Pedagogical leader sought for the Haugårdhus Foundation

Would you like to help further develop our pedagogical practice, strengthen staff professional expertise, and create even greater involvement of the young people in their own treatment process?

The Haugårdhus Foundation is seeking a pedagogical leader who has a solid social-pedagogical foundation, believes in the milieu-therapeutic approach, and is motivated to create professional direction, structure, and quality in a complex daily life.

We are looking for someone who can create an overview, set priorities, and follow up – and who at the same time has an eye for how you can strengthen the staff's ability to independently handle the daily pedagogical tasks through professional sparring, clear expectations, and trust-based leadership.

Together with our social worker, you should be able to lead the professional development without taking over the pedagogical staff's responsibilities. Your task is to support them in succeeding with the core task and ensure that our common professional direction is translated into daily action.

About Haugårdhus

Haugårdhus is a social-pedagogical residential care and supported housing facility with three day-care units. We work with young people and adults aged 13-34 who need practical, social, and emotionally regulating support in daily life.

Our target group may, among other things, have experiences of neglect and attachment difficulties, as well as challenges related to attention disorders, autism spectrum disorders, personality disorders, and schizophrenia.

At Haugårdhus we strive to create safe, predictable, and developmental frameworks where each young person is met with respect, understanding, and a professionally grounded approach.

Milieu therapy constitutes a central foundation in our treatment work. We aim to further develop a practice in which relationships, structure, individual goals, and participation in everyday life are active elements of the treatment.

We are also on a path of professional development where we want to strengthen the involvement of the young people and the pedagogical staff. We want to create a practice in which the young people increasingly feel heard and have influence over their own lives, and where staff actively contribute to professional development and take responsibility for translating our shared approach into practice.

As a pedagogical leader, you will play a key role in supporting and driving this development together with the principal, social worker, and the pedagogical staff.

Your role as pedagogical leader

As pedagogical leader you will have a central role in ensuring coherence between Haugårdhus’ professional ambitions and the pedagogical practice at our three departments.

You must be close to the staff and their everyday life, know the pedagogical challenges, and be able to contribute with qualified sparring when reflection, professional direction, or new courses of action are needed.

An important part of your task will be to strengthen the staff's professional responsibility and capacity for action. You must help them create an overview, prioritize tasks, and find solutions within the shared professional framework. You must be able to support the staff in standing behind their pedagogical decisions and ensure that agreements and actions are carried through to the end.

We are therefore looking for a leader who can balance closeness and clarity. You should be accessible for sparring, but at the same time have a sense of when staff themselves should take responsibility and carry the task forward. You must be able to create frameworks that make it easier for staff to succeed – without you becoming the person who solves all the daily pedagogical tasks yourself.

Together with the principal and the social worker you should help set the direction for the professional development. This includes supporting a more inclusive and transparent practice, where both the young people and the staff feel they have a clear voice and an active role in the treatment work.

primary tasks

• Support and develop the pedagogical practice across Haugårdhus’ three departments.
• Maintain and further develop milieu therapy as a common professional foundation for the treatment work.
• Strengthen staff’s professional responsibility, autonomy, and ability to handle daily pedagogical tasks.
• Provide ongoing professional sparring and guidance with a focus on reflection, options for action, and accountability.
• Support a practice where the young people are involved in decisions, goals, and actions that concern their own lives.
• Contribute to staff experiences and professional perspectives being included in the development of the pedagogical practice.
• Ensure structure, systematicity, and follow-up on individual goals, sub-goals, agreements, and treatment actions.
• Create an overview of professional tasks and prioritize between daily operations and longer-term development tasks.
• Plan and facilitate internal professional meetings and team meetings in collaboration with the social worker.
• Participate in supervision together with the pedagogical staff and support turning reflection and learning into concrete practice.

We are looking for someone who

• Is educated as a pedagogue or has another relevant social-science education.
• We consider it an advantage if you have leadership experience.
• Has solid social-pedagogical knowledge and experience from the specialized social field.
• Has experience with the target group and ideally familiarity with milieu-therapeutic treatment.
• Has trust in milieu therapy and can translate it into a clear, systematic, and coherent pedagogical practice.
• Works in a structured way, prioritizes your time, and maintains an overview even when several tasks require attention.
• Can create clear frameworks and expectations, follow up on agreements, and ensure progress in professional efforts.
• Is good at guiding and motivating staff without automatically taking over the task oneself.
• Sees the value in actively involving the young people and staff in the development of the treatment work.
• Is clear, trust-building, and collaborative, and can stand firm on common professional frameworks.
• Has a driving license and access to own car.

We offer

• A central role in the ongoing professional development of Haugårdhus.
• Opportunity to shape and further develop our milieu-therapeutic treatment work.
• Close collaboration with the principal, the social worker, and the pedagogical staff on professional direction, quality, and development.
• Opportunity to strengthen pedagogical practice with greater involvement of the young people and staff.
• Supervision
• Milieu-therapeutic basic education
• Opportunity for professional development

The position averages 37 hours per week, though not the maximum working time. The hours are primarily daytime, but some evenings may occur.

Salary according to qualifications.

Application deadline is November 19, 2026 at 12:00, interviews expected to be held Monday, November 23, 2026. Applications should be sent to [email protected]

If you have any questions, please contact the principal Ninna Svendsen at [email protected] or call 35 90 12 97