A competition is open for the attribution of 1 research grant in the framework of the project DEEPbaseline – Co-creating a knowledge baseline on the diversity and distribution of sponge and coral vulnerable marine ecosystems of the Portuguese continental shelf (OLD/2019/044), within the R&D Institution CIIMAR (Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research), supported by Oceanário de Lisboa and Oceano Azul Foundation, according to the following conditions:
1. Scientific area: Biological sciences/marine sciences
2. Admission requirements:
To be admitted to the position the candidates must:
i) hold a Master degree in Biology, or similar field, with experience in marine sciences and be enrolled, at the time of application, in a doctoral program, aiming at consolidating their scientific training through the development of research work leading to the achievement of the respective academic degree, or in a non-academic degree courses integrated in the educational project of a higher education institution developed in association or cooperation with one or more R&D units.
ii) have demonstrated experience in:
– sponge taxonomy and systematics
– optical and electron microscopy
– standard molecular biology techniques (DNA extraction, PCR, sequencing; including primer design, and protocol development/optimization)
iii) be fluent in Portuguese and English.
iv) residence permit if applicable.
Whenever the degree of the candidate selected for the position is from a foreign institution it needs to be recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution accordingly to the Decree-Law no. 66/2018 of 16th August until the signature of the contract.
Conditions of preference:
Experience in participating in projects and fieldwork related to benthic ecosystems, and skills with curation and management of scientific collections are also an advantage.
3. Workplan:
The candidate will be responsible for supporting the work being developed under various project tasks, namely: gather and assemble Local Ecological Knowledge on the spatial occurrence of structural megabenthic species and ecosystems through participatory approaches (Task 1); identify and characterize collected sponge specimens using an integrative taxonomic approach combining morphology and molecular barcodes (Task 2); develop identification tools (Task 4). The candidate will also be supporting the analysis of the results and the writing of deliverable reports, as well as scientific papers.
4. Legislation and official rules:
Law nº.40/2004, 18th August (Research Fellow Statute) amended and republished by Decreto-Lei n.º 202/2012, 27th August; FCT Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships and CIIMAR Research Grants Regulation.
5. Work place:
The work will be carried out at CIIMAR with headquarters located in Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixo?es, Av. General Norton de Matos, s/n, Matosinhos (Portugal), under the scientific supervision of Dr. Joana R. Xavier. There will be opportunities to perform research visits to the other project partners, i.e. IPMA and Okeanos.
6. Duration of the grant:
Duration of six (6) months, starting as soon as possible (June/July 2020), under the regime of exclusive dedication.
7. Monthly maintenance stipend:
The monthly maintenance allowance is 1064 € (one thousand and sixty four Euros), in agreement with the monthly maintenance stipend table of the grants directly attributed by FCT, I.P. within the country https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores.phtml.en.
8. Selection method:
The ranking of candidates will be performed by a global evaluation based on the evaluation of the Curriculum Vitae and supporting documents. This evaluation will take into account: i) academic performance (global appreciation taking into account the University – level degrees, their appropriateness to the position as well as the performance of the candidate in each of such degrees), ranked from 0 to 10 with a relative weight of 30%; ii) the experience in the field of study (sponge taxonomy and systematics), ranked from 0 to 10 and with a relative weight of 50%; and iii) a global appreciation of the motivation of the candidate and interest in the field of research, taking into account the motivation letter and any other element in the CV or transcripts that can help in this regard (ranked from 0 to 10 and with a relative weight of 20%).
The candidate with the highest score will be offered the position, provided that such score is above seven (7) values. In the case of a tie between the scores of the top candidates, and provided that such scores are higher than 7 values, an interview will be performed to these candidates to allow for the selection of a single candidate. The selection will be based on the vote of each member of the jury regarding the most adequate candidate for the position, and, in the case of a tie in the vote, the vote of the president of the jury will prevail.
9. Composition of the jury:
President: Dr. Joana R Xavier
Vogal: Dr. Sandra Ramos
Vogal: Dr. Astrid Schuster
10. Form of advertising/notification of the results:
The final results of the evaluation will be published through a list sorting of the candidates according to their attributed mark, on the CIIMAR website and by e-mail; in case of disagreement, the candidates have a 10-working day term in which to contest the decision, if he/she so wishes, as provided for in the “Código do Procedimento Administrativo” in a preliminary hearing setting. The jury reserves the right to not assign the grant depending on the quality of the applications.
11. Deadline for application and presentation of applications:
The competition is open from 12 until 25 june 2020.The applications must be formalized, compulsorily, by sending the following documents:
-detailed Curriculum vitae including contact details
-copy of the eligibility certificates
-motivation letter outlining past research activities and their relevance to the position
-any other documents that the candidates may recognize as relevant.
The applications must be send by e-mail to: mgalvao@ciimar.up.pt and jxavier@ciimar.up.pt with DEEPbaseline – MSc holder grant in the subject line. The applications that do not include all the elements previously indicated will not be considered.
In case none of the candidates prove to have the profile indicated for carrying out the work plan, the jury reserves the right not to award the grant to the competition.
Non-discrimination and equal access policy: CIIMAR actively promotes a policy of non- discrimination and equal access, by which no candidate can be privileged, can benefit or be put in disadvantage, or can be deprived of any rights or duties based on their social or cultural background, ethnic group or race, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, economic status, education, social condition, genetic assets, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic disease, nationality, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological beliefs and unionization.
As set forth by the Decree Law 29/2001, the candidate with disability has preference if equally classified, which prevails over any other legal preference. The candidates with disability must declare in their application, on their word of honour, their degree and type of disability, and the means of communication/expression that are to be used in the selection process, as provided by the above mentioned legal diploma.