By dispatch of the President of the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC), it is publicly made known that an international tender is open for 15 working days, to fill one PhD-holding position vacancy equivalent to that of Junior Researcher, under an uncertain term employment contract pursuant to the Portuguese Labour Code, approved Law nr. 7/2009, of February 12, in its current version, the Decree-Law nr. 57/2016 of August 29 in its current version – amended by Law nr. 57/2017 of July 16, the Decree-Law nr. 11-A/2017, December 29 and additional applicable legislation. The position is open in the scientific area(s) of Biomedicine and Biotechnology within the Management of Science, Technology & Innovation component, to carry out research management activities in the context of the plurennial funding UIDP/04539/2020 of the R&D Unit CIBB (Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology).
Funded by national funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I. P., under the 2017/2018 call for evaluation of R&D Units.
I — Reference, Place of Work and Monthly Wage:
I.1 — Public tender reference: CNC-JR UIDP 01/2024
I.2 — Place of work: Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC), Headquarters (polo I), University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, Edifício FMUC, Coimbra, Portugal.
I.3 — Job description: in the context of CIBB’s plurennial funding, where reinforcement and proficiency of CIBB infrastructures that support science management and funding of this UID is foreseen, the researcher will support the implementation of the CIBB’s plan for R&I management and funding, namely: a) scout for and internally disseminate new research (R&D) funding opportunities, expanding and maintaining an updated portfolio of funding opportunities for CIBB; b) organize info sessions about those opportunities; c) promote and actively support the elaboration of applications, including those at international level and involving inter-institutional cooperation, within the institutional strategy of CIBB (of which CNC is the additional managing institution); d) support the management of projects that fund the CIBB researchers (FCT, P2030, Horizon Europe, among others) to ensure they comply with the administrative and Open Science requirements of both CIBB and the funding entities.
I.4 — Gross monthly wage: 2 294.95 €, corresponding to level 33 of the single remuneration table, approved by Ordinance nr. 1553-C/2008, of December 31st, together with Decree Law nr. 108/2023 of November 22.
I.5 — Maximum duration: until the end of the current plurennial funding (foreseen for December 2025), never going beyond it nor the maximum limit of 4 years.
II — Admission Requirements:
II.1 — To have at least 18 years of age by the deadline of the present tender.
II.2 — Must hold, by the deadline of the present tender, a Ph.D. degree in the above-mentioned scientific area(s), or in a related one that, in complement with the applicant’s scientific and curricular path, demonstrates capacity to thoroughly develop work in the main field(s) of the present tender.
III — How to apply:
III.1 — Submission of the application: applications must be submitted online through CNC’s electronic platform https://cnc.uc.pt/en/job-opportunities, by selecting the procedure to which the candidate intends to apply and uploading in the appropriate fields all the necessary documents exclusively in digital portable document format (pdf).
If, as part of the application, a classified document is submitted that reveals commercial or industrial secrets, or secrets relating to literary, artistic or scientific property, the applicant must clearly indicate its confidential/ classified nature in each such document, under risk of the work in question being freely accessed by any of the other applicants during tender record consultation.
III.2 — Documents to be uploaded:
III.2.1 — Curriculum Vitae, duly dated and signed, referring to the last five years (or to the extended period the selection committee decided to consider in the assessment, upon the candidate’s request, on grounds of suspension of scientific activity for socially protected reasons, namely parental leave, prolonged serious illness, and other situations of unavailability for legally protected work, in which case the candidate must indicate the desired period of assessment and attach a document proving the grounds invoked).
The Curriculum Vitae must contain a preamble that includes the historical record, if it exists, of all contractual relationships held by the candidate during the last five years (or the extended period to which the candidate is entitled) and the respective periods, identifying the category of the position(s) held, the nature of the employment bond(s) and the respective scientific area(s). The preamble must also clearly specifying the type of contractual bond and the institution where the candidate carries/d on his/her activities on the date of application. It must also include a substantiated synopsis demonstrating that the candidate possesses the appropriate expertise to work in the scientific area or areas for which the tender is open.
The candidate must also organize his/her Curriculum Vitae in such a way as to respond separately to each of the criteria listed in point IV.2 and respective sub-points, as well as identify, from among the works produced, the 3 to 6 he/she considers to be his/her most significant contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the areas of this tender, substantiating his/her choice in the context of each evaluation criterion specified in point IV.2, under penalty of exclusion if these requirements are not met. All published works mentioned in the Curriculum Vitae should also have indication of the respective unique identifier(s) (e.g., DOI) and/or accessible URL.
III.2.2 — Copy of all qualification certificates or diplomas. Applicants selected for the position(s) to be filled who hold a foreign doctoral degree must present the recognition or registration (as applicable) of their degree at the time of contract signing, in accordance with Decree-Law No. 66/2018, dated August 16th, under penalty of exclusion if they fail to do so.
III.2.3 — Any other elements that the candidate considers relevant, namely the relevant works without publicly accessible integral version through the unique identifiers or URL provided by the candidate.
III.3 — All application documents indicated in III.2 should be submitted in Portuguese or English. Whenever the original of the referred documents are written in a different language, a translation into Portuguese or English must be delivered also, the exception being diplomas written in Latin, for which no translation is required.
III.4 — Applications that are not duly formulated or do not fulfil the formal criteria for admission to the present tender, under the terms defined in the legislation in force and in this notice, will not be admitted. The submission of any required documentation beyond the stipulated deadline also dictates the non-admission to the tender.
III.5 — Candidates who are non-native Portuguese or English speakers should attest their competence in any of these two languages at proficiency level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) at least.
III.6 — The present tender ceases with the occupation of the position(s) or when the position(s) cannot be occupied due to the inexistence or insufficiency of candidates to proceed with the tender.
IV — Selection methods and criteria:
IV.1 — Selection Methods: Assessment of scientific and curricular path [ASC (90%)] and Interview [I (10%)].
IV.2 — In the assessment of the candidate’s scientific and curricular path, the scientific and technical performance and the outreach and management activities will be considered, with a focus on the works the candidate selected as being his/her most significant contributions in the area(s) for which the tender is open, in accordance with the criteria and weights described below.
IV.2.1 — Scientific and technical performance of the candidate, in last five years or in the requested extend period if accepted by the selection committee, with a weight of 40 %, based on the following evaluation parameters:
IV.2.1.1 — Relevance, quality, recentness and national and international recognition of the scientific, technological cultural or artistic production;
IV.2.1.2 — Applied or practice-based research-driven activities, their impact and national and international recognition;
IV.2.2 — Outreach and management activities, in last five years, with a weight of 60 %, based on the following evaluation parameters:
IV.2.2.1 — Outreach: outreach activities and activities of dissemination of knowledge developed in the context of promoting scientific culture and practices;
IV.2.2.2 — Management: activities of management and funding of science, technology and innovation, namely at pre- and post-award project management in the context of the different research funding programmes at regional, national and European level, and in the scientific areas where CIBB operates, as well as participation in science-driven projects and observation and monitoring of the scientific and technological system or the higher education system at national, European and/or international level.
IV.3 — The assessment of the candidate’s scientific and curricular path is made according to the criteria and weights defined in IV.2, being duly substantiated and expressed by the selection committee on a scale of 0 to 20 values (up to the centesimal place).
IV.4 — The evaluation of the interview is made according to the criteria and weights defined in IV.2., being duly substantiated and expressed by the selection committee on a scale of 0 to 20 values (up to the centesimal place), and exclusively aimed to clarify aspects related to the results of the candidates' scientific, technical and management activities. The interview is public and may be attended by all interested parties.
IV.5 — All the candidates complying with the application eligibility requirements will be subjected to assessment of their scientific and curricular path, following the criteria and evaluation parameters defined in IV.2 and IV.3. However, only the top higher-ranking 4 (four) candidates scoring above threshold (ASC ≥ 9.5) in result of the assessment of the scientific and curricular path will be called for the interview.
IV.6 — Candidates who score below 9.5 in one of the selection methods will be excluded from the tender procedure, and the ensuing method, if it exists, will not be applied. Likewise, candidates who fail to appear, who withdraw or who, although approved, were not included in the tiers used, will also be excluded from the tender.
IV.7 — The final score (FS), expressed on a scale of 0 to 20 values (up to the centesimal place), is calculated by the following formula:
FS = (ASC × 90 %) + (I × 10 %)
V — Selection Process:
V.1.1 — The Selection Committee decides, first, on the admission and exclusion of applications. In case of non-fulfilment or partial fulfilment of any of the requirements defined in section III above, the Committee decides whether this insufficiency prevents application acceptance, or if it has no relevant impact on the evaluation process, in which case the application may nevertheless be accepted.
V.1.2 — After admission or exclusion of the candidates, the selection committee starts the procedures for the phased application of the selection methods. All admitted candidates undergo assessment of their scientific and curricular path. Only the merit of the candidates will be evaluated, considering their previous experience in the scientific area(s) for which the tender is open, according to the selection criteria and evaluation parameters above described, and the committee will refrain from assessing or scoring outside the referred area(s). The ranking of the candidates in the ASC method is numerical and based on the scores given to each candidate.
V.1.3 — The Selection Committee notifies by e-mail the candidates admitted to the Interview.
V.1.4 — The Selection Committee interviews the candidates admitted to the Interview phase. The interview of each candidate shall have the maximum duration of half an hour, though it may be extended for another half hour by decision of the Chairman of the committee. The interview will consider the candidates’ merit, scored on the basis of their previous experience in the scientific area(s) for which the tender is open, as well as their motivation and level of proficiency in the languages required in III.5. The interview is conducted by the Chairman of the committee, although other committee members may also intervene and interact with the candidate. This interview shall be held in Portuguese and/or English, depending on how the candidates matches the requirements set in III.5.
V.1.5 — Candidates who fail to attend the interview at the set time and place shall be excluded from the tender procedure. Similarly, candidates failing to attend a duly scheduled teleconference call shall also be deemed excluded.
V.1.6 — After conducting and scoring the interviews, the committee calculates the final score and ranks the candidates approved in both methods by applying the formula defined above in IV.7.
V.1.7 — The candidates are notified of the proposed final decision following the terms set out in point VI of this notice. The notification includes the list with the proposed ordering of the admitted candidates as well as the list of the excluded candidates.
V.2 — Candidates can, if they so wish, appeal to the decision of the Selection Committee, in due respect for their right to a fair hearing, pursuant to Article 121 of the Código do Procedimento Administrativo [CPA - Code of Administrative Proceedings]. The period to submit an appeal begins on the date the candidates are notified of the Selection Committee’s deliberation, pursuant to paragraph 8 of Article 113 of the CPA.
V.2.1 — Should any candidate exercise their right to be heard, the committee shall hold a new meeting in order to analyse the appeal, and the candidates will be notified of its deliberations, under the terms of section VI herein.
V.2.2 — If the committee finds the candidates’ allegations well-founded, it shall proceed according to its deliberations, thereby notifying the candidates under the terms of point VI.1.
V.2.3 — If the committee finds such allegations unfounded, upon the candidates’ notification under the terms
of point VI.1, the selection process shall then be submitted to CNC’s Board of Directors for homologation.
V.3 — All candidates will be notified of the homologation decision, under the terms set out in point VI of the present notice. The administrative records of the tender may be consulted by the candidates, upon prior scheduling.
VI — Notification of the candidates:
VI.1 — The candidates are notified by e-mail of the following acts: the list of admitted and excluded candidates, as well as the identification of the candidates selected for the interview, and among them, those the Chairman of the Selection Committee has allowed to be interviewed by teleconference; the proposed final decision for the tender; the decisions regarding eventual allegations of the candidates and the homologated final decision.
VI.2 — The entire tender records may be consulted by candidates, upon scheduled appointment requested via e-mail to the Human Resources Management Service e-mail address: rh@cnc.uc.pt.
VII — Selection Committee:
Chairman — Doctor Luís Fernando Morgado Pereira de Almeida, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University Coimbra, and coordinator of CIBB.
Committee members:
Doctor Elsa Fernanda de Sousa Henriques, Principal Researcher of CNC – Integração (CNC-UC), University Coimbra, and coordinator of the Research Funding & Project Management Office at CNC|CIBB.
Doctor Ana Luísa Monteiro de Carvalho, Associate Professor of the Life Sciences Department of the Department, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University Coimbra, and coordinator of research line in Neuroscience & Disease of CIBB.
Doctor Paulo Jorge Gouveia Simões da Silva Oliveira, Principal Researcher of the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University Coimbra, and coordinator of research line in Metabolism, Ageing & Disease of CIBB.
Alternate committee members:
Doctor Lino da Silva Ferreira, Coordinator Researcher of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, and coordinator of research line in Innovative Therapies of CIBB;
Doctor Carlos Jorge Alves Miranda Bandeira Duarte, Full Professor of the Life Sciences Department of the Department, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University Coimbra;
Doctor Luísa Maria Oliveira Pinheiro Leitão Cortes, Principal Researcher of CNC – Integração (CNC-UC), University Coimbra.
In the event of absence or impediment, the Chairman shall be replaced by the Committee member indicated in the first place, who, in case of similar absence/impediment, will be replaced by the Committee member indicated next and so on.
For the record, the present public Notice has been prepared and will be announced in the Diário de Notícias, in Portuguese, and in Portuguese and English in CNC’s electronic platform dedicated to job opportunities and the international platform EURAXESS, https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/251691.
Pursuant to paragraph h) of Article 9 of the Portuguese Constitution, the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, as employer, actively promotes a policy of equal opportunities between men and women in their access to employment and professional development, and acts to prevent all forms of discrimination. Therefore, no one can be privileged, benefited, harmed or deprived of any right or exempted from any duty on account of, in particular, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, family, economic situation, education, origin or social condition, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic or racial origin, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological beliefs and trade union membership.
In accordance with Decree-Law nr. 29/2001, of 3 February, candidates with disabilities take precedence over others when they obtained the same classification, and this prevails over any other eligible preference.
Pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data (RGPD) and Portuguese Law no. 58/2019 of 8 August, the entity responsible for processing the personal data of the candidates, collected within the scope of this tender, procedure is the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC). CNC guarantees that personal data collected in physical or digital support, whatever their nature, are treated responsibly, only for the purpose of recruitment, through appropriate policies and measures in order to prevent access and misuse or possible intrusions, minimizing risks and contributing to their safety. CNC does not provide or allow access to personal data by third parties, except for the purpose of complying with duly justified legal obligations. The personal data collected will be kept for a maximum of 6 months, counting from the end of the legal period of preservation foreseen for the procedure. At any time, the interested party can contact CNC through the email dpo_cnc@cnc.uc.pt to request information on the processing of personal data or to exercise the legally established rights.
Coimbra,
03/07/2024 — The Management of CNC
