Head of Education, Primary School Department

Do you want to continue the strong development work that is already underway? We are now looking for a Head of Education for the Primary School Department – a role for you who wish to lead, develop, and manage an operation that plays a central role in the future of education in Skellefteå. Here, you will combine strategic leadership with daily presence and build upon established structures with a focus on quality, trust, and a shared direction. YOUR ROLE As the Head of Education for the Primary School Department, you will lead an operation that includes preschool classes, after-school programs, primary schools, and adapted primary schools. You will manage 12 principals and two operational managers. In relation to the principals, you hold a strategic leadership function – you are responsible for the overall direction and development of the operation. Together, you will ensure that the department's activities are driven with quality, clarity, and a shared vision. The core activities are at the center, and you will work to create the best conditions for the principals to lead their schools with high quality. Quality is created in the interaction between the staff and the child, student, or participant, and this is where you and your entire department should have a common focus. By viewing the student’s entire journey from preschool to high school, you contribute to a cohesive chain of learning and development. A central part of the mission is collaboration within the management of the Education and Labor Market Administration. You are part of maintaining and developing all operations within the administration. Together with the Heads of Education for the Preschool Department and the Department for Learning for Young People and Adults, you also have a special responsibility to create a coherent thread throughout the education system – from early years to adult learning – and to strengthen the holistic perspective in the administration's mission. Through shared leadership and continuous dialogue, cohesive governance and development are created throughout the administration. You will collaborate with the political level, where you contribute with analyses, professional assessments, and decision-making support to the board and administrative management. Through a trusting interplay between politics and the civil service organization, you will implement goals and decisions in practice, creating stability, clarity, and progress in the shared mission. The role also includes close collaboration with trade unions, where you contribute to good dialogue, trusting relationships, and effective cooperation that supports the development of the operation. Part of your work involves external collaboration with businesses, regional actors, and other community stakeholders. By building relationships and creating cooperation between education and the labor market, you strengthen students' decision-making skills, providing them with insight into potential pathways for their future careers. You work in a process-oriented and systematic manner with follow-up, analysis, and learning as the foundation for development, leading with trust, clarity, and direction. YOUR COMPETENCE AND EXPERIENCE We are looking for someone with a relevant higher education degree and several years of experience as a manager in the education sector, preferably in a larger and complex organization. You have previously led other managers and are accustomed to working with assignment management, goal and quality work, as well as analysis as a basis for development. You are comfortable working in a politically governed organization and have a good understanding of both municipal and state governance within the education system. As a leader, you are stable, communicative, and relationship-building. You have the ability to create trust and participation and thrive in an environment where collaboration, structure, and long-term direction are keys to success. You lead through dialogue, clarity, and trust, and have the courage to stand firm when necessary. For the role, it is a requirement that you submit a valid extract from the criminal record. YOUR NEW WORKPLACE The Education and Labor Market Administration consists of approximately 3,000 employees who together create conditions for learning and development for children, young people, and adults. In recent years, the administration has developed a structure and roadmap aimed at strengthening coherence, quality, and equity. As the Head of Education, you will have good conditions for your leadership through a well-developed support function around the Heads of Education, which provides strategic and administrative support in daily operations. This allows you to focus on the whole, direction, and long-term development. Here, you will meet engaged and competent employees who are driven by making a real difference for the municipality's residents. Our working method is characterized by collaboration, learning, and a shared focus on providing the best possible conditions for lifelong learning. In Skellefteå Municipality, we work together across boundaries, in a work culture characterized by courage, care, and trust. Here, you will work in an environment where ideas are encouraged, leadership is shared, and your role contributes to creating coherence and direction throughout the education system, from preschool to adult education and onward to the labor market. GOOD TO KNOW We recruit based on competence and focus on your experience, knowledge, and potential. Instead of a personal letter, you will answer a few selection questions and attach an updated CV. Would you like to know more about living and thriving in