Head of Psychiatry & Social Interventions

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

Do you want to lead the development of social psychiatric, substance abuse and vulnerable groups within one of the country’s largest municipalities?

In Esbjerg Municipality we are in the midst of 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 offers to citizens with complex needs within the frameworks we have.

Therefore we are looking for a manager who can create direction, bring the organization together and translate strategy into action.

A area of great importance

Psychiatry & Social Interventions is one of Esbjerg Municipality's central welfare areas and works with interventions for citizens over 18 years within social psychiatry, substance abuse and vulnerable groups.

The area employs around 450 staff distributed across 12 management areas and includes among other things substance abuse treatment, daytime centers, residential facilities, social-pedagogical support initiatives and other rehabilitative offers to citizens with complex needs.

Every day we work to enable more citizens to live a self-reliant and meaningful life with participation in communities and society. It requires high professionalism, strong relationships and a sustained willingness to develop our solutions.

Your task

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

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

Your main 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 leaders and support their development and decisiveness
• further develop cross-cutting collaborations internally and externally
• ensure a robust and sustainable range of offers that matches 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 tracks and ensure that resources and attention are used where they create the most value.

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

Your leadership

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

You create direction when the complexity is high and can 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 development and change processes
• have a focus on both people, professionalism and economy
• can bring people and professional fields together around common goals
• actively work for strong cross-organizational and cross-professional collaborations
• are persistent in implementation and follow-up

You have a relevant educational background and solid management experience with leadership of leaders from a relevant welfare area with insight into social psychiatry, substance abuse or vulnerable groups. You have experience from a politically led 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 succeed.

Our leadership understanding is based on the idea that a leader must both set direction and create frames 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 a manager you will be an important cultural bearer in this leadership community.

We offer

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

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

You will have substantial managerial scope, capable managers and employees around you and 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 appointing 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 advance to the second interview round, there will be a test process, and references will be obtained from current and/or former employer. You will be informed before references are obtained.

Salary and terms of employment

We expect you to start on 1 February 2027.

Salary and terms of employment are determined in accordance with the applicable collective agreement, including the current provisions on local wage formation. You can find information about the wage level in Esbjerg Municipality via this link: KRL . Here you will also find information about base pay and pension. In addition, following a concrete assessment, qualification and/or function supplements may be agreed depending on the content of the position and your experience and qualifications.

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

When employed in the position, a criminal background check will be obtained.

Additional information

Regarding the position, you can find further information in the following documents

• Job & person profile
• Department's “ Strategy 2026 - 2030 ”
• 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 “search for the position” at the bottom and attach your application, CV and relevant documentation.