Phil was appointed as an Adjunct Professor at UIUC in September 2024. Previously, he was a Professor of Physical Geography (2000-2024), Head of the Doctoral College (2003-2024) and Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor [Research and Knowledge Exchange] (2017-2024) at University of Brighton (UK). Before Brighton, Phil was a Lecturer and then Professor of Fluvial Geomorphology at University of Leeds (1988-2000).

Whilst Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Phil led development of the Centres of Research and Enterprise Excellence (COREs), and the management of the University's £5m quality-related (QR) income. Phil was a member of the Executive-led 'Securing our Future' Group that planned the new size and shape of the university from 1 September 2018. As part of this work, he led the workstream making £2.2m of efficiency gains and savings across the Research and KE remit. He also served on the University IT Governance Board that is charged with overseeing the Digital Transformation Programme. Phil was a lead member of the University Research Excellence Framework REF2021 executive team, including principal author of the Institutional-Level Environment Statement and with oversight of the submissions to A3 (Joint Submission with Sussex), B11, B12 and C14.

Phil has a strong association with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) where he was one of only 14 UK scientists invited to chair all the Responsive Mode grant panels (2010-2014). He has also chaired panels for a number of Directed Programmes, Strategic Capital Equipment, International Opportunities and Global Partnerships, and a joint UKRI-India geohazards programme. Until 2024, Phil was a NERC Core member of the Peer Review College and was a member of the NERC Scientific Support and Facilities Review Group in 2022. He was a Deputy Chair for the UKRI Future Leaders interviews for Rounds 1 and 4 and a Sift Member for Round 5. He also recently served on the EPSRC AI CDT panel and was a panel reviewer for outputs from the Royal Society Africa Capacity Building Initiative. Phil was a council member and trustee of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) (2014-2017) and is a co-author of the Benchmark Review of UK Physical Geography produced in association with the RGS.

Phil was appointed to the REF2021 UoA14 Geography and Environmental Studies sub-panel, and with a small group, helped draft the C14 input to the Guidance on Submissions and Criteria and Working Methods. Phil completed a full assessment load grading outputs, impact case studies and environment statements for the 56 UK submissions to C14. This work was completed in February 2022. Phil is currently an appointed External Assessor for three UK universities in preparation for REF2029 and has led a number of workshops for other Universities on understanding the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) and implications for strategic decision-making.