Head of Department for Nature, Water & Soil in Køge Municipality

Do you want to lead a professionally strong team and set the direction for the nature, water and soil area in a municipality with big ambitions for development, nature and the environment? We are seeking a department head who is passionate about leadership, people and professional quality, and who thrives at the intersection between regulatory tasks, political ambitions, development and the realities that citizens and businesses face.

You will lead 15 engaged and capable employees who work with nature, green tripartite, nature restoration and projects, soil and groundwater, wastewater, rivers and agriculture.

The Municipality of Køge is characterized by significant housing and business development and simultaneously has high ambitions to create more nature and strengthen citizens' access to it. This means that you will lead an area where the daily authority tasks go hand in hand with a number of important and strategic development agendas.

A leadership job with people, professionalism and influence As head of Nature, Water & Soil you will have the overall responsibility for the department's operations, development and results. Your main task will be to create the best conditions for employees to succeed and develop. This requires hands-on people management, clear prioritization and an interest in the fields you lead.

You do not need to be a specialist in all areas. Instead, we expect that you have the professional understanding and curiosity that enables you to ask the right questions and, together with the employees, translate legislation, professionalism and political goals into good and sustainable solutions.

A significant part of the role is also to create coherence across. Nature, Water & Soil is one of four teams in Plan, Building & Environment, which together consist of around 70 employees. Your closest managerial colleagues are the leaders of Plan & Climate, Building Case & Land Zone, and Environment & Waste.

We work purposefully to strengthen the holistic authority processing, so citizens and businesses experience a municipality that hangs together, also when a case touches several areas. Therefore we expect you to take responsibility for your own area and actively contribute to the overall development of Plan, Building & Environment.

At the same time, the area is characterized by several highly prioritized projects and development initiatives across the organization. Here you will play a central role, where strategic overview, collaboration skills and impact become decisive.

Your tasks You will among other things have responsibility for

• Leadership, development and well-being among the employees in Nature, Water & Soil
• Prioritization and direction in a daily life with both regulatory tasks and development projects
• Professional sparring on complex cases
• Political servicing and preparation of decision proposals
• Development of quality, efficiency and workflows in the regulatory work
• Budget responsibility for your own area
• Emergency planning at sector level, including for example storm surge
• Cooperation with citizens, businesses, interest organizations and other authorities
• Cross-functional collaboration with the other leaders and employees in Plan, Byg & Miljø and the rest of the administration

Who are you? We are primarily looking for a capable leader who is motivated by achieving results through others. You are present, clear and trust-building, and you enjoy being close to both the employees and the tasks.

You create followership through dialogue, trust and clear boundaries, while you dare to make decisions and set priorities when many considerations must be balanced.

We also imagine that you

• Have experience with people management and are motivated to develop both people and the organization
• Have an empathetic and appreciative leadership style and see employees' well-being, development and success as a crucial part of your own success
• Can create a work environment characterized by trust, respect, collaboration and high well-being
• Have a relevant professional background and experience with authority handling within one or more of the department's areas
• Have experience from a politically governed organization and can navigate safely in a daily life with many agendas and stakeholders
• Can create direction, structure and overview in a complex portfolio of tasks
• Focus on high professional quality and proper authority exercise
• Work holistically and naturally collaborate across professional and organizational boundaries
• Communicate clearly and credibly with employees, citizens, businesses, partners and politicians
• Are curious, development-oriented and have a sense of the whole rather than only your own area

What you get with us You will become part of Plan, Byg & Miljø, where we work with an ambitious development agenda and a high level of activity. We place emphasis on high professionalism, strong community, and close collaboration across, so that we together create value for citizens, businesses, local communities and the business sector.

As head of department you will also be part of a strong leadership community with the other managers in Plan, Byg & Miljø. Here we expect you to use each other actively, spar with openly and take joint responsibility for the tasks and challenges that cross the organization.

You will have good opportunities for both professional and personal development.

We are based at Køge Town Hall, close to the station and with a view over both the town and the harbor.

The position is full-time.

Salary and employment are in accordance with the applicable collective agreement.

How to apply Submit your application via “Søg stillingen” and attach your CV and any reference documents.

Application deadline: December 1, 2026 at 23:59.

The first round of interviews will be held on December 8 and the second round on December 15. Between the two interviews there will be a test and an interview with a consultant.

Start date: February 1, 2027 or by agreement.

Read more about Køge Municipality at www.koege.dk

We look forward to receiving your application.