Do you really want to make a difference? Apply to the social service in Pajala!

Within the social service in Pajala, there are fantastic opportunities for anyone who wants to be involved in developing society and building the welfare service of the future. In a small municipality like Pajala, there are unique opportunities to really make a difference and at the same time develop yourself in your role within social services.

Pajala’s social service is currently looking for competence in all areas for which the social service is responsible. This means individual and family care, elderly care, disability and health and medical care.

“For some time now, we have been recruiting nationally. For us, it is a great advantage to bring in expertise from the outside, who come in with completely new eyes and ideas. We have been successful in attracting competence from outside the municipality, even from southern Sweden. For them, the meeting with Pajala and with our working methods in social services can be experienced as a big and positive difference to what they are used to”, says Mervi Kostet, Social Manager in Pajala municipality.

For a richer life

Social services continue to seek and attract competence from all over the country. In that work, they are constantly sharpening their marketing and highlighting the Pajala brand.

“In Pajala, we have a big challenge with an aging population. The general workforce is relatively small, and in addition, we compete in the public sector with a strong and growing mining industry that, just like us, is looking for competence. We know that a job in the mining industry is considered cool, it is high-tech and it also pays well. We must highlight other values, which, in addition to the opportunity to make a difference every day, also include opportunities to make a major lifestyle change with more freedom and a richer life where you have energy to spare after the end of the working day, opportunities to develop in your role and also opportunities to influence the development of the business in a way that I personally think can be difficult to do in larger municipalities”, explains Mervi.

In Pajala there seems to be a closeness between people. An understanding and willingness to help each other. How is it visible in social services? Mervi replies:

“We are more personal. Here we have more freedom, we work much closer to our users and customers, and you get a much stronger feeling of really being able to make a real difference that way. With us, our users and customers get to meet the same person every time, and we work to create personal but at the same time professional relationships. According to user surveys, we have a high quality in our services, and we work with continuous improvements in all areas”.

Develop on a personal level

Sebastian Wolff works as a social secretary and administrator at the social service in Pajala. He comes from Kungsbacka in southern Sweden and has previously worked at social services in his home municipality and in a couple of neighboring municipalities.

“It is almost impossible to compare the work of social services in Pajala with what I have experienced before. Since Pajala is a small municipality, everyone who works in social services must work broadly and collaborate in a completely different way. It is like several roles in one job, you must be flexible and be able to familiarise yourself with several different service areas. I think that is adding a lot of value to the role, and it is something that I have missed in my previous employments”, says Sebastian.

There is no doubt that one gets to develop on a personal level in connection with work at the social service in Pajala. Sebastian works in individual and family care, where he knows all clients and their families.

“One of the biggest differences as I experience it is that we get closer to our customers in Pajala. We meet customers in pleasant premises without bars. Just a simple thing like that makes a big difference, both for me and for my clients. It feels like people in Pajala still have respect for authorities and understand the role we have. It feels like a great privilege to be able to work in this way and I appreciate my role here”.

“I think that those who are attracted by working with people on a closer level, a calmer working situation, thorough guidance and introduction, as well as a holistic approach to work that is lacking in many parts of Sweden today, should consider applying to work in Norrbotten and mainly to Pajala municipality”, Sebastian concludes.