Experienced child participation consultant with a strong child welfare background

Experienced child participation consultant with a strong child-related professional profile Do you want to help ensure that children's perspectives have impact when political decisions affecting their lives are made? In the Children's Council we work for children's rights and for involving children in political decision-making processes.

We are seeking an experienced child participation consultant with solid child-related knowledge and practical experience who can lead the development of our child participation and set a strategic direction for how child participation is integrated into the Children's Council's overall work.

Your tasks

Your main task will be to set the direction for the child participation work in the Children's Council and translate this into concrete priorities, methods and workflows in close collaboration with the secretary-general and your colleagues.

You must ensure that children's experiences and perspectives are systematically integrated into the council's work – from choosing themes and planning participation processes to developing recommendations to politicians and authorities and communicating in the public debate.

You will also personally conduct participation processes with children and young people and use the experiences from these to continuously develop our approach.

Your tasks will include, among others, to

• Develop and drive a plan for how child participation is integrated into the Children's Council's work.
• Develop common methods and workflows that ensure high child-professional quality and ethically sound participation.
• Plan and facilitate child panels, workshops, hearings and interviews that give children of different ages, experiences and prerequisites the opportunity to participate, including children in vulnerable and at-risk situations.
• Process and convey children's experiences and perspectives faithfully and clearly so they can be included in the Children's Council's analyses, recommendations and political work.
• Advise decision-makers, civil servants and partners on how children can be meaningfully involved in decision-making processes.
• Build and maintain relevant collaborations and networks on child participation nationally and internationally.

You will also become part of the secretariat's joint knowledge work on children's rights and conditions in close collaboration with the other professional consultants.

Your qualifications

We are looking for an experienced and independent consultant who can combine strategic development with practical child participation. You have:

• A relevant education such as a psychology degree or a professional bachelor's degree as social worker, teacher or pedagogue with a relevant master's level.
• Solid theoretical knowledge of and practical experience with child participation.
• At least five years of relevant experience working with children, including facilitation of groups and conversations, ideally also with children in disadvantaged and vulnerable situations.
• Experience in setting professional and strategic direction and translating it into practice in an organization.
• Documented experience with project management and ability to independently develop, lead and follow up on your own projects. Experience with program management is an advantage.
• Knowledge of children's rights and the ethical and child-related considerations that must underpin the involvement of children.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, preferably with experience in translating children's perspectives and child-related knowledge into analyses, reports and opinion pieces, etc.
• Good overview of the children's sector and familiarity with child policy agendas.

Personality

You thrive with responsibility and work independently and in a structured way. You have an eye for both the details of each participation process and the connection to the Children's Council's strategic goals.

You can establish a trusting contact with children and young people and adapt your approach to their different needs and prerequisites.

You can engage colleagues and partners and create shared ownership of new methods and workflows.

You thrive in a small developing organization where we work closely across disciplines and help each other solve tasks.

About the Children's Council The Children's Council is a state advisory council that works to ensure children's rights based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. We advise the government, the Parliament and other authorities on issues concerning children's rights and conditions and speak for the voices of children and young people in the public debate.

You will be employed in the Children's Council secretariat, which consists of nine staff with child-related, legal, communicative and administrative competencies. As a secretariat, it is our task to support the chair of the council and the other eight members. We do this in close collaboration across disciplines, where sparring and joint task-solving is a natural part of our working methods.

We are driven by our commitment to creating a strong Children's Council that stands on children's rights and brings children's voices into the public debate and conveys knowledge to children about their rights.

Employment terms You are employed under the applicable collective agreement for academics in the state.

Depending on qualifications and experience, the appointment will be made with classification as a senior or chief consultant.

We expect you to be able to start on December 1, 2026

The workplace is Hovedgaden 12, 1D, 7190 Billund with the possibility of home working. You should expect to be present at the office 2–3 days a week. In addition, you should occasionally expect to be present in Copenhagen and other places in the country.

Process and information The application deadline is Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at 12:00.

We expect to hold the first interview Friday, October 23 in Billund and possibly a second interview Monday, October 26 on Teams. If you want to know more about the position, you can contact the secretariat head Maja Olesen at tel. 33 78 33 03.

The Children's Council encourages all interested parties regardless of age, gender, disability, religion and ethnic origin to apply for the position.