Navigation Instructor at the Center for Maritime Operations at the Defence Academy

Would you like to help educate the Royal Danish Navy's upcoming navigators?

Are you a civilian navigator with a high level of expertise and good pedagogical skills, and do you want to join a team of dedicated teachers and help shape the Navy's cadets and ensure navigational safety in the Navy?

About us

The Center for Maritime Operations is the Danish Defence Academy's knowledge center within maritime operations. The center consists of 18 staff including the head, of which 11 staff are organized in a navigation element, which consists of very engaged navigation teachers including the manager as well as a technician. The navigation element is responsible for educating the Navy's cadets to navigate and maneuver the Navy's ships safely – what we in the Navy call watchkeeping officers.

We have a very varied background, but we are all trained navigators. We are 6 military and 4 civilian teachers, and seniority ranges from 1 – 25 years of teaching experience.

Our cadets come with a wide range of competencies, as we currently admit cadets with a high school education, possibly with experience from the navy and others with at least a bachelor's degree, which in large parts of the education is mixed in the same classes.

In our daily work we place great emphasis on academic rigor, innovation and good collegiality and we have an open, honest and informal tone of communication.

We work with 'Freedom under responsibility'. In the navigation element this means a focus on openness and dialogue, and that tasks are solved with employees having the freedom to decide how the task is solved – naturally with support and backing from the center's other staff if needed.

One of our guiding principles is to ‘preserve the ship’s spirit’. Workplace well-being is important and with us it includes, among other things, regularly carrying out activities that support our community and the ship's spirit. This takes place together with the rest of the center, which primarily consists of military personnel who teach maritime operations, engineering, etc.

About the position

You will be responsible for the planning, organization, implementation and control of the education in a number of subjects within the center's portfolio. This includes ensuring the right coherence between learning goals, content, learning activities, examinations and study load. This naturally requires your subject matter expertise and pedagogical skills.

The training includes the traditional seamanship subjects tailored to the Navy's work and special conditions. It is our team that is academically responsible for the education, within the frameworks we are given. You will therefore have a strong influence on content and methods.

We are aware that the overall syllabus is large, and you are probably not an expert in everything. Therefore we select, in collaboration, some subjects for you to start with and then gradually build on. Our experience is that it takes a couple of years before you are well into the first subjects, and from there you can develop your expertise in the other topics. Along the way in the program you will receive all the professional collegial support you need.

We at the center focus on maintaining and developing our competencies. In addition we emphasize that you know the environment we educate for, which is why there will be opportunities from time to time to participate in relevant sailing exercises/training at Navy units as well as various seminars and conferences related to the field. In collaboration with you, we will design an exciting and relevant competence development program.

We offer flexible working conditions that allow you to perform your best while accommodating any commitments in your private life, which means that preparation and other tasks can in part be done from home. There will be limited travel activity related to the position, for example in connection with training, meetings or conferences domestically and internationally.

Your fixed place of service will be Copenhagen, as the center is located at Svanemøllen Barracks and Nyholm.

About you

The position can be applied for by both military and civilian personnel. As a civilian, emphasis is placed on the following:

We imagine that you hold a master's degree or a master of science degree, and it is an advantage if you have experience as a navigator.

You have a solid theoretical background and preferably teaching experience. You have good pedagogical skills and can convey your knowledge and motivate cadets to acquire knowledge within the nautical field. You will take pride in shaping the Navy's cadets with good routines and attitudes that are important for having responsibility on the bridge.

You are curious and able to keep up to date within your field and you want to become part of the special culture that the Navy represents, due to its operative tasks, but also our more than 500-year-old cultural heritage.

You want to work independently and in a structured way with education and teaching, while actively participating in strong collaboration within the navigation element and in the center as a whole.

Instruction is primarily conducted in Danish, but courses or modules are sometimes conducted in English and it is therefore important that you are good at communicating and can express yourself in writing and speaking in both Danish and English.

Employment terms

The position is advertised as both civilian and military.

You will be employed in accordance with the applicable collective agreement at any given time.

Depending on your qualifications and competencies, there is the possibility of negotiating an allowance. There is an employer-financed pension scheme linked to the position.

The workplace is in Copenhagen

As an employee under the Ministry of Defence, you are subject to some special terms. You must, among other things, be security cleared and maintain the clearance throughout the employment process.

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

Contact and application

If you have further questions about the position, you are welcome to contact OK Carsten Hirtsgaard, Head of the Navigation Element, Mobile 2933 1520, Email: [email protected].

If you have questions about salary and employment terms, you are welcome to contact the Personnel Command, HR consultant Rasmus Kunzendorf, at phone 2926 3785 or by email [email protected] .

The application deadline is 16 November 2026 and we expect to hold interviews on a rolling basis.

The final employment date will be coordinated with your current supervisor. The position is desired to be filled by 1 December 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

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

In the Danish Defence Organization we believe that diversity strengthens task solving. Therefore we encourage all interested regardless of background to apply for the position.

About the Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (Forsvarsakademiet)

The Defence Academy contributes to the armed forces' mission by delivering relevant and timely education as well as research and advice to the armed forces' personnel and authorities.

The Defence Academy consists of service locations in Copenhagen, Varde, Karup and Frederikshavn and offers basic and continuing education, including the sergeant and officer training, including the language officer training, The Military Academy, and Master in Military Studies.

The Defence Academy conducts research and development in the three military core areas; military operations, military strategy and military leadership, as well as related areas such as war history, cultural understanding and military technology. Read more at fak.dk.