Case Officer for Land Forces Headquarters to International Policy Section 1 in the Defence Staff

The Defence's international strategic engagement has increased after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. With NATO as the cornerstone, the Baltic Sea region and the Baltic states have a particular focus in Danish defence and security policy. Here, Denmark's role as the framework nation in the multinational division headquarters in Latvia – Multinational Division North (MND-N) – is especially important.

Headquarters (HQ) MND-N is a multinational operational division headquarters in the NATO force structure, which was declared Full Operational Capability (FOC) in 2023 and is rapidly developing toward becoming a fully combat-ready division.

About us

International Policy Section 1 (IP1) is one of four sections in International Policy and the Ukraine Department (IPU) under the Defence Command's Development and Planning Staff (DPS), which is geographically distributed between Karup and Copenhagen. The section consists of 13 staff members and includes both civilians and military.

We work with a broad portfolio of tasks within military-strategic NATO cooperation, development of policy, and tasks related to NATO's defence planning. In addition, we contribute to the development of the Chief of Defence's international engagement and strategic documents related to international partners. We support the Defence leadership on a daily basis and maintain ongoing dialogue with the Ministry of Defence's department.

Daily life is developmental and characterized by international complexity, variation and a broad range of tasks. The tasks often require cross-disciplinary cooperation and cooperation with the Defence Command. There are rarely clear-cut solutions to problems, and there is thus great freedom in how tasks are solved. A strong collaboration – both internally and externally – is therefore essential for our task execution.

The section's task portfolio requires adaptability and flexibility regarding meeting times and working hours. The task solution allows for occasional home working, provided that effective task execution, meeting deadlines and maintaining a high professional level are, of course, prerequisites.

We place emphasis on a strong sense of community, a good work environment and a culture in which we naturally help each other and work as a team. Good colleagues will thus support and help you get started in a function area that may be new to you. The tone is open, honest and informal.

About the position

You will primarily handle the policy and military-strategic aspects relating to Danish engagement in MND-N and the associated Command Support Battalion. Across the organisation and in relation to the MND-N Divisional Committee, where the framework nations are represented politically and militarily.

You will perform the secretarial role and support the head of the Development and Planning Department in his role as chair of the Divisional Committee. In addition, you contribute to the preparation of meeting materials regarding MND-N for the Defence Leadership and the Ministry of Defence, and you will occasionally participate in visits to MND-N.

You will have direct coordination primarily with Denmark's National Military Representative (NMR) at SHAPE, the Ministry of Defence's Department, the Operations Staff, the Army Command and authorities across the Army.

You will handle cross-cutting case processing on behalf of the Defence Command both for national tasks and tasks within the Division Committee and will also be responsible for handling matters related to national structures, establishment, designation and posting in relation to the Danish contribution.

In addition, you will support the section's work with the NATO force goals process with particular responsibility for the land military area in relation to MND-N.

The position will also include tasks as country lead, where you are responsible for staying informed about the military-strategic development in one or more selected countries, contributing to the drafting of cooperation agreements, planning travel and meetings with foreign representatives, and maintaining contact with Danish defence attachés and liaison officers.

Other tasks in the section are distributed on an ongoing basis, as far as possible taking into account the employees' competencies, personal interests and other workload.

About you

You are presumably an academic with a relevant master's degree in the social sciences. You have solid insight into foreign and security policy developments and the drive to implement changes in a large organisation.

Your experience from the Defence, central administration and/or international cooperation and possibly knowledge of Army affairs, in particular from a previous position, is an advantage but not a prerequisite for consideration for the position.

You have analytical acumen, think holistically and have a good understanding of the security policy framework in which the Defence operates. It is central that you can apply this when solving problems by involving others.

You can communicate fluently in writing and speech in Danish and English, and you convey difficult issues in a concise and easily understandable manner across topics and audiences up, down and sideways within the Defence's overall organization.

You are skilled at balancing different positions and considerations. You are also able to understand complex issues in the spectrum between political considerations and military professionalism.

You have a winning personality with a natural ability to create new relationships and build solid networks across services, ranks and nationalities.

You also have a degree of personal flexibility, as unforeseen tasks may need to be solved with short notice at odd times.

Employment terms

The appointment is made in accordance with the currently applicable agreement between the Ministry of Finance and a number of academic associations for academics in the state (Academic Agreement).

Depending on your qualifications and competences, there is a possibility of negotiating allowances. There is an employer-financed pension scheme attached to the position.

Workplaces are in Karup.

As an employee under the Defence Ministry's area, you are subject to some special terms. You must, among other things, be able to obtain security clearance and maintain the clearance throughout the employment.

You as an employee have a duty to perform service outside the country, including at units in international operations with a view to participation in conflict prevention, peacekeeping, peacemaking, humanitarian and other similar operations.

Contact and application

If you want to know more about the position, you are welcome to contact the head of International Policy Section 1, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Nyholm Jørgensen at +45 3089 3818.

If you have questions about salary and employment terms, you are welcome to contact the Personnel Command, HR Consultant Julie Cramer-Palmquist at telephone 3266 5848.

The application deadline is 15 November 2026. We expect to conduct interviews in week 48 with a view to the earliest possible start and no later than 1 January 2027.

You apply for the position via the link, and we ask you to attach the application, CV and a copy of the educational certificate/apprenticeship certificate. Please note that attachments must be added in PDF format.

In the Defence Ministry's organisation we believe that diversity optimises task execution. Therefore we encourage all interested regardless of background to apply for the position.

ABOUT THE DEFENCE COMMAND

The Defence Command is Denmark's and the Realm's top military authority.

The Defence Command carries out its tasks under the motto “Worth fighting for,” and our primary responsibility is to develop, produce and deploy the military capabilities and units in national and international tasks.

The Defence Command is led by the Chief of Defence, who is also the Defence Minister's top military advisor. The Chief of Defence also has responsibility for the operational leadership of the Danish military forces. The Defence Command consists of the Defence Staff and the five commands; the Army Command, the Navy Command, the Air Command, the Special Operations Command, and the Arctic Command.