RELIEF POSITION - LOOKOUT AT DROGDEN COAST OBSERVATION STATION

Monitoring of the Danish waters has never been more important – become our lookout replacement at the Drogden Coastal Lookout Station.

About us

The Drogden Coastal Lookout Station is a fixed lighthouse, which replaced the beacon in the mid-1930s, and is one of four coastal lookout stations in Denmark. The lookout station is under the Maritime Surveillance Center (Navy Surveillance Unit in the 3rd Squadron) in Frederikshavn, and the lighthouse itself is located in the southern part of the Øresund, about an hour’s sailing from the Navy Station Copenhagen, Holmen.

We monitor the waters around Drogden 24/7, and have close cooperation with other authorities regarding the maritime area.

We can offer you to become part of a competent crew of 8 colleagues (all civilians), each with a dedicated approach to the job and a strong esprit de corps. You will be on watch with 2 colleagues at a time, and the composition of the watch teams changes from shift to shift.

About the position

The position is a relief role averaging 25 hours per week. The position is available from 1 January 2027.

As our future Drogden coastal lookout relief, you will perform independent tasks where you, using radar, AIS (Automatic Identification System), binoculars and images, must identify, register and monitor vessel traffic in the southern part of the Sound. Through registering and entering facts about the vessel traffic, you help create a maritime overview that is used in a range of contexts by the Armed Forces and other Danish authorities.

The lighthouse does not look after itself, so you will help take care of it, ensuring we always have power for the equipment and gear used on the lighthouse. In addition, we perform incidental tasks such as receiving transport ships when they arrive with water, oil and the watch reliefs. We also work with external craftsmen from inland who perform the larger tasks on the lighthouse. Furthermore, there is minor maintenance/monitoring of equipment for both DMI and Secure Waters (a part of the Danish Emergency Management Agency), oil/filter changes on generators, cleaning, cooking, etc.

The Drogden Coastal Lookout Station is manned 365 days a year, and the shifts are arranged on a one-week rotation. You will join the shift according to the station manager’s assessment of staffing needs. The watch teams live and work on the lighthouse for 8 days at a time. The working week runs from Wednesday to Wednesday, but due to weather unpredictability, it may shift by 1-2 days at both ends, e.g. starting Monday or Tuesday and the following week Thursday or Friday.

A normal work week is about 75-80 hours, as there is additional urgent work to be done beyond the watch. More hours may be expected when swapping shifts Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday. There will subsequently be about 6 days off before the next watch week begins.

You must be able to be called at short notice in connection with illness. When it comes to relief for regular staff leave or holidays, this can be arranged well in advance.

Training occurs as on-the-job training and short training courses that enable you to function in the position. In addition, you should expect to undergo first aid, ROC (radio certificate), Hygiene course and attendance at various seminars, professional days and other courses required to be at Drogden.

About you

We emphasize that you have a structured approach to work tasks with attention to detail, good collaborative skills, and flexibility regarding working hours and tasks. The culture is open and straightforward, and we value professional pride and the ability to take responsibility for the task. We expect you to have basic IT skills and to be able to speak, read and understand English. If you have maritime experience, that would be an advantage.

You must be able to work independently and function on both watches, as you are alone on the lookout watch and together with others to solve the other tasks. Therefore, it would also be an advantage if you have a reasonably practical hands-on skill and can handle a screwdriver.

The service at the Drogden Coastal Lookout Station is ultimately a team effort. It is therefore important that you are good at collaborating – both with your nearest colleagues at Drogden and across the different units in the Navy Surveillance Unit, including the other 3 coastal lookout stations.

Employment terms

Employment is in accordance with the current Collective Agreement between the Ministry of Finance and Public Employees Organizations – The Civil Service Area (OAO-S collective agreement) and the Organizational Agreement for cleaning assistants, sanitators, skilled workers and certain trades graduates, etc. in the state, etc. (3F).

Upon employment, a supplement will be paid as compensation for the special conditions applicable to service at the Drogden Coastal Lookout Station.

In addition, upon employment there will be the possibility to negotiate an additional allowance based on your qualifications for the position.

Variable benefits: There are no variable benefits, such as night pay, weekend compensation, split shifts, etc., as a fixed allowance is provided instead.

There is an employer-financed pension plan attached to the position.

The fixed workplace will be Copenhagen.

As an employee in the Ministry of Defence's group, you are subject to certain special terms. You must, among other things, be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance during the entire employment process.

As an employee you are obliged to perform service outside the country’s borders, including at units in international operations with a view to participation in conflict prevention, peacekeeping, peace-building, humanitarian and other similar operations.

Contact and application

If you want to learn more about the temporary position, you are welcome to contact the station manager Hans-Henning Madsen at telephone 6170 0789.

If you have questions about salary and employment terms, you are welcome to contact the Personnel Command, HR consultant Birgit Jepsen at telephone 3266 5811.

The application deadline is 5 November 2026, and the position is to be filled by 1 January 2027.

After the application deadline, we will conduct a qualitative assessment of the applicants and invite to interviews. Interviews are expected to be held during November 2026.

You apply for the position via the link and we ask you to attach your application, CV and copies of your education certificates. Please note that attachments must be added in PDF format.

In the Ministry of Defence’s organization we believe that diversity optimizes task solving. Therefore we encourage all interested regardless of background to apply for the position.

About the 3rd Squadron

The tasks of the 3rd Squadron include maritime duties with particular focus on the waters in and around Denmark, including authority tasks of permanent character as well as civilian-related societal-beneficial maritime tasks. The 3rd Squadron units solve the Navy’s national tasks 24/7/365. The majority of the squadron’s units are engaged in monitoring, sovereignty enforcement, environmental and transport tasks as well as search and rescue.

The 3rd Squadron looks after Denmark’s waters – always!!