Department Head

Department for Social Affairs, Labor Market, Families, and Interior Affairs seeks Head of Department Head of the Social Department

The Department of Social Affairs, Labor Market, Families, and Interior Affairs is seeking a department head for the Social Department.

The Department of Social Affairs, Labor Market, Families, and Interior Affairs is seeking a department head for the Social Department to start on July 1, 2026, or as otherwise agreed.

The position is a central management role in a department responsible for significant welfare areas, where high professional quality, clear political support, reliable operations, and good coordination with the municipalities are crucial.

About the department

The department is responsible for the overall planning, administration, and development of the Government of Greenland's policy in the areas of social affairs, labor market, families, and domestic affairs.

The department works with legislation, strategies, sector policy, implementation, economy, political servicing, and coordination across the Self-Government, municipalities, and other partners.

About the Social Department

• The Social Department handles the ministry's tasks in the social area and family law area, including in particular: socially vulnerable adults
• the elderly sector
• family law tasks, including but not limited to adoption, children's legal status, marriage, registered partnership, parental responsibility, inheritance law, and estate areas
• leave in connection with pregnancy, childbirth, and adoption, including maternity benefits and maternity fund
• Nordic Pension
• legislation, advice, and guidance in the adult social area and related family law areas
• strategies, reforms, and political initiatives in the department's areas of responsibility
• cooperation with the municipalities on the implementation of social legislation and related regulations

The department plays a central role in translating political decisions into legislation, guidance, administrative processes, and concrete improvements for citizens.

About the position

As the department head, you will have daily management responsibility for the Social Department. The position reports directly to the permanent secretary and is part of the department's overall executive management.

You must ensure that the department operates with high professionalism, good administrative practice, clear priorities, and timely delivery. The position requires both leadership impact, legal and administrative understanding, as well as the ability to assist the Minister in matters of political, economic, and social significance.

The tasks of the Social Department range from social policy reforms, the elderly sector, and initiatives for socially vulnerable adults to complex family law, benefit-related, and legislative tasks. The position therefore requires a leader who can create direction, quality, and progress across both professional, legal, economic, and political considerations.

• You will be responsible for, among other things: leading and developing the department's employees.
• ensure progress in legislative work, strategies, service areas, and political initiatives
• ensure quality in proposals, notes, response notes, consultation responses, and decision-making basis
• advise the permanent secretary and the minister on the department's areas of responsibility
• ensure professional and legal quality in cases concerning social legislation, family law, maternity leave/leave, and related regulations
• ensure coordination with other departments, ministries, municipalities, and external actors
• support the implementation of legislation and political decisions in collaboration with the municipalities
• follow up on the economic, legal, and administrative consequences of the department's tasks
• ensure clear workflows, prioritization, and documentation in the department's case handling

Your profile

We are looking for a department head who can combine leadership, understanding of authority, and political-administrative judgment.

You have a relevant higher education, for example in law, social sciences, public administration, the social sector, or another relevant educational background.

Legal and administrative understanding will be emphasized, as the department handles legislative work and several regulations with significant legal, administrative, and economic consequences.

• It is essential that you have experience in several of the following areas: management of employees or professional teams
• public administration and political service
• legislative work, rule implementation, and legal quality assurance
• case management, prioritization, and quality assurance
• the social area, the elderly area, socially vulnerable adults or benefit areas
• family law, maternity leave/leave or related civil law areas
• cooperation with municipalities, state authorities or other public authorities
• economic and administrative management
• preparation of decision proposals, strategies, consultation responses, and political matters

It is an advantage if you have experience from a politically led organization and understand the interplay between professional advice, political decisions, and practical implementation.

The management task

You must be able to create calm, direction, and momentum in a department with complex tasks and high demands for quality.

• We emphasize that you: are clear in your leadership and your priorities
• can translate political goals into realistic administrative processes
• can maintain quality and progress, even when the cases are complex
• can provide clear professional advice, even when the message is difficult
• can collaborate loyally and professionally across the organization
• can create structure, accountability, and a common direction in the department
• has high integrity and respect for legality, objectivity, and documentation

Language and understanding of society

It is an advantage, but not a requirement, that you can speak and write both Greenlandic and Danish. Knowledge of Greenlandic culture, social conditions, and public administration in Greenland will be given emphasis.

English can be an advantage in relation to Nordic and international cooperation.

We offer

We offer a central management position in the Government of Greenland with the opportunity to influence the development in significant welfare areas.

You will be part of a department where the work has a direct impact on citizens, municipalities, and the political development in the social and family law areas. You will have a position with a wide range of tasks, significant managerial importance, and close collaboration with the head of department, the Naalakkersuisut member, and other managers in the department.

Further information

Further information about the position can be obtained by contacting Department Chief Mikael Mansi Rasmussen, phone: 34 69 08, email: mimr@nanoq.gl.

Application deadline: June 24, 2026.

 

Employment conditions

The position is currently salary-fixed corresponding to 38. The salary with fixed salary components and personal contributions to pension in LR 38 amounts to DKK 64,048 monthly and DKK 768,576 annually as of April 1, 2026.

Employment will initially be on collective agreement terms, where applicants who are already civil servants under the civil servant laws for the public Greenland may be employed on civil servant terms.

For the position, there is no maximum service time established, and the provisions regarding compensation for overtime and the provisions regarding compensation for lost days off do not apply; the working hours are initially 40 hours per week.

Salary and employment conditions, including the right to relocation and moving expenses, in accordance with the collective agreement in force at the time of appointment between the Government of Greenland and the relevant negotiating organization.

Housing

No housing is provided for the position. If an applicant already has housing through employment in the Self-Government, the right to the assigned housing is retained. The housing is linked to the employment relationship and must be vacated upon termination of the employment relationship.

Submit your application, CV, educational and course certificates, as well as other relevant documents by clicking "Send application."

We do not accept applications via email.