In 1998, Jan started working for the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation. Throughout his career he has held various positions including: advisor in humanitarian affairs to the Minister, Food Aid officer at the Department for Development Cooperation and Deputy Chief Protocol a.i.

Together with his colleagues he enabled a change of the local procurement rules of the World Food Programme. This entailed a significant shift in the procurement policy of the entire organization. For instance: local farmers from DR Congo affiliated with Vredeseilanden (a Belgian NGO) were able to sell their produce to the World Food Programme, which used it to feed refugees. WFP killed two birds with one stone in the process because both the local farmers and the refugees benefitted from the same funds.

In 2009, Jan was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and started working as a volunteer for the committee of the Flemish Parkinson's League. He initiated a modernization of their website and put Parkinson's disease on the political map by addressing the Belgian Parliament in 2013. That same year he also successfully completed his training in Counselling & Positive Psychology at the Catholic University of Leuven with a view to support young people who suffer from Parkinson's disease. This led him to found a youth division within the Flemish Parkinson's League, of which he is the chairman.

Jan is also the first Flemish patient to have the "Vercise® Deep Brain Stimulator" implanted. The surgery was performed in September 2015 by professor Dirk Van Roost, head of Neuro-Surgery at the University Hospital of Ghent, and professor Patrick Santens, professor of Neurology at the University Hospital of Ghent.

His personal goal is to raise awareness and visibility of Parkinson's disease so that sufferers can lead their lives without feeling embarrassed.