DIGNITY seeks Bridge Builder

Would you like to make a concrete difference for traumatized refugees and help people who may have difficulty finding their way into local activities, offers and communities? Do you have strong relational skills and experience working closely with people in socially vulnerable positions?

Then DIGNITY - Danish Institute Against Torture can offer you an exciting opportunity as a bridge-builder in our clinic.

DIGNITY's rehabilitation clinic works with multidisciplinary treatment and rehabilitation of traumatized refugees and their families, as well as research and development work. DIGNITY is approved by the Danish Health Authority as a highly specialized national center with a specialization in rehabilitation of severely traumatized refugees and has a contract with the Capital Region of Denmark.

DIGNITY was founded in 1982 as one of the world's first specialized rehabilitation centers for torture survivors. Today, we are a leading global actor in research-based prevention of torture and rehabilitation of traumatized people worldwide. We work politically, medically, legally and developmentally for a world free of torture.

About the position

You will be part of the National Rehabilitation department and the project “Bridges to Life – co-creation with traumatized refugees, civil society and health actors.” The project aims to strengthen refugees' quality of life and everyday coping during and after treatment at DIGNITY. We do this, among other things, by building bridges between our treatment and activities, offers and communities in the patients' local area.

As a bridge-builder, your most important task is to be close to the patients and help them translate their wishes and needs into concrete communities and activities outside the clinic. This requires that you can build trust, take initiative and work persistently – with hands-on support – even when the path into new communities is not straightforward.

As a bridge-builder, your tasks include

• engaging in dialogue with patients about their dreams, wishes and reservations regarding participation in activity or social opportunities in their local area
• testing relevant offers together with patients and supporting and motivating them in the transition from treatment to activities and communities outside the clinic
• helping and supporting patients to create a safe first contact with activities and following up if participation becomes difficult
• building good relationships with associations, civil society offers, municipal offers and other local actors
• working closely with the multidisciplinary treatment teams in the clinic
• documenting in writing and communicating patients' experiences and perspectives to benefit the project's method development
• participating in relevant workshops, meetings and other activities in the project.

The position thus involves both work at DIGNITY and work out in the environments and local areas where patients need to establish a foothold. You must therefore be comfortable with part of the work taking place outside the office.

We offer

A stimulating job in a diverse workplace and

• The opportunity to make a difference for some of the most vulnerable people in our society
• A job where the relationship with patients and practical support is central
• A high degree of independence and the opportunity to influence how the bridge-building works in practice
• Good colleagues and a strong multidisciplinary community
• A varied job where days are not alike
• Engaged and skilled colleagues with high professional standards, good collegial relationships and shared learning
• A dynamic organization with a global outlook and a strong professional and human rights focus.

About you and your competencies

We are primarily looking for an employee who is strong in direct relational work and can build contact and trust with people who may have very different prerequisites for participating in society's activities and communities.

You have a people-first approach rather than a system focus and can navigate in different systems and help others find their way through them. You are not afraid to pick up the phone, approach a local association, take a patient by the arm and accompany them or try another path if the first one does not succeed.

We imagine that you

• are educated as a social educator, social worker or have another relevant professional education
• have a few years of experience with relational work and preferably outreach or field work
• have experience with people in socially vulnerable and fragile positions
• can motivate and support people without taking responsibility away from them
• can work independently and find concrete solutions to practical and social barriers
• are good at establishing contact and collaboration with patients, professionals and volunteers
• can document your work and contribute to the necessary follow-up.

It is an advantage if you have experience with refugees, people with trauma, recovery and social vulnerability. It is also an advantage if you have experience with project work and including co-creation processes, user involvement and methodological development.

As a person you are

• trustworthy, empathetic and respectful.
• persistent and patient – even when development is slow
• initiative-taking and proactive
• pragmatic and good at finding solutions
• comfortable with working independently and outside the office
• collaborative and good at engaging in a multidisciplinary environment
• curious about people with different experiences and life circumstances than your own.

Employment terms

Your workplace will be DIGNITY's headquarters at Bryggervangen 55, 2100 Copenhagen Ø.

It is a fixed-term position of 30 hours per week (including lunch) for 2.5 years. The clinic's opening hours are weekdays 8-16, and we have flexible hours, so there is an opportunity to adjust working hours according to agreements and meetings, just as there may be tasks outside the clinic in the late afternoon and early evening.

You will be employed under a relevant collective agreement.

We obtain child certificates for all who are or may be employed with children under 15 years. In addition, we screen all new employees for the UN and EU terror lists, which is part of our standard procedure as required by our donors.

More information

If you have questions about the position, you are welcome to contact the head of National Rehabilitation, Nikolai Roitmann, by email [email protected] or project leader Ditte Shapiro at [email protected] or phone 31 54 00 71.

We hope you can start with us on 1 January 2027.

Application and interviews

Submit your application with CV and diploma via the link no later than Sunday, 15 November 2026

We expect to conduct the first interview round on 24 November and the second on 26 November 2026.

DIGNITY is an international human rights and development organization. Since 1982 we have worked for a world free from torture and violence. We prevent torture and violence, treat traumatized victims and support local partner organizations in documenting serious human rights abuses so those responsible can be prosecuted.

DIGNITY is headquartered in Denmark but collaborates with partner organizations in around twenty countries.

DIGNITY regards diversity as a strength and therefore encourages all qualified applicants to apply for the position regardless of ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion or age.