The chair to which Van Rossem is appointed is co-funded by the Amsterdam Municipal Office for Listed Buildings and Archaeology (Bureau Monumenten en Archeologie, BMA). The appointment is an important step in creating a stronger connection between science and current heritage issues in Amsterdam.

In his teaching and research work at the UvA, Vincent van Rossem will be focusing on issues concerning the preservation of historic buildings in relation to urban development history, in particular since the nineteenth century. He will also be addressing the relationship between the preservation of historic buildings and the ongoing transformation of the modern city. Van Rossem will have teaching responsibilities for students following the Bachelor's and Master's programmes in Art History and the Research Master in Art Studies.

Van Rossem has been working as an architectural historian for the BMA since 1997. He received his PhD with honours in 1991 from the UvA for his dissertation entitled The General Extension Plan of Amsterdam; History and Design (Het Algemeen Uitbreidingsplan van Amsterdam. Geschiedenis and ontwerp). He subsequently worked in a range of capacities, including as a freelance researcher and writer, and as a postdoc at the UvA. Van Rossem also holds various consultancy and management positions. For example, he is a board member of the Association of Friends of Central Amsterdam (Vereniging Vrienden van de Amsterdamse Binnenstad) and editorial team member for the Annual of the Cuypers Society (Cuypersgenootschap). He has previously been a member of the Amsterdam Board for the Preservation of Listed Buildings (Amsterdamse Raad voor de Monumentenzorg) and a member of the Buildings Aesthetics and Monuments Committee (Commissie voor Welstand and Monumenten) in Amsterdam.