Pedagogue / Pedagogical Assistant for the Youth Unit at Institution Midtfyn, Søbysøgård Prison

Dreaming of a job that develops you professionally and personally and where you can help create positive changes in young people's lives? Then here is the opportunity for an exciting job where, with your professionalism, empathy, responsibility, and initiative, you join a developing multidisciplinary collaboration with, among others, teachers, pedagogues, social workers, and prison officers.

Institution Midtfyn, Søbysøgård Prison is looking for a new colleague to oversee the pedagogical work in the youth unit. The position is full-time. The position is to be filled as soon as possible.

We have 2 youth units where the 15-17-year-olds serve their sentences. One unit operates in open regime and one in closed regime. You will be attached to the open unit but during holidays and illness you will need to assist at the other unit. The open unit has capacity for 5 youths, and the closed unit has capacity for 7 youths.

Your areas of responsibility

We are seeking a pedagogical staff member who is educated as a pedagogue/pedagogical assistant and/or who has documented experience from work in a residential institution, preferably with at-risk youth. You master the ability to balance between creating companionship and relationships on one side, and creating clear frameworks and maintaining structure on the other. You have experience with preventive work as well as handling individuals with behavioral and psychological challenges.

In the unit, the youths serve their sentences in a pedagogical environment where clarity and structure are among the main elements for carrying out daily activities. Furthermore, emphasis is placed on a motivating and acknowledging approach, where supporting the youth's competencies and resources helps to create development in the youth toward a life of education and work.

In daily life, the youths participate among other things in school/teaching, substance abuse counseling, sports, vocational activities, and ADL training. Your foremost task will be to create positive relations with the youths and thereby enable you to work on the youths' motivation to create changes toward a life without criminality. This by training the youths in ADL, motivating them to participate in everyday activities, having conversations with the youths, and much more.

If you have competencies within leisure and hobby activities, that is a plus.

We offer

• An exciting position with room for creative ideas.
• A relaxed environment with room for humor, but with a respectful tone.
• An environment with high professionalism and integrity.
• Interdisciplinary cooperation with several different professional groups.
• An “both/and” mindset, where it is possible to focus on the prison’s operation, including security, and where development and change are also a focus area.
• Monthly treatment conferences and supervision.
• Professional and personal development, for example through courses and continuing education.

You will of course receive an introductory program so you gain familiarity with the prison and the inmates you will be working with.

We expect that you

• Are educated as a pedagogue/pedagogical assistant or have documented experience from a similar position.
• Can document your work in writing.
• Thrive in interdisciplinary collaboration with teachers, pedagogues, prison officers, social workers, etc.
• Can motivate the inmates and build good relationships.
• Are persistent and see opportunities, even when you meet resistance.
• Can work professionally with conflicts and behaviorally challenged youths.
• Communicate in an acknowledging and appreciating manner and thrive in working with young people who are having difficulties.
• Are mentally robust, can set clear boundaries, and maintain calm in stressful situations.
• Like to be physically active.
• Are flexible and prepared for tasks to occur in other units than the youth unit.

We also expect that you are independent, energetic, service-oriented, flexible, and ready to engage in an exciting everyday life, where the task of guiding the inmates toward a life without crime, including through education, is central.

Finally, we value that you as a person can and will support a good work environment by having a good mood and strong teamwork skills.

Salary and employment terms are in accordance with the nationwide agreement between the state and the Teachers’ Central Organization and CO10 – Central Organization of 2010 and the collective agreement for pedagogues, etc., in the Danish Prison and Probation Service, or in accordance with another relevant agreement depending on your educational background in relation to the job content.

The employment area is Denmark’s Prisons.

The place of service is Institutional Midtfyn, Søbysøgård Prison, Søvej 27, Nr. Søby, 5792 Årslev.

The working hours are distributed over day and evening shifts across all 7 days of the week and are available for filling as soon as possible.

Who are we

Søbysøgård Prison, which is part of Midtfyn’s prisons and remand centers, has space for 181 inmates. 139 in the open prison and 42 in the closed prison. Midtfyn’s prisons and remand centers consist, besides Søbysøgård Prison, of Ringe Prison, release prison Kværndrup, as well as the Assens and Svendborg remand centers. The staff in the prison cover various professional groups such as prison officers, pedagogues, social workers, teachers, vocational teachers, foremen, therapists, etc.

The youth units consist of a multidisciplinary team comprising prison officers, teachers, pedagogues, a foreman, and a social worker. There is also an external supervisor attached who regularly conducts supervision and treatment conferences with the staff group. From here, the common pedagogical effort is developed so that everyone pulls in the same direction.

There is a special pedagogical effort aimed at having a structured and predictable daily life, where the youths experience calm and guidance, and together with the staff can work on successes and toward a life without crime.

The unit’s target group can be challenged both in terms of learning, behavior, and in participating in cooperative relationships and communities.

You apply for the position via the link "Apply for the job”.

Your application with CV must be received no later than 18 October 2026.

Interviews are expected to be held on 27 October 2026.

It is a condition of employment in the position that you, if invited to an interview, give your consent for the Danish Prison and Probation Service to obtain and assess information about you in the Central Criminal Register.

Before any possible appointment, we must receive documentation of your CV, such as letters of employment and certificate of examinations. If you are invited to an interview, please bring a photo ID, e.g. passport or driver’s license.

Denmark’s Prisons views diversity as a strength, and encourages all interested candidates regardless of personal background to apply.

Further information

For more information about the position, please contact Unit Manager Jan Wetke Jensen at 7255 3714 or email: [email protected]