Department Head for the Control Department

Do you want to work in an authority with an important societal mission that contributes to creating a safe and secure society? Do you have prior experience leading a large government operation? Then this might be the position for you!

As the department head for the Control Department, you will lead the largest department of the Swedish Customs and have a responsible and significant role. As department head, you will be part of the authority's management team.

The operational activities of the Swedish Customs are divided into four departments: control, collection, intelligence, and customs crime. The Control Department has a broad mission to ensure that only approved goods cross the border. The mission involves conducting customs checks on imports and exports where the Swedish Customs looks for goods that violate restrictions and ensures that the correct customs duties and taxes are collected.

The department consists of approximately 950 employees divided into four geographical units: South, West, East, and North, each led by a unit manager. As department head, you are responsible for the Control Department and lead your department's management team. You will have an assistant department head and a management support at your disposal.

About the Position

As the department head for the Control Department, you have overall responsibility for leading and steering the operations to achieve good results and to conduct effective leadership. Your main tasks include:

• Responsibility for the Control Department's goals and results and strategic responsibility for the management and governance of the operations, as well as overall budget and personnel responsibility.
• Developing the operations and leading change efforts. Adapting the operations to changing conditions and prioritizing what is most important to do in the short and long term.
• Leading and developing your management team and creating good conditions for subordinate managers to lead their operations.
• Having good awareness of the external environment and understanding how the outside world affects the operations of the Swedish Customs and acting accordingly.
• Representing the authority in external contexts nationally and internationally.

We are looking for someone who has:

• Several years of experience in a similar high-level management position that has involved leading and developing a large operation and achieving good results.
• Experience in management team work and experience in leading through subordinate managers.
• Current experience from a management position in a government authority and understanding of how an authority functions in management, governance, organization, and follow-up.
• A university degree or experience that we assess as equivalent.
• Leadership training.
• Swedish citizenship.

It is an advantage if you have:

• Experience in international work.
• Experience in the department's area of operations or similar operations.

Personal Qualities

We place great importance on you being an experienced leader with good leadership skills. You are used to developing both people and operations through a coaching and communicative leadership style and you understand the importance of creating engagement and accountability among your employees. As a person, you have the courage to make decisions, demonstrate decisiveness, and drive towards set goals through subordinate managers. We also place great importance on your ability to drive strategic and overarching development issues. You have experience in leading and driving change efforts and you can challenge yourself and others to stimulate innovation and change. You have a strategic perspective and a good overall view. You should be communicative, easy to collaborate with, and able to create contacts with others both within and outside the Swedish Customs.

We place great importance on personal suitability!

We offer you

By working at the Swedish Customs, you have an important job where you contribute to a safe and secure society. We highly value well-being and learning from each other, and we strive for you as an employee to have a good balance between work and leisure. With us, you will have secure employment conditions, and our benefits include wellness grants, subsidized medications, and good vacation and pension conditions. There is an opportunity to work partially from home when the operations allow it. As a department head, you have flexible working hours and the possibility of a company car.

Other

Reference number: TV-2026-05190.

Location: Stockholm.

The employment is a permanent position and individual salary setting applies. Within the Swedish Customs, temporary management appointments of 5 years are applied with the possibility of extension.

Start date: By agreement.

To be considered for employment at the Swedish Customs, you must meet high standards regarding security and confidentiality awareness, suitability, and compliance with applicable laws. This means that you uphold democratic values and the governmental values that apply to the operations of the Swedish Customs. Before a hiring decision is made, you will undergo a drug test and background check. Security clearance with a register check according to the Security Protection Act will be conducted before employment, as the position is placed in a security class. The Swedish Customs is a total defense authority, and upon employment, you may be placed in a military position within the Swedish Customs.

Conducting management tests may be relevant during the recruitment process.

The Swedish Customs values the qualities that contribute to the operations by having a balanced gender distribution and ethnic diversity.

For more information and application

Inquiries about the position can be made by Johan Norrman, 08-405 00 22 or Bodil Taylor, 08-456 55 60. For questions about the recruitment process, you can call the Swedish Customs PA support, 060-67 25 85. Union representatives are for OFR-P/TULL-KUST, Ulf G Persson, 040-661 33 21 and for Saco-S, Katarina Hernhut, 08-456 52 65.

Your application, including a cover letter and CV/resume, must be submitted to the Swedish Customs by March 24. You apply via the electronic application form below.

We kindly ask for no contact with staffing and recruitment companies or advertisers of job postings.

The Swedish Customs is a government authority that controls the flow of goods across Sweden's borders. With the vision that only approved goods should pass the border, we prevent illegal goods from entering the country and contribute to a safer society. We simplify trade with other countries and lay the foundation for increased growth and competition on equal terms. The Swedish Customs, founded in 1636, currently has about 2,600 employees and is led by the Director General of Customs, Johan Norrman.