Operations Planner in the Planning Section of the Kingdom at the Operations Staff

Are you passionate about being part of a team that works on shaping the plans for defending the Kingdom and tomorrow's deployments in the region? Do you want to gain an understanding of how the political agenda and threat picture influence the operational direction and development of the Armed Forces?

Then the position as planner and caseworker in the Operations Staff Planning Section Kingdom is for you!

About us

The Operations Staff Planning Department consists of colleagues from all services with diverse professional backgrounds, divided into the planning sections J5 Kingdom, J5 Global, J5 Cyber, J5 Policy, J7 Exercises, J9 CIMIC and J10 STRATCOM.

The department's primary task is to handle planning tasks related to the Defence's national and international operations, including:

• Carry out operations planning, exercise planning, and advise decision-makers regarding military options for deploying Danish force contributions.
• Prepare military recommendations to the Ministry of Defence in collaboration with other parts of the Defence Command and the supporting agencies.
• Contribute to developing operations plans in close collaboration with the branches and commands.
• Contribute to the development of the Defence's Operational Headquarters, Joint Headquarters.
• Manage the civil-military cooperation to support defence planning.

In addition, we handle - as part of the Defence Staff - more general casework that supports the Defence Chief's overall work.

J5 Kingdom's focus is planning of operations mainly related to collective defence within the Kingdom of Denmark, including the Arctic, the North Atlantic and Europe. One of the main tasks is national defence planning.

The section consists of a chief and currently 15 military caseworkers, characterized by dedication, teamwork, good professional sparring, good humor, and a large network.

About the position

We are looking for a colleague who can contribute to the section's focus on planning in relation to national defence and the deployment of force contributions in the Kingdom's neighbourhood.

You will become part of a section where we prioritise and value one another. The section is run with a focus on developing the employees and trust in task execution. We prioritise lifting each other up and “making our colleagues look good.” We actively draw on our differences, strengths, and experiences, as we all have a responsibility to invest in our community and tasks.

You will participate in or lead operations planning together with representatives from across the Ministry of Defence. Likewise, you will be involved in ongoing coordination with other authorities, including the Danish representations in both NATO headquarters and other operational and strategic partners. The section also contributes to the important work of developing Joint Headquarters in the role of the Armed Forces' Operational Headquarters.

As part of J5 Kingdom you work closely with the other parts of the Defence Staff, the Ministry of Defence, and the tactical commands. Together with passionate and driven colleagues you will contribute to decision briefs to the Defence leadership and military recommendations at the political level, as well as operations plans for readiness and deployments.

The specific content of the position is determined by your particular competences, experience and strengths in relation to the concrete tasks in the section, as well as your ambition level and development desires.

There is some possibility for working from home, but parts of the work take place on classified systems when present at the office. There is a expectation of periods with exercise participation and various travel activity of shorter duration, typically in connection with meetings, planning tasks and conferences.

There is the possibility and room to be flexible, and we seek to establish a basis for a good balance between work, leisure, and family life.

About you

We are looking for the right profile who has experience working in complex organisations and is able to maintain overview, even when things get fast-paced. You can be either an officer or civilian, as long as you have the right profile. As a civilian you have a relevant education at master's level.

Hereafter we foresee that

• You are analytical and independently thinking with a pronounced holistic understanding, and you possess strong skills in building and maintaining relationships.
• You communicate clearly and precisely in writing and speaking.
• You want to handle independent tasks, and you are able to present your knowledge concisely and precisely.
• You bring yourself as well as your professional and social competencies into the section. You are able to connect elements into a whole so that it can be understood and accepted by others.
• You thrive in a dynamic environment and are prepared for workloads that may involve varying intensity, where you often have a great opportunity to plan your own work.
• Experience from operations and operations planning as well as staff service at a higher staff and preferably an operational headquarters would be an advantage but not a requirement.

We emphasise that there is a good working environment and good relationships in the section. For a possible interview we will focus on assessing whether you and the section are a good match.

Terms of employment

The position is posted as both civilian and military.

Employment and pay are in accordance with the currently applicable collective agreement.

Depending on your qualifications and competences, there is the possibility of negotiating a supplement. The position is linked to an employer-financed pension scheme.

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

As an employee you are obliged to render service outside the country’s borders, including at units in international operations with a view to participating in conflict prevention, peacekeeping, peace enforcement, humanitarian and other similar operations.

Permanent place of duty is Copenhagen or Karup.

Contact and application

If you are interested in hearing more about the position, you are very welcome to contact the head of J5 Kingdom, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Gøttske at mobile 2572 1147 (or via SMS during daytime).

If you have questions about salary or terms of employment, you can contact HR consultant Birgit Jepsen at phone 3266 5811.

The application deadline is 22 November 2026. Interviews are expected to be conducted in the weeks thereafter. Start as soon as possible.

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

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

About the Defence Command

The Defence Command is Denmark's and the Realm's top military authority and is responsible for developing, producing and deploying military capabilities and units in national and international tasks. The Defence Command is led by the Chief of Defence, who is also the military adviser to the Minister of Defence. The Chief of Defence is also responsible for the operational command of the Danish armed forces.