Researcher Operational Wildfire Management

PhD position in Operational decision-making during wildfire events

Wildfires have significant socio-economic and ecological impacts, posing risks to human lives, buildings, ecosystem services and biodiversity values. In Europe, areas with increased danger are being pushed north by climate change. Even though many industrialized countries have implemented fire management strategies, formal risk assessment systems are lacking in many regions, including Flanders. Pan-European initiatives are hampered by coarse spatial resolution, often underestimating local fire dynamics and overlooking the need for region-specific assessments. Without this locally contextualised accuracy, the reliable prediction of fire propagation and optimization of resource deployment remains severely constrained.

We will recruit six PhD students to meet FireRisk’s core objectives:

• the development of a locally calibrated fire spread model that accounts for land management and design scenarios (PhD 1)
• the generation of near-real-time, high-resolution maps of fuel loads, fuel moisture, microclimate conditions, and fire weather indices for improved wildfire risk assessment and management (PhD 2)

• understanding how land management and landscape design influence wildfire risk and post-fire ecosystem resilience (PhD 3)
• the translation of scientific outputs into actionable frameworks for both operational decision-making (PhD 4) and long-term governance (PhD 5)

• the enhancement of first responder training through high-fidelity 3D visualization (PhD 6)

This position corresponds to the abovementioned ‘PhD 4’ and bridges the gap between academic research and emergency response by optimizing operational decision-making during active wildfire incidents in Flanders. Working central within WP5, you will step away from the traditional desk job to collaborate directly with fire zones, emergency planners, and crisis coordinators, analyzing existing workflows to translate frontline needs into practical digital tools. Your core responsibilities involve designing and validating data-driven models for real-time resource allocation and tactical risk assessment, which you will stress-test through interactive workshops, post-incident analyses, and scenario-based field simulations. Ultimately, you will develop user-friendly decision-support prototypes that integrate seamlessly into existing crisis management processes, turning complex data into actionable, life-saving tools for regional emergency services.

The position requires experience and/or feeling with the fields of emergency response, safety or crisis management. The PhD researcher will collaborate with the FireRisk-consortium (including the other PhD researchers) and international partners.

• You hold a master’s degree by the start of the position in a relevant field, such as Management Sciences, Safety Sciences, Criminology, Organizational Sciences, Military Sciences, Engineering or a related discipline.
• Preferably, you have gained initial experience collaborating with a variety of stakeholders in a professional environment.

• You have experience with (geo)data and decision-support systems.
• You meet the language requirements: you can report fluently in Englisch and have a C1 level of proficiency in Dutch.

What are additional assets?

• Experience with the fields of emergency response, public safety or crisis management is a plus.
• The same holds for familiarity with the operational workflows of fire districts, emergency planning, civil protection, police, defence, medical emergency services, or safety agencies, including an understanding of how operational decisions are made under pressure during incidents.

• You feel comfortable conducting research in multidisciplinary teams.

What are your strenghts?

• You are deeply motivated to conduct practice-oriented research with a direct, real-world societal impact, and you are fully committed to pursuing a doctoral degree.
• You are a pragmatic, solution-oriented thinker who can bridge the gap between academic researchers and frontline operational professionals. You are highly analytical and like to work with data but never lose sight of the practical context.

• In this context, experience with the fields of emergency response, public safety or crisis management is a plus. The same holds for familiarity with the operational workflows of fire districts, emergency planning, civil protection, police, defence, medical emergency services, or safety agencies, including an understanding of how operational decisions are made under pressure during incidents.
• You are independent, proactive, and curious, with an eager interest in deploying research to solve concrete, on-the-ground problems.

• You possess strong communication skills and can confidently engage with both academic audiences and emergency services personnel.

If so, you possess the “X-factor” and we would be delighted to invite you to apply.