Head of the Coordination Element at the Defence Drone Center in Odense

Be part of shaping the future of drone technology in the Defence

Do you want to lead an element that connects the Defence's operational needs with the industry's technological possibilities and the knowledge of the research community, and help translate innovation into concrete operational effect?

At the Defence Drone Center in Odense, we are seeking an engaged and development-oriented leader for the Coordination Element (KORELM), who can set direction, deliver results and strengthen the collaboration between the Defence, industry and academic institutions through a targeted Triple Helix collaboration.

Drone technology is developing at a pace that challenges traditional development and procurement processes. It imposes new demands on the Defence's ability to quickly identify operational needs, exploit technological opportunities and translate experience into relevant solutions.

As the leader of KORELM you will play a central role in developing the Defence Drone Center into an attractive and credible partner, connecting actors, driving progress and contributing to giving the Defence a technological and operational advantage.

You will become part of an organization in development, where you will have the opportunity to influence both task solving, collaborative relationships and the element's future development.

About us

Drones and unmanned systems are among the technologies that are increasingly changing modern warfare. Experiences from, among others, Ukraine highlight the importance of rapid technological development, innovation and the ability to continuously adapt operational capabilities to new threats and opportunities.

The Defence Drone Center is a joint service entity that works with development, experience gathering, testing, knowledge sharing and education within drones and unmanned systems across the Defence's domains.

The Center should contribute to the Defence being able to translate operational experiences and technological possibilities into usable solutions more quickly. This happens in close collaboration with services, commands, other authorities, industry, research environments and international partners.

A substantial part of this task is to create coherence between operational needs, technological innovation and the opportunities that exist outside the Defence.

Here, the Coordination Element plays a central role.

KORELM will contribute to strengthening the Defence Drone Center's position as a natural entry point for collaboration on drones and unmanned systems. The element will create connections between relevant actors and support that the collaboration evolves from dialogue and knowledge sharing to targeted initiatives with operational relevance.

About the position

As the leader of the Coordination Element you will be responsible for leading, prioritizing and further developing an element with six employees who handle the Defence Drone Center's central coordination with industry, academic institutions, Defence authorities and international partners.

You will be responsible for daily leadership, the professional development of employees and the element's overall task solving. At the same time, you must set a clear direction for how KORELM is developed and contributes to the Drone Center's ambitions in the short and long term.

A substantial part of your task will be to further develop the Triple Helix collaboration, where operational needs from the Defence are linked with the technological possibilities from industry and knowledge from research and educational institutions.

You must ensure that the collaboration not only creates relationships, but contributes to concrete and qualified development initiatives that can be carried forward in the Defence's relevant development and capability processes.

Your primary areas of responsibility will be to

• Lead and develop KORELM with a focus on clear task distribution, professional development, prioritization and results creation through the employees.
• Develop the Defence Drone Center's strategic collaborations with services, commands, relevant authorities, industry, research institutions and international partners.
• Strengthen and operationalize the Triple Helix collaboration so that operative problems and requirements from the Defence form the basis for targeted collaboration on technological solutions.
• Create coherence between operational needs and development opportunities so that KORELM supports translating knowledge, experiences and innovation into concrete initiatives with operational relevance.
• Plan and coordinate tests and experiments in collaboration with relevant operational units, Drone Center's development and education functions, as well as industry and research environments, and ensure results and experiences are carried forward in the center's work and relevant development and capability processes.
• Contribute to the Drone Center's long-term development through a strategic 3–5 year perspective, where collaboration relationships, technological possibilities and future operational needs are thought together.
• Support inter-service coordination and knowledge sharing and ensure close and constructive cooperation across the Drone Center's other sections and departments - so that operational needs, experiences, tests and learning are aligned.
• Represent the Defence Drone Center in relevant national and international collaboration fora and contribute to strengthening the center's position as a credible and professional partner.

You will have significant contact surfaces and must be able to navigate an organization where tasks, structures and collaboration relationships are still developing.

This requires you to combine strategic vision with practical execution and create progress in tasks where results often depend on cross-organizational and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

The position gives you the opportunity to make a mark on the development of KORELM and thus on how the Defence Drone Center creates value for the Defence.

About you

We are looking for a leader who can combine military professional understanding with strategic vision, organizational development and the ability to create results through collaboration.

You have a natural interest in technology, innovation and the development of the Defence of the future. It is not essential that you are a specialist in drone technology, but it is important that you can understand operational problems, see technological opportunities and translate them into a clear direction for the element's work.

As a leader you are clear, trust-building and development-oriented. You know how to motivate and develop your employees and create an environment where professionalism, initiative and responsibility go hand in hand.

You work in a structured and holistic manner, but you also understand that innovation and technological development require flexibility, decisiveness and the courage to challenge existing working methods.

You must be able to move naturally between operational environments, authorities, companies and research institutions and create relationships based on mutual understanding and common goals.

We place particular emphasis on the fact that you

• Have managerial experience or clear documented potential to lead, motivate and develop employees.
• Have solid operational understanding and can translate the Defence's needs and requirements into relevant development and collaboration initiatives.
• Can work strategically and long-term, while ensuring concrete results and progress in daily task solving.
• Have experience with coordination, planning or development work across authorities, organizations or disciplines.
• Are relationship-building and communicate clearly and credibly across military and civilian partners.
• Have an interest in technology, innovation and the interplay between the Defence, industry and academic institutions.
• Understand project management, development processes and the organizational challenges that can arise when new solutions must be translated into operational use.
• Can create structure and direction in an organization under construction while maintaining the flexibility to exploit new opportunities.

We do not expect you to have all the answers in advance. Instead, we expect that you have the ambitions, curiosity and leadership decisiveness to develop both your element and its contribution to the Defence's overall task solving.

You must not only be able to coordinate collaboration between the Defence, industry and the research world, you must be able to lead an element that translates collaboration into results and contributes to creating the future operational capabilities.

Conditions of employment

If you are an academic, you will be employed in accordance with the applicable agreement between the Ministry of Finance and a number of academic organizations for academics in the state (Academic Agreement).

If you have an office-based education or another relevant education, you will be employed under the applicable Common Agreement between the Ministry of Finance and Public Employees – The Public Sector (OAO-S Common Agreement) and the organizational agreement for office staff, laboratory staff and IT employees.

Depending on your qualifications and competencies, there is an opportunity for negotiation of allowances. The position has an employer-funded pension scheme.

The fixed workplace will be Odense.

As an employee in the Ministry of Defence's organization you are subject to some special terms. You must, among other things, be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance throughout the employment period.

You have as an employee the duty to perform service outside the country, including at units in international operations with a view to participating in conflict prevention, peacekeeping, peacemaking, humanitarian and other similar operations.

The employment is conditional on you passing the Defence's basic physical requirements and being deemed fully fit for deployment in international operations by medical and dental evaluations.

Contact and application

If you want to know more about the position, you are welcome to contact the Defence Drone Center at [email protected] or by phone at 7282 3500.

If you have questions about salary and employment terms, you are welcome to contact the Personnel Command, HR consultant Madeleine Moltke Kæmsgaard at telephone 4031 1094.

The application deadline is 13 November 2026, and interviews will be held on an ongoing basis. The position is to be filled as soon as possible, or by agreement.

You apply for the position via the link and we ask you to attach your application, CV and copies of education certificates. Please note that attachments must be added in PDF format.

In the Defence Ministry's organization we believe that diversity optimizes task solving. Therefore we encourage all interested regardless of background to apply for the position.

About SOKOM

Special Operations Command is part of the Defence Command and comprises a command staff, the FreeFrog Corps, the Ranger Corps and Sirius Patrol.

The Special Operations Command's task solving is characterized by unconventional and innovative methods, close partnerships, surprising strength application and contributes to protecting and promoting Denmark's interests, national security and citizens' safety.

Special Operations Command is responsible for force generation and force deployment of special operations forces contributions to operational force deployments and readiness. This includes the formation of a Danish core contribution to NATO Composite Special Operations Component Command, which shall be able to deploy special forces in international operations and operate at an operational level.

The joint and close cooperation across the Defence's capabilities is a central element in the Special Operations Command's motto: "Strength Through Joint Effort".