Sigríður Björk and Jón Karl welcomed
20. febrúar 2026
Two positions filled at the Office of the President
The Office of the President of Iceland has filled two positions that were advertised in December. These are the positions of director of finance and operations and of cpecialist, which replaces the position of office manager that has been discontinued.
Sigríður Björk Gunnarsdóttir has been appointed chief fof finance and operations at the Officer of the President of Iceland. She holds a BSc degree in economics from the University of Iceland and has teaching qualifications as an upper secondary school teacher. Sigríður has extensive experience in financial management, operations and human resources. For the past five years she has worked as director of operations at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Iceland, where she was responsible for finances, planning and day-to-day operations. Previously, she was executive director of the Operations Division at the Icelandic Transport Authority and also sat on its executive board. She was responsible for the Authority’s finances, information technology and international cooperation, in addition to leading major reform projects. Before that, Sigríður was head of the Operations Department at the Post and Telecom Administration in Iceland. She was responsible for finances, information technology and human resources, as well as serving on the executive board.
Jón Karl Helgason has been appointed to the position of specialist at the office. He holds a BA degree in comparative literature and Icelandic from the University of Iceland and a PhD in comparative literature from the University of Massachusetts. Jón Karl has extensive experience in journalism, editing, publishing, university teaching and research, and has also taken part in major international projects in his field. Jón Karl is a professor in the Faculty of Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Iceland, where he has worked for nearly two decades. Previously, he was an editor at the publishing house Bjartur, web manager at Kaupþing investment bank, and managing director of the ReykjavikAcademy. Before that, he worked for a decade as a program producer at the Icelandic National Broadcasting. Jón Karl is the author of numerous academic books and articles. He is also an experienced translator and has served on various boards and councils relating to the field of Icelandic cultural life. For the past months, Jón Karl has been on temporary leave from the University of Iceland, working as a specialist at the Office of the President of Iceland.
The Office of the President of Iceland welcomes Sigríður Björk and Jón Karl, and bids a grateful farewell to those staff members who are leaving after having served the office diligently for many years. The office is also thankful to the many talented applicants who showed interest in these two positions and wishes them all the best.
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