Job description
We are seeking a highly motivated and creative PhD and EngD candidate to join our research team. While this advertisement primarily targets a PhD position (a 4-year project), we also anticipate expanding the team with EngD positions (2-year projects) in the near future. Please clearly indicate your preferred position in your cover letter. The successful candidates will focus on developing and applying data science tools that integrate both customer-related data and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) information within portfolio management settings. The ultimate goal of the PhD candidate is to explore how insurance companies can adapt their practices or propose innovative solutions to embed ESG-based decision-making into customer portfolio management. This, in turn, will contribute to fair and sustainable economic growth. During the project, you will work within a multidisciplinary team and will collaborate closely with the insurance company Achmea. The successful applicant will join the Industrial Engineering and Business Information Systems (IEBIS) section of the High-tech Business & Entrepreneurship Department (HBE) at the Faculty of Behavioral, Management and Social Sciences (BMS).
Insurance companies play a key role in financial markets, not by generating direct monetary value, but by underwriting and managing risk. Through the design and management of insurance portfolios, they help shape value creation and carry a growing responsibility to consider Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors. As regulatory, societal, and market pressures mount, insurers face a clear need to integrate ESG considerations into their decision-making processes, not just in risk selection, but also in pricing, underwriting, and portfolio optimization.
Despite the growing relevance of ESG in insurance, there is no widely adopted, data-driven framework that integrates ESG metrics into customer portfolio decision-making. Current practices are typically qualitative and ad hoc, which limits comparability and transparency across clients, especially in commercial insurance contexts. This PhD project aims to develop a structured and scalable decision framework that leverages AI to incorporate measurable ESG indicators alongside traditional financial risk factors. The envisioned framework will be dynamic, allowing ESG factors to be weighted and adjusted in response to evolving business priorities or regulatory demands, and will offer explainability to support both operational use and strategic planning.
On the customer side, the research will focus on how ESG indicators can be meaningfully embedded into portfolio assessments and risk models. For instance, should a construction firm that actively reduces its environmental impact be treated more favorably than one with a higher emissions profile, even if both present similar financial risk? Addressing such multi-criteria decision-making scenarios is key for ensuring that insurance offerings not only reflect financial performance but also incentivize sustainable practices among commercial clients.
At the same time, ESG decision-making also applies internally within insurance companies. For example, migrating to cloud-based infrastructure for storing insurance policies can enhance operational efficiency, yet it also increases energy consumption in data centers, elevating the company's carbon footprint through electricity usage and data redundancy. By developing a structured, quantitative, and scalable ESG framework, this project will support insurance companies in evaluating both external and internal ESG trade-offs, enabling a shift from intuition-based decisions to transparent, evidence-based sustainability strategies.
The desired start date for this position is 1 February 2026.
Department
About Achmea
Achmea B.V. is one of the largest financial service providers in the Netherlands, supporting around 10 million customers with solutions in healthcare, housing, mobility, and income. As the parent company of leading insurance brands like Centraal Beheer, Interpolis, De Friesland Zorgverzekeraar, FBTO, Zilveren Kruis, and Avéro Achmea, we are committed to delivering innovative and reliable services.
At Achmea, your role goes beyond your job title—whether you're a data engineer, digital marketer, IT professional, healthcare purchaser, or financial expert. We make an impact when it matters most, not just for our customers but for society as a whole. That’s why we actively tackle challenges in healthcare, sustainability, mobility, safety, and income.
With 13,000 colleagues, we work every day to create solutions that contribute to a better future. If you're looking for a career where you can make a real difference, Achmea is the place for you.