House parents wanted for a home for 7 placed children and young people

Fjorden is a ‘family placement-like’ children and youth home, which since its inception has been based on a resident couple in charge, where homeliness, presence and a normal everyday life go hand in hand with high professional standards.

Our current principal and his spouse are retiring. Therefore we are looking for a new principal or a principal couple, who like the current couple have a desire to live and reside together with the 7 children and young people who are placed with us. As principal with us you will lead a small team of fixed staff, while also becoming a meaningful adult in the everyday life of the children and young people.

A small children and youth home in a self-governing structure

Fjorden is located in Nørlem near Lemvig and is a self-governing institution affiliated with the association Jysk Børneforsorg/Fredehjem (JBF). The self-governing structure, with its non-profit mindset, is a real alternative to profit-driven welfare. Fjorden thus has no owners or investors who profit from the operation, because any profits must always be reinvested into the offering.

Fjorden is a small children and youth home with seven residential places for children and young people aged 4-18 years. The children may, among other things, have social, psychological, emotional and behavioral difficulties due to experiences of neglect, trauma and unstable relationships.

We may be a small offering, but we have big ambitions

We want to maintain the small, manageable environment with few children and few ongoing adults. Fjorden functions a bit as a middle ground between a foster family and a children and youth home, because our principal couple live on site – a kind of extended foster family model. We believe this provides a lot of advantages, for example it contributes to continuity, presence and the special sense that Fjorden is primarily a home and thus not ‘just’ an institution or a workplace for the adults.

We want Fjorden to be a place where the children as far as possible experience a normal life for children and youth – with homeliness, close and stable relationships, family and networks, school, friends, leisure activities and influence over their own lives. We will continue this ambition through the vision A Homely Home, which among other things stems from the development project ’ Networks that Carry ’ in which Fjorden and JBF were both part.

As a new principal you will therefore not only have the responsibility to continue Fjorden, but also a central role in developing the place together with the children, the staff, the board and JBF.

Read more about ’ A Homely Home ’.

Who are you?

We imagine that you have a relevant pedagogical or social science education and solid experience with children and young people in vulnerable positions. You also have leadership experience or have in another way clearly shown that you can take responsibility for people, professionalism and the organization.

As principal you have the overall responsibility for Fjorden’s professional, staffing, organizational and financial operation. At the same time you are the central person in the daily life of the children, and as a culture-bearer you lead in the everyday interaction, tasks and care for the children.

We are looking for someone who can create trust and calm around themselves and who meets children and young people with curiosity and care. You can see beyond behavior and be concerned with both the child’s vulnerabilities, resources and possibilities, and you can translate this into reflective practice together with the staff group.

We also place emphasis on the following

• See collaboration with the children's families and other networks as a central part of the task
• Be able to collaborate with municipalities, Social Supervisory Authority, schools and other partners
• Be able to create followership and professional direction in a small staff group
• Be able to take responsibility for the economy, operation and the overall organization
• Be eager to develop yourself, the staff and Fjorden
• Have an eye for the possibilities in the self-owned structure and wholeheartedly align with Jysk Børneforsorg/Fredehjem’s value base
• Be willing and ready to engage in collaboration with and the community within Jysk Børneforsorg/Fredehjem.

You will not be alone with the task

You will not be alone in taking responsibility for creating good childhoods. You will have a fixed staff group around you and an engaged board that has the overall responsibility for the institution, with whom you will have a close cooperation.

Through JBF you will also receive secretariat support in relation to administration and economy as well as sparring in relation to leadership, professionalism and development. You will also become part of a principals’ community with the leaders of the other institutions in JBF.

You can also apply for the position with your partner

You can apply for the position alone or together with a partner, who also would like to have a role and a working life at Fjorden. It is not a requirement that you have the same professional background or that you perform the same tasks. The concrete role and task distribution will be arranged based on your competencies and wishes, as well as the needs of Fjorden and the children.

Practical

• Application deadline: 20/10
• Interviews:
• First round: 26/10 from 15:00-19:00
• Possible second round: 28/10 from 17:30-19:30
• Start date: 1/12

To hear more about the possibilities with the position, contact

• Anne Nees, Chair of the Fjorden Board: tel. 30 55 96 62, email: [email protected]
• Poul Erik Clausen, Secretary General of Jysk Børneforsorg/Fredehjem: tel. 21 24 40 65, email: [email protected]