Seconded from Sweden, and with a background spanning Swedish diplomatic postings and multiple international field missions, including senior positions with the EU Monitoring Mission in Armenia and the OSCE in Ukraine, Johan has built a career focused on good governance, community safety, and justice-sector reform. He has focused especially on mentoring counterparts and leading multi-disciplinary field teams in high-risk environments. 

In his current role as Head of the Mobile Unit at EUAM Ukraine, Johan leads a team that operates as a “field office on wheels”, covering seven eastern and northern Ukrainian regions, including liberated and adjacent territories.

We had the opportunity to ask Johan some questions about his work in the CSDP mission. See some highlights below:
 

What does your day-to-day work involve?
On a day-to-day basis, I plan and lead deployments from Kyiv to Dnipro and Poltava; meet counterparts; oversee training (psychological support, tactical first aid, investigative interviewing, OSINT and cybercrime); support community safety dialogue groups; track reform progress; manage a mixed international–national team; coordinate with EUAM components and donors; and report results. 
 

What motivated you to apply for a CSDP mission role? 
I applied because CSDP is where EU values turn into practical support on the ground. After earlier service in Ukraine, I wanted to stand with regional partners under pressure and help keep institutions —  police, prosecutors, courts —  functioning so people feel the state is present and fair, including in liberated and adjacent territories. A CSDP mission lets me combine field leadership with mentoring and capacity building in a multinational team, turning strategy into small, concrete wins that add up to stability. 
 

What do you find most rewarding about this role?
When counterparts apply new skills in real cases; when local ownership grows; and when dialogue mechanisms start resolving concrete community safety issues.
 

What has been the most challenging aspect of mission work?
Working in a fluid security environment where plans can change within hours, balancing delivery with duty of care and logistics, and aligning multiple actors without duplication. I try to manage this with lean contingency plans and steady communication. 
 

What skills are most important for working in a mission context?
Resilience and calm under pressure come first; then clear, respectful communication and disciplined planning across many stakeholders. A mentoring mindset helps you build local ownership, and cultural humility keeps you from making easy mistakes. Above all, favour practical problem-solving over theory —  move small things forward every day. Regional language skills are an asset, but not essential if you listen well, brief clearly, and work effectively with interpreters. 
 

How has this experience contributed to your professional growth?
Field work throughout my career has made me think in contingencies and speak plainly under pressure. It’s strengthened my leadership of mixed teams and turned contacts with regional institutions and civil society into real working partnerships. Professionally I think that I’m sharper on crisis planning. Personally, I’m hopefully more patient, pragmatic and resilient.
 

Click here to learn more about secondment to civilian CSDP missions.
 

More information on EUAM Ukraine can be found on the mission's website.