the small steps! I am also working with Rob (Gerritsjans, East Region Manager) on a very large tender. This is new to me and I find it very exciting! Of course, I really hope we will win this one. Partly because it is in my neighbourhood and I will soon be able to drive past it every day and proudly say ‘Look, we realised this together with our team’. That seems really cool!”
Which core value appeals to you most and why?
“Especially ‘Together’, both internally and externally. Working together with your colleagues, but also with different stakeholders – such as municipalities, architects and other market players – is very important. I don’t believe in doing it alone. You always need others to achieve something beautiful. Everyone has their own qualities and strengths that can reinforce each other. And it creates different insights.”
Why would you recommend someone to join Blink?
“When I came to work here, I immediately noticed the strong team spirit. You don’t notice at all that it’s such a big organisation. This is partly because a lot of activities are organised, such as the Sensible Day, sports day and sailing day. But also, for instance, meetings with the commercial team. As a result, you get to know everyone very well, often informally. That is really nice.
Furthermore, lines of communication are short and everyone is willing to help each other. There is a lot of respect and appreciation for each other. Furthermore, there are many opportunities for personal development and growth. Next year, for instance, I will start a Project Development course by NEPROM. It’s great that you get the tools and instruments to perform your job even better and that there is so much trust in its employees from the organisation.”