Summary: International call for applications for an assistant researcher in the scientific area of Agronomy MED/CHANGE CHAIR in Plant Pathology and Nematology 

By order of  January 24th 2025 of the Rector of the University of Évora, an international competition is open for a period of 30 working days, from the date of publication of this notice in the Diário da República, without prejudice to publication on the Bolsa de Emprego Público, on the websites of the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I. P., and on the website of the University of Évora (UÉ) and websites of the Associated Laboratory CHANGE - Institute for Global Change and Sustainability and R&D Centres belonging to CHANGE, in both Portuguese and English, for the recruitment of an Assistant researcher in the scientific area of Agronomy, the Aliança OE and FCT-Tenure Programs, for the R&D Unit - MED - Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development and Associate Laboratory CHANGE - Institute for Global Change and Sustainability, a post on the staff map of this University in the form of an indefinite public service contract. 

This position is aligned with strategic objectives of MED and CHANGE to develop solutions to promote the sustainability of agroecosystems. 

The international competition is governed by the provisions of articles 9, 10, and 15 of Decree-Law no. 124/99, of April 20, which approved the Statute of the Scientific Research Career, hereinafter referred to as ECIC, and is part of the FCT-Tenure Program with reference 2023.14966.TENURE.027, within the Program Contract for the Financing of Permanent Hiring of PhDs for the Scientific Research Career (Alliance Program), signed on 25/03/2024 between the Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES), the Institute for Financial Management of Education, IP (IGeFE), and the University of Évora (UÉ), as well as the Multi-Annual Funding from the MED and the Associated Laboratory CHANGE.

In fulfilment of Article 9 h) of the Portuguese Constitution, the Public Administration, as an employer, actively promotes a policy of equal opportunities for men and women in access to employment and professional advancement, taking scrupulous care to avoid any form of discrimination. 

The assistant researcher to be contracted will develop work in the field of Plant protection with focus in nematology and microbe-plant interaction, and applied research work in host-parasite interactions (plant nematode interactions), nematode-microorganisms interaction and other nematode-related topics with particular impact in agriculture. The researcher will be responsible for: 

a) Implementing innovative approaches to enhance nematology research, staying up-to-date with advancements in the field, including the use of new techniques and technologies; 

b)Linking research to practice (between academia, society, enterprises and policy-makers), and identifying research needs and opportunities, as well as to transfer knowledge about the role of nematology research for sustainable agricultural practices; 

c) Participating in post-graduate formation and supervision of students (e.g. MSc and PhD students) in the area; 

d) To be involved in providing services in the area of agricultural plant pathology and nematology. 

In accordance with the provisions of articles 16 to 27 of the ECIC and other applicable legislation, the following provisions will be observed: 

1. General and special admission requirements: 

1.1. General requirements: those defined in article 17 of the General Labour Law in Public Functions (LTFP), approved by Law no. 35/2014, of 20 June. 

1.2. Special requirements, cumulatively: 

a) Those defined in Article 10 of the ECIC, i.e. national, foreign or stateless individuals who have held a doctoral degree for more than 5 years in the scientific area of the contest or, also, those who, although from a different area, have a relevant scientific and professional curriculum in the area of Plant protection with focus in nematology and microbe-plant interaction; 

b) Experience in studying biological interactions in complex diseases, namely, nematode-plant and nematode-microorganism interactions; 

c) Experience in applying biotechnological tools and methodologies for development of sustainable strategies for controlling phytoparasitic nematodes; 

d) Experience in Molecular Biology and the use of omic methodologies using new generation sequencing, namely metagenomics and transcriptomics; 

e) Experience in developing and carrying out scientific dissemination actions and education in the field of Nematology; 

f) Publications in journals indexed in Web of Science in Q1 journals (Scimago, quartile indexed to the date of publication); 

g) Proven internationalization; 

h) Excellent command of written and spoken Portuguese and English. 

1.3. If the doctorate was awarded by a foreign higher education institution, candidates are admitted to the competition, in accordance with number 2 e) from article 4 of Decree-Law no. 60/2018, of 3 August, and the registration/recognition of the degree in Portugal must be carried out after the end of the competition, under the terms of Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of 16 August, and is only required at the time of hiring. 

2. Place of work: University of Évora, MED - Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & Associated Laboratory CHANGE - Institute for Global Change and Sustainability, Mitra Centre, Évora. 

3. The gross monthly salary corresponds to the index 195, step 1, of the Assistant researcher category, as mentioned in Annex I of the ECIC. 

4. Formalisation of applications: applications must be submitted by means of a request addressed to the Rector of the University of Évora, under the following terms and conditions: 

4.1 The application must contain the following elements, among others: 

a) Identification of the competition; 

b) Identification of the candidate by full name, date and place of birth, nationality, civil identification number and expiry date, profession, marital status, residence and postal address, email address and telephone number; 

c) Indication of the category and institution where they work, if applicable; 

d) Indication of the degrees held by the candidate; 

e) Mention that the candidate declares that the information or facts contained in the application are true. 

4.2 The application must be accompanied by the following documentation: 

a) Certificate(s) proving that the degree required for the competition is held and the date on which it was obtained; 

b) Certificate/declaration of length of service issued by the civil service, if there is a civil service contract. 

c) Curriculum vitae of the candidate, dated and signed, with an indication of their scientific work which, in accordance with Article 16(3) of the ECIC, includes: research activities, professional experience and training, service to the community and technology transfer, scientific guidance and management that are considered relevant to the competition, namely by identifying the activities carried out in the different aspects that, under the terms of Article 5 of the ECIC, make up the candidate's curriculum vitae, structured according to the items in points 7.4 a) to 7.4; The curriculum vitae must show up to 5 pieces of work, selected by the candidate as the most relevant and representative, for the development and advancement of the scientific area of the competition, also submitting a brief report justifying the contribution of this work; 

d) Scientific articles published in international journals mentioned in the curriculum vitae and other works considered relevant by the candidate and to be considered for the jury's assessment; 

e) Scientific project for the next 6 years with a maximum of five pages concerning the line of research of the contest, with emphasis on Plant protection, nematology and microbe-plant interaction. 

f) A letter of reference; 

g) Other diplomas or certificates mentioned in the curriculum vitae; 

h) Other documents relevant to the selection board's assessment; 

i) A certificate attesting to the physical robustness and mental profile indispensable for the performance of the duties; 

j) An up-to-date compulsory immunisation record.

4.3 The documents referred to in Article 4.2(i) and (j) may be replaced by a declaration made in the application, on honour, in which the candidate must define their precise situation in relation to the content of each of those points in separate paragraphs. 

4.4 On the application form itself or in a separate document, candidates must declare on honour the precise situation in which they find themselves regarding the content of each of the following points: a) Nationality; b) Fulfillment of military or civic service duties, when compulsory; c) Not being disqualified or barred from exercising public functions.

4.5 Failure to comply with the deadline for submitting the application, as well as failure to submit or late submission of the documents referred to in points 4.2 a) to f) of this notice, will result in the application being rejected. 

4.6 The application and the remaining documents should preferably be submitted in digital format, as a PDF, to the email address drhsc@uevora.pt or in person during normal business hours (9:00 AM - 12:30 PM and 2:00 PM - 5:30 PM) at the address indicated below, or sent by registered mail until the deadline, to Universidade de Évora, Human Resources Division, Administrative Services, Largo da Sr.ª da Natividade, 7000-810 Évora.

4.7 At the discretion of the selection board, the candidate may be asked to provide additional documentation to the curriculum vitae submitted, and public hearings may be held for the candidates admitted. 

5. Selection board: 

5.1 The selection board is made up as follows: 

President: Rector of the University of Évora. 

Members: 

Doctor Fátima Batista, Full Professor, University of Évora; 

Doctor Helena Adão, Associate Professor, University of Évora; 

Doutor Pedro Fevereiro, Invited Full Professor, Invited Full Professor, Nova University of Lisbon; Doutora Isabel da Silva Henriques, Associate Professor, University of Coimbra; 

Doutora Paula Maria de Melim Vasconcelos Morais, Associate Professor with Aggregation, University of Coimbra. 

5.2 In the exercise of her powers, the Rector may delegate the chairmanship of the selection board to a Vice-Rector, an Organic Unit Director or a Research Centre Director. 

5.3 The Rector appoints the Secretary of the Selection Board from among a University employee. 6. Formal assessment of applications: The Secretary of the competition will notify the candidates of the decision to admit or not admit them to the competition, which will be based on their fulfilment or lack of fulfilment of the general and special requirements set out in point 1 of this notice, as well as the correct or incorrect formalisation of applications in accordance with point 4 of this notice. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified of the hearing of interested parties, under the terms of the Code of Administrative Procedure. 

7. Evaluation methods and criteria: 

7.1 In its work, the selection board will follow the rules laid down by ECIC. 

7.2 Under the terms of Article 9(a) and Article 10(2) of the ECIC, this competition is based on documents, examining the curriculum vitae and scientific work of the candidates, and the jury may, under the terms of Article 10(2) and (3), propose an interview to clarify or specify elements of the curriculum vitae of the admitted candidates. 

7.3 The selection board may decide to exclude candidates who, on absolute merit and taking into account their overall curriculum in terms of scientific, technical and professional performance, as well as their performance in other activities relevant to the university's mission, do not fit into the scientific area or areas of the competition or do not reach the qualitative level compatible with the category for which the competition is intended. In these cases, the candidates will be notified by the Secretary of the jury's decision, for the purposes of a prior hearing. 

7.4 The following criteria will be used to assess candidates admitted on absolute merit: 

a) Quality of the candidate's scientific and technical work, considered most relevant by the candidate, with a weighting factor of 40%, taking into account: 

a.1) Scientific publications: a parameter that takes into account books, book chapters, articles in scientific journals that the candidate has authored or co-authored, considering: their nature; the impact factor and the number of citations; the scientific/technological level and innovation; diversity and multidisciplinarity; international collaboration; the importance of contributions to the advancement of the current state of knowledge; the importance of the works that have been selected by the candidate as most representative, namely with regard to their contribution to the development and evolution of the scientific area for which the competition is open, with 20%; 

a.2) Coordination and participation in national and international scientific projects, namely in the scientific area of the competition, with a value of 10%; 

a.3) Recognition by the international scientific community, particularly in the scientific area in which the competition is open: a parameter that takes into account: editorial activities in scientific journals; coordination and participation in programme committees for scientific events; guest lectures at scientific meetings or at other institutions; with a weighting of 10%. 

b) Community service and technology transfer, with a weighting factor of 20%: 

b.1) Provision of services and consultancy integrated into the institutional mission, with particular emphasis on those in the scientific area in which the competition is open: this parameter takes into account participation in activities involving the business environment and the public sector, taking into account the type of participation, size, diversity, technological intensity and innovation, with 10%; 

b.2) Conception, design and production of scientific and/or technical achievements, namely in the scientific area in which the competition is open: a parameter that takes into account the value of professional experience relevant to the institution's activities, namely its contribution to the fulfilment of the institution's mission, including the international dimension and the ability to attract competitive funding, with 5%; 

b.3) Services rendered to the scientific community and society, particularly within the scientific area of the competition: a parameter that takes into account participation in and coordination of scientific and technological dissemination initiatives, taking into account the nature and results achieved by these, when carried out with: the scientific community, namely through the organisation of congresses and conferences; the media; companies and the public sector, with 5%. 

c) Professional experience and training, with a weighting factor of 15%, considering: 

c.1) The level and suitability of the candidate's academic degrees and titles or professional qualifications, as well as professional experience, for carrying out the duties of an assistant researcher in the scientific area of the competition, namely in the parameters and/or themes considered preferential, with 10 %; 

c.2) The candidate's demonstrated experience in preparing and monitoring applications for national and European projects, on a competitive basis, with 5%. 

d) Contributions to teaching and scientific guidance activities, with a weighting factor of 15%: d.1) Participation in juries of examinations leading to the award of an academic degree/title and monitoring and supervision of students, trainees and research fellows: a parameter that takes into account the supervision of students and research fellows taking into account the number, quality, scope and scientific/technological impact of the resulting publications, theses, dissertations and final course work, especially distinguishing award-winning and internationally recognised work; with 5%; 

d.2) Teaching activity: a parameter that takes into account the curricular units that the candidate has taught, taking into account the diversity, pedagogical practice and the universe of students; with 10%. 

e) Scientific project for the next 6 years with a maximum of five pages concerning the line of research of the contest, with emphasis on Plant protection, nematology and microbe-plant interaction, with 10% 7.5 The ranking of candidates is the result of the weighted average of the quantitative marks obtained in each of the assessment parameters, on a scale of 0 to 100 points. 8. Ordering and voting methodology: 

8.1 The ranking of candidates must be based on the assessment made on the basis of the assessment criteria and parameters and corresponding weighting factors set out in this notice. 8.2 The Jury can only deliberate when at least two thirds of its members are present and when the majority of the members present are external. 

8.3 Before voting begins, each member of the jury submits a written document, which will be annexed to the minutes, with a duly reasoned ranking of the candidates, taking into account what is mentioned in the previous paragraph. 

8.4 In the various votes, each member of the jury must respect the order they have presented, and abstentions are not permitted. 

8.5 In the ranking of candidates, each member of the Jury places the candidates in descending order of the scores obtained. 

8.6 It is with the signed and ordered list of candidates that each member of the Jury takes part in the votes for first place, second place and so on, until the final ranking of all the candidates admitted on absolute merit. 

8.7 In the process of selecting candidates, all decisions of the selection board are taken by an absolute majority. 

8.8 If an absolute majority is not reached by any of the candidates in a vote, the vote will be repeated successively, with the exclusion of the candidate who received the least votes, until an absolute majority is reached by one of the candidates. In the event of a tie for the position of least voted, a tie breaking vote or votes shall be taken to decide which candidate to exclude. 

9 Participation of interested parties and decision: 

9.1 The draft final ranking is notified to the candidates, for the purposes of holding a hearing of interested parties, under the terms of article 121 of the Code of Administrative Procedure.

9.2 Once the hearing of interested parties has taken place, the selection board will analyse the claims made, if any, and approve the final list of candidates. In the absence of any arguments from the candidates, the final selection list is automatically deemed to have been approved.

January 27th 2025 - Ana Cristina Centeno. Administrator of the University of Évora