Head of Department for Unemployment Benefits and Flex Jobs

At JobKolding, we are so fortunate that our skilled department head has taken on a new challenge as center leader for Job and Development. Therefore we are seeking a new department head who can create direction, stand firm when necessary, and at the same time be curious whether we can solve the task better.

About the task

You will be responsible for a department with 28 employees, who work with unemployment benefit recipients, unemployment allowance recipients and flex job retention.

The employment area is changing and it requires leadership that can create direction when the framework changes. As department head you must be able to translate new requirements and decisions into a practice the staff can work after, and you must be able to create overview, prioritise between tasks and make decisions when needed.

At the same time we expect you to be curious whether we can solve our tasks in other ways. We would like a leader who dares to challenge existing practice and test new and innovative solutions when it makes sense. It can be a new way of organizing a task, a different way of collaborating or an idea that deserves to be tested in practice. The decisive is not that the solution is new, but that you can see the possibilities, assess them professionally and organizationally and follow up on whether they actually work.

We do not expect you to come with a finished model for how the department should develop. We expect you to be curious about possibilities, involve staff knowledge and have the courage to test new solutions when there is a professional or organizational basis for it.

About the employees and the department

It is a department with an experienced staff group, strong professional competencies and a good working culture. Therefore the task is not to come in and change everything. The task is to take responsibility for what works and at the same time have an eye for what can be done better.

The employees have extensive professional experience, and there are professional coordinators who support the professional task solving. We also work with reflective practice, where employees use each other for professional sparring and to qualify their assessments.

You do not have to be the one who has all the professional answers. You should be the one who creates the framework for professionalism to come into play, and who can ask the questions that make the decisions better.

We also emphasize that the employees experience psychological safety. They must be able to bring forth doubt, mistakes, professional disagreements and new ideas. This requires a leader who listens and gives space, but also a leader who dares to take the difficult conversations, handle conflicts and make decisions.

You must be able to be clear without closing the dialogue and be able to stand firm without being locked in.

Citizen at the Center

At JobKolding we work with the Citizen at the Center and the approach Self-worth and Coherence. As a leader you must be able to translate the approach into practice and support a culture where employees are curious about the citizen's perspective, challenge their own assumptions and use their professionalism to create solutions that make sense.

It also requires that you can look beyond own professionalism and department and involve others when necessary.

Read more about Self-worth and Coherence here.

About the leadership team

You report to the center manager for Job and Retention and become part of the leadership team for the area. Here it is expected that you take responsibility for your own department and contribute to the overall task solution.

We prioritize the leaders' own development and spend time and resources on leadership professional upskilling.

Who are you?

You have solid leadership experience with professional employees and want to take responsibility for both people, operations and development. We would prefer that you have completed a change where not everyone agreed from the start.

In addition you must be able to understand professionally complex areas, be curious about different perspectives and ask the questions that get employees to professionally justify their assessments.

We imagine that you are clear in your expectations, curious about others' perspectives and willing to change course when you become wiser. You have the courage to challenge existing practice and can translate good ideas into something that can be tested in reality.

You must be able to create a working environment where employees dare to say their opinion, while knowing where the decisions are made. And you must be able to see the connection between employees' well-being, professional quality and the task we are set to solve in the world.

How we see you as a leader

We have chosen not to fill the posting with a long list of personal traits. Instead we send a separate case appendix with four situations you can encounter as department head.

You choose one of the four situations and describe how you would think and act. In addition we ask you to describe a concrete leadership decision from your own working life, which you still think about.

We do not have a right answer to the case. We are interested in what you notice, what questions you would ask, what considerations you would weigh against each other, and what could make you change your mind.

It gives us a better insight into how you think and lead in practice than an application that only describes that you are clear, engaging and good at relationships.

Read the case appendix and let it be part of your application.

About the use of AI

You may use AI in the work with your application and your answer to the case. We use the technology ourselves and would like to have a leader who is curious about its possibilities.

In the case appendix you can read more about how we relate to the use of AI in the application process.

Application

Send your application with relevant attachments, so we have it no later than 18 October 2026 .

In the application we ask you to relate to one of the four situations and also describe one concrete leadership decision from your own working life.

We will hold the first interview on 23 October 2026 and the second interview on 29 October 2026 , where a case will be included.

Between the two interviews we will conduct a personality profile test, for which you will receive a personal feedback. We will obtain references by advance arrangement before the second interview.

We expect that you can take up the position as our new department head no later than 1 December 2026 .

The practical

In the Labour Market area we work with a flexible Friday model, where Friday is generally a home working day. The position is also covered by the ongoing experimental framework until 31 December 2027, where employees and leaders by agreement can enter a four-day work week.

Workplace: Dieselvej 6, 6000 Kolding

Salary framework: Salary and employment terms in accordance with applicable collective agreement

Weekly norm: 37 hours per week

The salary will be determined according to the principles of local salary formation according to the functions of the position and the applicant's qualifications.

If you are interested and want more information, please contact

Center Manager Thomas Kjærgaard. Tel.: 24 97 99 58. Email: [email protected]

Prior to employment, Kolding Municipality will obtain a criminal record/care order, when required by law, or when the position otherwise justifies it.

Application deadline: 18 October 2026

Department: Nicolaiplads 6 6000 Kolding