Emplois actuels liés à Principal Investigator - Bruxelles, Région de Bruxelles - Regional Studies Association

The positions are joint hirings of the Université libre de Bruxelles and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Brussels, Belgium.

The Chair will be situated within the Centre for Economic and Social Studies on the Environment and the Centre for European Research in Microfinance at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Cosmopolis Centre for Urban Research at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). The Chair will research financial pathways for decarbonization, develop policy tools, and support critical debate on these matters.

• Type of contract: 5 year contract
• Application Deadline: March 1st, 2025
• Interviews: March 15th, 2025 – April 15th, 2025 (preferably onsite)
• Salary: In line with the official university's scales that considers experience
• Start Date: April 2025 – Flexible

The successful candidate will be embedded in the ULB-VUB Urban Socio-Environmental Transformations Research HUB at USQUARE campus where a critical mass in the study of finance for the common good is in place. In this interdisciplinary context, the Chair will chart existing funding gaps and societal and environmental needs of households and industry regarding decarbonization, study potential and pitfalls of existing decarbonization funding strategies by private institutions (e.g. banks, asset managers), community-owned institutions (e.g. cooperative banks, crowdfunding platforms), and public institutions (e.g. publicly owned banks, regional and national investment funds) in Belgium, learn from international cases, models, and strategies, and evaluate the potential of various financial and governance models. Together with stakeholders, the Chair also intends to develop concrete policy tools that, when implemented, can support decarbonization.

The candidate will analyze both quantitative and qualitative data sources. Quantitative sources include balance sheet and portfolio data, key risk/return metrics, etc. Qualitative sources include investor relations documents for individual organizations as well as industry-wide documents, public policies (in Belgium/Europe), and primary data on investment strategies and governance models collected through interviews and surveys. Critical confrontation of narratives and numbers at the policy, industry, and organizational level will help to identify gaps and potential contradictions in current funding approaches. The analysis of viable strategies in other (European) contexts can inform scenario-building regarding the implementation of financial models and strategies to decarbonize. The candidate will also seek to co-produce such pathways with key stakeholders in policy, public institutions, and the industry.

• Research Leadership: Lead cutting-edge research on the nexus between finance, societal and environmental challenges, with a focus on the role of private, community-owned, and/or state-owned financial institutions.
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Work closely with other thematic chairs within the SWIFT initiative, promoting a multidisciplinary approach that bridges engineering, environmental, social, and economic perspectives.
• Education and Mentorship: Supervise or help to supervise two PhD students, guiding their research in alignment with the goals of the chair. This will involve developing their projects to ensure they contribute meaningfully to the overall research agenda.
• Innovation and Impact: Drive financial and governance innovation that supports the energy transition while considering broader societal impacts. This includes collaborating with industry and policymakers to implement sustainable finance policies.

• A PhD in Finance, Management Studies, Economics, Economic Geography, Political Sciences, or related is required.
• A proven sustainability track record and experience leading multidisciplinary projects will be considered a significant advantage.