Chief Physician in Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Aarhus University Hospital

Unique department with high professional standards and the entire patient journey in focus seeks a Chief Physician in classical thoracic surgery as of January 1, 2027.

Cardio-, Thoracic- and Vascular Surgery is a specialty department that handles both regional functions and highly specialized functions.

The department provides surgical treatment and care for patients with heart, lung and vascular diseases, as well as a number of support functions for the entire AUH in the anesthesiology area.

The department consists of three medical specialties and is divided into

• Anesthesiology
• Thoracic Surgery
• Vascular Surgery

Cardio- and Thoracic- and Vascular Surgery is a dynamic department with about 240 staff. The department comprises three ward floors, an operating suite, a preparation and recovery unit, a perfusion unit and a research unit.

The department is characterized by

• placing the patient’s needs first and seeing the whole person
• creating results through collaboration in dialogue with the patient, relatives and colleagues
• having the highest professional standards, and we strive for continued development
• educating, developing and supporting each other with a focus on improvement and learning in practice
• having the courage to lead from the front and to push boundaries. This is how we make the difficult possible.

The chief physician is anchored in classical thoracic surgery with broad collaboration within the department. The chief physician is a specialist in thoracic surgery.

The position will be divided between clinical work and leadership. Two days a week are dedicated to the leadership task. The chief physician will participate in on-call duties from home together with the other lung-surgical consultants. The on-call frequency is approximately 6-8 shifts per month.

The chief physician participates in and is expected to attend meetings in

• the department management team (department management and functional heads)
• the functional management for the Lung Surgical Ward in collaboration with a chief nurse
• the OR leadership team (joint leadership of the operating area, where 3 surgical consultants, 2 anesthesiology consultants and 2 head nurses are responsible for the operation of the operating suite).

The chief physician must

• eventually have personnel responsibility for the lung surgical specialists
• be responsible for optimal utilization of resources, including OR and work planning with regard to training and the robustness of the department
• focus on professional development, teaching and research.

We seek a chief physician who

• has training in leadership or is prepared to undertake this
• has a clear, inclusive and dialogue-based leadership style, and places high value on collaboration with staff
• supports patient care through clear leadership
• is analytical, development-oriented and contributes with ideas and initiatives for ongoing development of the department
• creates the opportunity for flexible use of resources and robustness in task execution
• has good cross-disciplinary collaborative relationships
• focuses on and works for a healthy work environment
• is loyal to the rest of the management system and has a special responsibility to ensure the implementation of decisions
• engages in dialogue with partners and can subsequently make decisions.

Job description can be found here .

Applications are submitted electronically, including documentation of competencies within the 7 physician roles. Find the form here .

Applicants’ qualifications will be assessed based on the 7 physician roles.

Salary and employment terms in accordance with the current collective agreement. Employment is conditional on a satisfactory criminal background check and a satisfactory authorization.

Further information about the role can be obtained from Chief Physician Lars Ilkjær at telephone 3092 2394.

The application deadline is October 19, 2026, and interviews are expected to be held in week 44.

The position is, as a rule, a full-time position.

As Region Midtjylland continuously implements savings and reorganizations, employees in redeployment who apply for the position will have priority.

Region Midtjylland is, under the EU’s pay transparency directive, which came into force on June 7, 2026, obliged to inform you of the starting pay or a starting pay range for a position before you are offered employment.

Here you can find Region Midtjylland’s salary catalog for most professional groups and positions that exist in Region Midtjylland: Transparency prior to employment - Employee.rm.dk