Head of Psychiatry & Social Interventions

Set the course for one of Esbjerg Municipality's most important welfare areas

Would you like to lead the development of the social psychiatry, substance misuse and vulnerable population area in one of the country's largest municipalities?

In Esbjerg Municipality we are in a period of major changes. Housing First must be anchored, new ambitions in the psychiatry area must be translated into local solutions, and we must ensure strong services for citizens with complex needs within the framework we have.

Therefore we are looking for a head who can set a direction, unite the organization and translate strategy into action.

An area of great importance

Psychiatry & Social Interventions is one of Esbjerg Municipality's central welfare areas and works with services to citizens over 18 years within social psychiatry, substance misuse and the vulnerable population area.

The area employs around 450 staff distributed across 12 management areas and includes, among other things, substance misuse treatment, drop-in centers, residential accommodation, social-pedagogical support initiatives and other rehabilitative services for citizens with complex needs.

Each day we work to enable more citizens to live a self-reliant and meaningful life with participation in communities and society. This requires high professionalism, strong relationships and a persistent will to develop our solutions.

Your task

As head of Psychiatry & Social Interventions, you will be a central part of the director's leadership team and will have responsibility for an area with great professional weight, many stakeholders and high societal significance.

You will help set the strategic direction for the area and ensure that the organization succeeds in translating decisions and development initiatives into concrete improvements for citizens.

Your key tasks will be to

• create value together with the citizen and society
• set a clear strategic direction for the area
• ensure coherence between professional quality, economy and operations
• strengthen the organization's ability to translate decisions into action
• lead through managers and support their development and decisiveness
• further develop cross-cutting collaboration internally and externally
• ensure a robust and sustainable range of offerings that match citizens' needs
• actively contribute to the development of the entire Leisure, Health, Care & Social

You will also need to create an overview of the many development paths and ensure that resources and attention are used where they create the greatest value.

You must be able to balance between operations and development, between pace and reflection, and between management and trust.

Your leadership

You are motivated to achieve results through and with others, and you thrive in a leadership space where strategic perspective, relational strength and organizational impact must go hand in hand.

You create direction when the complexity is high and are able to translate ambitions into concrete priorities and actions.

We emphasize that you

• think strategically and work systematically
• can create transparency, direction and prioritization in a complex organization
• make decisions on a well-considered basis
• can lead in development and change processes
• have a view of both people, professionalism and economy
• can unite people and professional disciplines around common goals
• actively work to strengthen cross-organizational and cross-professional collaboration
• are persistent in implementation and follow-up

You have a relevant educational background and solid leadership experience with management of managers from a relevant welfare area with insight into social psychiatry, substance misuse or the vulnerable population area. You have experience from a politically governed organization and can navigate safely in complex stakeholder landscapes.

Leadership in Leisure, Health, Care & Social

In Leisure, Health, Care & Social we believe that the best results are achieved through clear direction, strong relationships, shared responsibility and close collaboration with citizens and civil society.

We emphasize that it should be a place where it is nice to be. A place with mutual respect, integrity and trust. Where we collaborate on solutions, take responsibility for the whole, and help each other to succeed.

Our leadership understanding is based on the idea that a leader must both set direction and create frameworks with one hand and support employees with the other. We believe that involvement and transparency create better solutions, but also the necessity of clear priorities and the courage to make decisions.

As the head, you will be an important cultural carrier in this leadership community.

We offer

You will have the opportunity to make a significant mark on the development of one of the municipality's most important welfare areas.

You will become part of an ambitious leadership group with high professionalism and a common ambition to create value together with citizens and society.

You will have substantial managerial latitude, capable managers and staff around you and a great influence on shaping the direction for the area's development and the solutions that make a difference for citizens.

Application deadline

The application deadline is Sunday, 22 November 2026.

The appointments committee meets on 23 October and selects candidates for the first interview round. If you are selected, you will hear from us immediately thereafter.

We conduct two interview rounds. The first interview round will take place on Friday, 27 November, and the second interview round on Friday, 4 December.

If you proceed to the second interview round, there will be a test process, and references will be obtained from current and/or former employers. You will be informed before references are obtained.

Salary and terms of employment

We expect you to be able to start on 1 February 2027.

Salary and terms of employment are set in accordance with the applicable collective agreement, including the applicable provisions on local salary formation. You can find information about the salary level in Esbjerg Municipality via this link: KRL . Here you will also find information about base salary and pension. Additionally, depending on a concrete assessment, qualification and/or functional supplements may be agreed depending on the content of the position and your experiences and qualifications.

In Esbjerg Municipality we work on the basis of trust and view human diversity as a strength. We therefore encourage all qualified candidates regardless of gender, age or ethnic background to apply for the position.

If employed in the position, a criminal record check will be conducted.

Further information

In relation to the position, you can further orient yourself in the following documents

• Job and person profile
• The department's Strategy 2026-2030
• The department's Leadership Guide
• Esbjerg Municipality's Leadership Foundation

If you are interested in hearing more about the position, you are welcome to contact Director Arne Nikolajsen at telephone 2347 7128.

The application is submitted electronically . Click on “apply for the job” at the bottom and attach your application, CV and relevant documentation.