VLAIO opens the position of Senior Policy Maker / Expert Start-Ups & Scale-Ups for the purpose of Job Shadowing, offering PhD candidates (≥ 3rd year of the PhD trajectory) / postdocs affiliated with 1 of the 5 Flemish universities the possibility to see for themselves what tasks and responsibilities come with this particular job function. 

A Senior Policy Advisor for Start-Ups and Scale-Ups plays a pivotal role in strengthening Flanders’ start-up and scale-up ecosystem. The work of the Senior Policy Advisor focuses on designing, supporting and evaluating policy instruments that foster high-growth entrepreneurship through evidence-based strategy and stakeholder collaboration.

The Senior Policy Advisor also acts as a strategic facilitator, empowering a network of partner organizations that coach and advise ambitious entrepreneurs. Leveraging his academic background, including a PhD in entrepreneurial finance, he ensures that interventions are evidence based and aligned with international best practices. The Senior Policy Advisor also coordinates VLAIO’s strategic exercise (2026–2031), which brings together ecosystem partners and entrepreneurs around five thematic priorities. His role includes designing the content architecture, developing facilitation tools and synthesizing insights into actionable strategic objectives that strengthen VLAIO’s future positioning as a system-oriented innovation agency.

The responsibilities of the Senior Policy Advisor for Start-Ups and Scale-Ups include:

- Shaping strategic programs for entrepreneurial support (e.g. investor readiness, international scaling, incubation).
- Coordinating ecosystem-wide initiatives that enhance connectivity between entrepreneurs, investors, and innovation actors.
- Translating insights from academic research and data analyses into actionable policy advice.
- Supporting structural evaluation frameworks (e.g. scale-up readiness tools, incubator assessments).
- Coordinating VLAIO’s strategic exercise (2026–2031), including the design of thematic roundtable sessions with partners and entrepreneurs, the development of facilitation tools (e.g. moderator briefs, reflection frameworks), and the synthesis of output into actionable strategic priorities.
- Representing the department in expert groups, cross-border innovation networks, and consultations with stakeholders.
   

> Open to PhD candidates / postdocs from all academic disciplines.  Preference is given to candidates with a profound interest in start-ups and scale-ups.

VLAIO offers a 1-day Job Shadowing experience. The date for Job Shadowing will be decided upon in close consultation with the selected candidate. Thursdays are however impossibe.