SISKA seeks Academic Director

Do you want to lead SISKA from vision to reality?

Can you bring people and organizations together around a common ambition? Can you translate a strong vision into an organization that works in practice? And are you motivated by creating a completely new environment for young people, where education, sport, culture, community and well-being are interconnected?

Then you have a rare opportunity here.

SISKA - Skive International Sport and Culture Academy is established as a new independent institution. Now we are seeking the academic director who from 1 January 2027 will lead SISKA. Your first main task will be to lead the establishment and roll out the project so SISKA is ready to welcome the first young people in August 2028. Thereafter the position moves into an operations and development phase.

JANUARY 2027 - JULY 2028

ESTABLISHMENT PHASE

As academic director you will lead the rollout of SISKA and build the organization, partnerships and the foundation for operations.

FROM AUGUST 2028

OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT PHASE

As academic director you will lead the daily operations and the continued development of SISKA.

We are not merely building a sports academy

SISKA builds on sport and athletics, but the ambition is bigger. We want to create a cohesive environment for young people with passion and ambition - for both broad participation and elite levels and within sport, athletics, culture, music and creative areas.

The young people should not have to choose between a secondary education and what they are passionate about. SISKA should help make everyday life hang together: education, training or cultural activities, housing, community and well-being.

Therefore SISKA must be developed in close collaboration with educational institutions, sports clubs and associations, cultural institutions, the municipality, business and other stakeholders.

As academic director you will build the organization

As academic director you will not enter a finished organization with pre-set solutions and established routines. Your first task will be to establish them. Together with the board and our partners you must translate SISKA's vision into an organization that is ready to welcome the first young people in August 2028.

• drive the overall establishment of SISKA from plan to reality
• develop the organization, workflows, finances and the future operating model
• establish strong partnerships with education, sport, athletics, culture and business
• develop SISKA's concept for the young people, including community, well-being and mentoring programs
• develop the recruitment and admissions model ahead of the first intake
• represent SISKA's interests in the development of Campus Skive, including housing and physical facilities
• work with fundraising, foundations, sponsors and long-term financing
• build SISKA's profile and visibility locally, nationally and eventually internationally
• secure progress and translate the board's decisions into action.

From establishment to operations

You are academic director from day one, but the task changes character when SISKA welcomes the first young people in August 2028. In the establishment phase your primary responsibility is to rollout the project and build the organization. From August 2028 the emphasis shifts to daily management, operations and continued development of SISKA.

That means, among other things, responsibility for operations and finances, partners, the young people's overall SISKA environment, potential staff and mentors, recruitment, communication and the ongoing strategic development.

In other words, you must be able to be both the entrepreneur who builds the organization and the academic director who makes it live, function and develop.

Who are you?

We are not necessarily looking for one specific educational background or one specific career path. You may come from the education sector, sports and athletics, culture, business development, project and organizational development or another relevant area. The crucial thing is what you can create.

• have solid experience with project management, organizational development and/or leadership
• can translate visions and strategies into concrete results
• thrive with both strategic questions and very practical tasks
• are strong at creating relationships and getting different people and organizations to work together
• can create traction without necessarily having formal managerial authority over everyone you need to succeed with
• have an understanding of young people and the environments they move in
• have organizational and financial understanding
• communicate confidently and can represent SISKA externally
• are willing to develop something where not all answers are pre-determined.

Experience with fundraising, partnerships, education, sport, culture or large development projects would be an advantage.

You are not starting from scratch

Even though SISKA is a new organization, the foundation is already being laid. SISKA is established as a self-governing institution with its own board. There are already strong collaborations and environments around young people, education and sport in Skive, and SISKA is also part of the broader work with the development of Campus Skive.

Your task is therefore not to invent SISKA alone. You must tie the threads together, create momentum and, together with the board and our many partners, bring the ambitions to life.

Employment

The position as academic director is desired to be filled on January 1, 2027. The appointment covers both the establishment phase until 31 July 2028 and the subsequent operations and development phase from 1 August 2028. In the first period the academic director's main task is to rollout the SISKA project and build the organization. From August 2028 the daily management and operation of SISKA will take on a substantially greater weight.

Salary and terms of employment will be determined by agreement based on the position's responsibilities and qualifications. As the transition from the establishment phase to actual operations occurs, the position's responsibilities and portfolio will be assessed in relation to SISKA's development and organization.

The workplace during the establishment phase will be at Skive Youth School, where you will become part of the environment around the Movement Team.

Want to be part of it?

If you can see yourself in the task, we would like to hear from you.

Application deadline: Monday 26 October 2026.

First interviews: 5 November 2026.

Second interview round: 11 November 2026.

If you have questions about the position, you can contact

Soren Christensen, Chair of the Board - phone 5124 2590

Jens Høffner - 2928 7136 or email [email protected]

Applications and CVs are submitted via See vacant positions at Skive College

Start date: January 1, 2027