Head of Education for Design & Experience at EK

Can you lead with presence, direction and vision in an ambitious management team?

As Director of Education, you will be responsible for education in the areas of experience, service and tourism, and have the opportunity to develop both people, academic environments and an education portfolio that matches the needs of the industries.

The Copenhagen School of Design and Technology (EK) has about 20,000 students spread across 13 study sites in the Capital Region of Denmark. Our vocational academy and bachelor programs are organized into six program areas. Design & Experience is one of them, and here we are seeking a new Director of Education.

The experience, service and tourism industries are rapidly developing. New technologies, changing market conditions and new needs among guests and customers create new job roles and demand new and broader competences. You should therefore have ambitions to develop EK's education portfolio so that it matches the needs of the industries and positions the area as a strong, proactive and relevant partner in both education and research.

The job

As Director of Education you will lead your part of the business, contribute to shaping the future and develop people and professional environments. You will among other things be responsible for:

• Daily operation and development of the educations you are responsible for, including planning, staffing and quality assurance.
• People management of adjuncts and lecturers with focus on professional and pedagogical development, strong teams, lecturer qualification and well-being.
• Budget and resource responsibility for your educations within the program area’s common framework.
• Contributing to the strategic development of the education portfolio in close collaboration with the program director and the other Directors of Education.
• Dialogue and collaboration with industry and other relevant partners.
• Anchoring and supporting research and innovation projects related to the educations.
• That new technology and artificial intelligence are integrated in a purposeful way into the educations.

Leadership in a committed community

The Design & Experience program area has just over 70 engaged adjuncts and lecturers and up to 2,000 students. The area is led by a program director and three Directors of Education. We are primarily based in Copenhagen and also have a smaller department in Lyngby. You will become part of a large educational organization with many capable and experienced colleagues, where knowledge sharing and collaboration are important parts of the culture.

Design & Experience consists equally of educations and staff from the two former vocational academies KEA and Cphbusiness, which were merged in 2025. The same applies to the management. We therefore continue to work purposefully to create a clear shared identity with room for diversity in educations, disciplines and ambitions. This requires a committed leadership community where we help and enrich each other and lift together. Presence in everyday life is important, and remote work is therefore more the exception than the rule.

You have daily responsibility for your educations, while the program director has the overall strategic, financial and personnel responsibility for the program area.

EK's research ambitions

EK aims to be the link between research and practice within our professional areas. The research shall both ensure that the educations are updated with the latest knowledge and create reliable and applicable knowledge for industry and society. We collaborate nationally and internationally with researchers, companies and organizations, and the research is organized in locally anchored projects and strategic, cross-disciplinary research environments.

Read more about research at EK: https://www.ek.dk/om-forskning

Your background and competences

We are seeking an engaged leader who thrives at the intersection of professional ambition, human closeness and organizational decisiveness. You must be able to understand and set the direction for educations aimed at industries in rapid change.

• You have relevant industry experience within tourism, service and/or experience and a strong, active network in the industries the educations target.
• You have a formal leadership qualification or are in the process of obtaining one.
• You can exercise close and systematic professional leadership with a focus on teachers' competences and task execution.
• You work proactively and persistently and can translate strategic goals into concrete operational management and professional development.
• You lead in an inclusive way and can involve employees' input and professional resources, while setting a clear common direction.
• You have an eye for resource use and can contribute to ongoing optimization of education quality and resource allocation.
• You have experience with leadership of knowledge workers and can balance individual closeness with shared direction and quality in task execution.
• You are a strong culture builder who promotes community, knowledge sharing and team collaboration. You communicate clearly and directly and create psychological safety by being predictable and proper, even under pressure and in difficult conversations.
• You have interest in and experience with bringing new technology and artificial intelligence into a work community, preferably in a learning environment.

Familiarity with the vocational academy or university college sector is an advantage. Experience with pedagogical development work or educational institutions undergoing change will also be valued.

Does this sound like your next job?

Apply by uploading your CV, application and other relevant documents via the button

The application deadline is November 1, 2026. First interview is expected to take place shortly after the application deadline, and the second interview is expected to take place by the end of November 2026.

In connection with the second interview, there will be a personality test and a case to answer.

Expected start date is January 1, 2027.

Salary and other terms of employment are negotiated individually in accordance with Circular on the agreement for the employment of managers at institutions within teaching, education and research in the Ministry of Education and Research (Account No. 101-25). The expected fixed monthly salary is about DKK 62,000 plus pension.

Read the circular: https://cirkulaere.medst.dk/media/2mvjzrmt/101-25.pdf

If you have questions about the position, you are welcome to contact Program Director Michael Huss Svejstrup at [email protected] or phone 27 62 42 11.

At the Copenhagen School of Design and Technology, you will work with colleagues who together offer a wide range of backgrounds, professional qualifications and personal competencies. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply for the position.