PhD 'Mental health interventions at work with societal impact'

1 - Working at the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike.

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located.

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again.

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

2 - Position description

TheFaculty Social Sciences & Solvay Business School, Department Sociologie, Research Group Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studiesis looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant.

More concretely your work package, for the preparation of a doctorate, contains:

The BRISPO-VUB Sustainable Work Unit is looking for 2 full-time PhD Scholarships.

You conduct a research project on the co-creation of workplace interventions for the promotion of well-being and prevention of stress among workers:

• your PhD fits within the research project “Helios-VUB Chair for Mental Well-being at Work”;
• you will collect quantitative and qualitative data in different workplaces about the intervention and the quality of work and their impact on workers;
• you will collaborate with occupational psychologists, health and labour sociologists and experts in human resources management, to develop interventions within several workplaces across different sectors;
• you will evaluate the context, mechanisms and outcomes of these interventions;
• you will collaborate with other PhD researchers who do a comparable study within the research project;
• you will process and analyse the quantitative and qualitative data;
• you will collaborate within the project team on realizing the project deliverables and play an active role in selecting, developing, evaluating and informing/advising the selected case studies;
• you will report findings in scientific peer reviewed articles and present results at national and international meetings;
• you will write a doctoral dissertation on this subject;
• you will work within the Sustainable Work Unit of BRISPO.

For this function, ourBrussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene)will serve as your home base.

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

• A master's degree or equivalent, eg Master Sociology, Psychology, Adult Education sciences, Public Health, Epidemiology, Health sciences, … (Students who are in their final year and graduating in June 2026 are also encouraged to apply).

• you have knowledge of or you are willing to familiarise yourself with qualitative and quantitative research methods;
• you have good written and oral communication (Dutch and ENG);
• you have knowledge of research software (e.g. statistical packages, qualitative research tools, bibliographic software, ...);
• you are motivated to conduct research about mental health interventions during a 4-year PhD trajectory;
• you are willing to work according to the principles of co-creational and co-developmental research;
• you are willing to embed your own research within a collective team effort in line with the project’s requirements;
• you are native Dutch or French speaker (both is an asset), and you are able to express yourself, write and publish in English.

• You have not performed any works in the execution of a mandate as an assistant, paid from operating resources, over a total (cumulated) period of more than 12 months.

• As a (non-)EEA national, meet the conditions for obtaining a valid permit for VUB and comply with the VUB residence requirements. More info here.

The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.

4 - Offer

Are you going to be our new colleague?

You’ll be offered a full-time PhD-scholarship, for12 months (extendable up to max. 48 months, on condition of the positive evaluation of the PhD activities), with planned starting date01/05/2026, but also:

• an engaging and varied job as a researcher on a subject that is also socially relevant;
• effective guidance and supervision provided by experienced researchers;
• an enjoyable, dynamic, interdisciplinary and collegial working environment with young people and many opportunities for development and training;
• a salary in the form of a research grant, you’ll receive a grant linked to one of the scales set by the government;
• you work within the context of an interdisciplinary project: the study is part of the “HELIOS-VUB Chair for mental well-being at work” funded by the HELIOS foundation. As a researcher of this chair you will be an active member of a team of junior and senior researchers which will provide a unique opportunity to engage with and learn from researchers from different disciplines (occupational psychologists, labour and health sociologists and experts in human resources management).

As a member of the team of labour sociologists, you will work within the Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies (BRISPO). BRISPO is an interdisciplinary research centre composed of sociologists, demographers, economists, psychologists, statisticians, and human geographers. Its members conduct research on the socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic dimensions of patterns of social inequality within Belgium, Europe, and beyond.

For more information about the Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies (BRISPO):https://brispo.research.vub.be.

IMPORTANT: The effective result of the doctorate scholarship is subject to the condition precedent of your enrolment as a doctorate student at the university.

At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.

As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:

• Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
• An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave(based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
• Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike;
• A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
• Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques;
• Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps;
• The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
• And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.

5 - Interested?

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

Then apply,at the latest on 01/03/2026, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:

• your CV;
• your motivation letter;
• your diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni).

Our application process is as follows (subject to change):

• step 1: an initial selection based on your application file;
• step 2: a job interview.

Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Deborah De Moortelat [emailprotected]or on 026148150.

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.