Vacant job

The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (Myndigheten för civilt försvar) is the leading, guiding, and coordinating authority in civil defense. We ensure that society is prepared for crisis, high alert, and war.

We are getting Sweden ready. Do you want to work to lead civil defense? Then you might be our next colleague!

We are now looking for a Unit Manager for the Staff Unit within the Department of International Relations, Research, and Innovation.

Our leadership is based on trust, humanity, and the desire to work together. We assume that we do our best and wish each other well. Acting in line with this means contributing to increased security and a sustainable working life.

Your responsibilities and tasks

As Head of Staff at the department, you have personnel responsibility for the staff unit's employees and report to the Department Head. You are part of the department's management group and serve as the deputy department head. In your role as Head of Staff, you support the Department Head in steering the department and keeping the department's operations together. You plan, organize, and lead the work at the staff unit together with the employees. The role also includes responsibility for developing the department's governance, coordination, and delivery capacity. Close collaboration with the department's unit managers and the Agency's Management Staff is a prerequisite for success. The department is undergoing a change process where we are developing working methods and processes, which also includes the staff unit.

The Head of Staff supports the Department Head in monitoring and directing inputs to the agency management, follows up on the department's business plan, economy, and budget, and directs the department's preparedness and security protection work. Your role involves broad collaboration both internally within MCF and externally with other organizations, nationally and internationally. The role includes some external representation.

As a manager, you are responsible for driving the department's issues at a strategic and operational level together with your employees and from a holistic view of the operations. You should lead and steer with the unit's, department's, and agency's goals and approaches as a starting point.

Your knowledge and competencies

We are looking for you who have a higher academic education in political science, crisis management, or other education that the employer finds relevant. Furthermore, we see that you have documented good experience in leading employees and operations. You are expected to have both a coaching and a clear, result-oriented leadership style. You also have:

• good knowledge of the agency's overall area of responsibility, including international cooperation and cooperation within research and innovation
• good knowledge of defense and security policy
• good knowledge of Swedish and English in both speech and writing

In all our work, both internally and externally, we must act based on the state's value base. As all employees and leaders here, you are expected to act based on the agency's approach.

The approaches apply in everyday life, crisis, and war. They should be seen as a whole and build on each other; collaboration-oriented – proactive – action-oriented.

Read more about our approaches

We place great importance on your personal qualities, such as being flexible, relationship-building, and having good collaboration skills. As a person, you are calm and stable. You are persistent in your work, but also easy to adapt to changed circumstances. You enjoy working under occasionally time-pressured conditions and have a structured work method and the ability to prioritize and switch between simultaneous tasks in an effective way. The role requires that you have strategic ability, a holistic view, and consider the best interests of the operations in action and decision-making.

About the employment

We offer you a permanent full-time position starting with a probationary period, with a time-limited managerial appointment of four years.

Your place of work will be Stockholm at our Tomteboda office, and travel during employment occurs.

The majority of our positions involve placement in a security class. Swedish citizenship is usually required. In the event of placement in a security class, a security investigation with register check will be conducted before employment according to Chapter 3 of the Security Protection Act. Most employees at the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency are war-placed.

About us

The Department of International Relations, Research, and Innovation has an agency-wide mandate to coordinate, provide direction and support to the CEO/agency management as well as to other departments in EU, NATO, and international matters, as well as to ensure knowledge development through research and innovation. The department consists of three units: a staff unit, a unit for international relations, and a unit for research and innovation.

We also offer you the opportunity to take fitness hours and you will receive a fitness allowance. For you as a state employee, there are also favorable holiday conditions.

All of us who work at the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency are expected and should contribute to increased gender equality and equal treatment for a work environment and a society free from discrimination.

Read more about our organization, benefits, and what it is like to work with us

Do you want to know more?

If you have questions, you are welcome to contact Manager Sara Myrdal. Union representatives are Jörgen Mähler (Saco-S), Jan Fenelius (ST), and Josefin Berglund or Ann-Britt Paradis (SEKO). All can be reached via the switchboard number 0771-240 240.

Apply by June 21, 2026