Fellow 11 (project 2.11)

In Luxembourg, health care carbon emissions per capita rank among the highest in Europe and globally. Hospitals have a particularly high footprint within the healthcare sector.  By reducing emissions, hospitals can significantly contribute to the achievement of national and international emission reduction goals. To inform this process, actionable performance indicators are needed to monitor the environmental impact of hospitals, providing evidence to inform decision-making, raising awareness, and driving effective action toward achieving sustainability targets. 

The fellow will first assess, using qualitative and quantitative methods, the perceived importance of environmental footprint considerations among various healthcare stakeholders, including the public. This will help determine which stakeholders could benefit from more quantitative evidence on the hospital sector’s environmental impact to support strategic decision-making. 
In a co-creation process with stakeholders, the fellow will identify relevant indicators to assess the environmental footprint of hospitals and evaluate their suitability for Luxembourg and specific stakeholder groups. The fellow will then identify suitable data sources and calculate the selected indicators to inform decision-making processes at the hospital level (meso) and policy-making at the national level (macro). 
By developing and embedding these environmental performance indicators, the research will directly support the ongoing development of a Health System Performance Assessment (HSPA) framework for Luxembourg. Additionally, the project includes international secondments to leading organizations, which will take up a substantial portion of the recruitment period. These secondments will provide the fellow with opportunities to integrate international best practices, gain hands-on experience in sustainability-driven governance models, and explore the transferability of environmental performance indicators across health systems. 

At ObSanté, a multidisciplinary team of health economists, system analysts, quality and patient-centeredness experts, epidemiologists, statisticians, and data scientists work together to generate actionable performance intelligence for health policy decision-making. The fellow will benefit from an interdisciplinary research environment and close collaboration with international partners.  
This project will run in close collaboration with the University of Amsterdam – Amsterdam UMC, department of Public and Occupational Health (coordinator of HealthIntelAct). 
Weblink to ObSanté: Observatoire national de la santé – Le gouvernement luxembourgeois  For more information, please visit the LinkedIn profile of the principal investigator (PI). 

• Candidates should have a Master’s degree in relevant fields such as public health, health services research, health economics, sustainability studies, health policy and management, health sciences, applied statistics, social or environmental science, or a related field. 
• Experience in qualitative research and/or data analysis (for example as indicated by a Master thesis or an internship using these methods) 
• Strong communication and organizational skills  
• Be able to work productively and collaboratively in a team 
• Excellent higher education track record and strong scientific curiosity  
• be proficient in writing and speaking English and French 

In addition, the following experience would be helpful, but not essential: 

• Experience in business intelligence tools to present results  
• Experience in performing environmental qualitative research 
• Experience of hospital operations (for example through prior exposure to management, clinical experience or field research in hospitals) 
• Experience in studying European healthcare systems, particularly in the context of health system performance assessment 

We seek a highly motivated aspiring researcher with a strong interest in conducting research, who thrives in an interdisciplinary environment and project, and can work both independently and as part of a team. 

This (2+1)-year PhD position is funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions of the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement No 101168576.  You will be appointed as fulltime PhD with the Observatoire national de la santé in Luxembourg.  The Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) programme offers an attractive salary and working conditions. The successful candidates will receive a salary in accordance with the MSCA regulations for early-stage researchers. Exact salary will be confirmed upon appointment [Living Allowance = €3.400 * (country specific correction factor for LU) 1 = €3.400 + Monthly mobility allowance = €600. An additional monthly allowance of €660 is applicable depending on family situation.   In addition to their individual scientific projects, all fellows will benefit from further continuing education, which includes internships and secondments, a variety of training modules as well as transferable skills courses and active participation in workshops and conferences. 

Be aware the contracts include social security coverage providing at least sickness and parental benefits, invalidity and accidents at work and occupational diseases, covering the fellows in every place of implementation of HealthIntelAct activities. As these will be paid by the employer and depend on country-specific regulations, the final net salary that each fellow will receive may differ. 

See recruitment procedure. You can apply using the online application form. For more information about the position you can contact Till Seuring, PhD (till.seuring@obs.etat.lu) or Catherine Goetzinger, PhD (Catherine.goetzinger@obs.etat.lu).  

The National Health Observatory ObSanté is a public administration placed under the authority of the Minister of Health. However, the National Health Observatory is scientifically and professionally independent in terms of its observation tools, findings and proposals. In its first two years, it has built a creative, interdisciplinary and inspiring environment to work in, and has strong connections to national and international experts as well as policy makers in the field of health and health systems. The purpose of the National Health Observatory is to guide health decisions and policies and to assess their impact by interconnecting data (health status health determinants, non-monetary resources and use of the health and care system). 
Doctoral degrees for fellows based at ObSanté will be awarded by the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands) under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Dionne Kringos, who is appointed at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Amsterdam.