Call for 02 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

CALL FOR A POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER HIRING UNDER THE RESEARCH ACTIVITES DEVELOPED IN THE CENTER FOR RESEARCH IN EDUCATION, UNDER ARTICLE 19 FROM DECREE-LAW NR 57/2016, OF 29TH AUGUST, ALTERED BY LAW NR 57/2017, OF 19TH JULY. (Ref. CIE/007/2CT/2023)

At a meeting of the Board of Directors of ISPA, CRL, it was decided to open a call for the hiring of two Post Doctoral researchers to develop research in the scientific field of Education, under an unfixed-term contract, in line with the current Applicable Regulation, under the Center for Research in Education, with the reference UIDB/04853/2020, funded by National Funds through FCT.

1. SCIENTIFIC FIELD: Educational Sciences.

2. ADMISSION TO COMPETITION

Candidates must have as general requirements:

Doctoral Degree in the scientific area of Educational Sciences, Education or Psychology with specialty in Educational Psychology within the last 5 years or less.

Candidates must have as specific requirements:

1. Experience in research in Educational Psychology, Educational Sciences or Education.
2. Experience in research and intervention in national and international projects.
3. Experience in the preparation, development, and submission of competitive funding applications.
4. Scientific publications compatible with the year of completion of the Doctoral Degree.
5. Experience in the dissemination of research and intervention results in national and international events.
6. Experience in supervision of master’s students and Higher Education teaching.
7. Experience in conducting systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses.
8. Proficiency in advanced data analysis, in particular structural equation modeling, multilevel analysis, and profile analysis in MPlus or R.
9. Proficiency in qualitative data analysis and the use of appropriate software (MAXQDA or NVivo).
10. Proficiency in spoken and written English.

The five-year period mentioned in 2 is pondered by the date of PhD conclusion and can be extended by the jury, if requested by the candidate, when justified on grounds of suspension of scientific activity for socially protected reasons, such as parental leave, prolonged serious illness, and other situations of unavailability for work that are legally protected.

Applicants to this call can be national, foreign, and stateless candidates who hold a doctoral degree in Educational Sciences, Education or Psychology with specialty in Educational Psychology. Furthermore, they must be holders of a scientific and professional curriculum that reveals a profile appropriate to the activities to be developed. If the doctorate degree was awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the provisions of Decree-Law nº 341/2007, of October 12th, and all formalities established therein must be complied with at the stage of signing the contract.

3. JOB DESCRIPTION

Supporting the ongoing research work at the Center for Research in Education (CIE-Ispa). Research conducted at CIE-ISPA is organized around two main axes: a first one that relates to factors associated with actors and educational contexts that affect educational situations, and the second one with a focus on the learning of written language.

The contracted researchers will assume and support scientific research and knowledge dissemination assignments, namely: support to ongoing systematic reviews and meta-analyses; collaboration in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis; elaboration of scientific articles and reports; research planning; support to the preparation of research project proposals to be presented to competitive applications; organization and participation in events and reinforcement of the external dissemination of the projects.

4. APPLICABLE LEGISLATION

• Decree Law n. º 57/2016, of August 29, amended by the Decree Law Nº 57/2017, of July 19 with the aim to stimulate the creation of jobs in science and technology, promote the rejuvenation of institutions and enhance scientific research activities, technological development, science management and communication (RJEC).
• Decree No. 11-A/2017, of December 29, which regulates the remuneration levels of contractors; and by the Labor Code, approved by Law No. 7/2009, of February 12.
• Labour Code, approved Law n. º 7/2009, of February 12, on its current wording.

The call is open under paragraph b) of No. 1, No. 3 of Article 6 and Article 20 of Decree-Law No.57/2016, and within the scope of the contract-program of the Pluriannual Funding of R&D Units 2020-2023, concluded between FCT, ISPA, CRL, and the Center for Research in Education.

5. SCIENTIFIC ORIENTATION AND WORK LOCATION

The activities will be developed at ISPA - Instituto Universitário, located at Street Jardim do Tabaco, 34, 1149-041 Lisboa, Portugal and/or other locations necessary for the execution of the work plan, under the scientific supervision of Doctor Francisco Peixoto.

6. DURATION AND REGIME OF ACTIVITY

The contract is expected to start on July 2023, and has an expected duration of 6 months, possibly renewable for periods up to the maximum duration of the project, subject to the project budget.

7. MONTHLY REMUNERATION

The monthly illiquid remuneration to be awarded is 2206.05 euro, in accordance with Regulatory Decree No. 11-A/2017, of December 29, which regulates the remuneration levels of contractors, and in accordance with level 33 of the TRU, approved Decree-Law No. 84-F/2022 of December 16 and Portaria No. 280/2022 of November 18.

8. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND JURY COMPOSITION

Pursuant to article 5 from Law 57/2016, of August 29th, altered by Law 57/2017, of July 19th, the selection is to be made based on the candidate’s scientific and curricular evaluation.

The evaluation of the scientific and curricular achievements focuses on relevance, quality, and timeliness of the scientific, technological, and/or applied or practice-based research activities developed over the last five years and considered by the candidate as having the greatest impact, including those of extension and dissemination of knowledge in the context of the promotion of scientific culture and practices.

9. SELECTION METHODOLOGY

The selection method will be in accordance with the following selection criteria and their respective values:

• Scientific Production (SP) - Corresponds to the scientific and technological production of the last 5 years, considered most relevant by the candidate, in the scientific areas of this competition. In the assessment of this sub-criterion, will be considered scientific publications (high impact, publications indexed in Web of Knowledge and/or Scopus), communications in scientific events (national and/or international), organization of national and/or international scientific events, recognitions, and awards. The SP will be evaluated according to the following parameters:

Production in the areas of this call - 60 to 100 points.

Production in areas other than this call, but relevant - 11 to 59 points.

Production in other areas - up to 10 points.

• Research Activities (RA) - Corresponds to research activities developed in the last 5 years, considered most relevant by the candidate, in the scientific areas of this call. In the assessment of this sub-criterion, it will be taken into consideration participation in funded research project, participation in national or international networks, experience in the submission of applications for competitive research funding, supervision of academic theses and dissertations (master’s students), supervision of research assistants, teaching, participation in evaluation panels, and experience in the review of scientific publications. The RA will be evaluated according to the following parameters:

Activities in the areas of this call - 60 to 100 points.

Activities in areas other than this call, but relevant - 11 to 59 points.

Activities in other areas - up to 10 points.

• Outreach Activities (OA) - Corresponds to outreach and knowledge dissemination activities developed in the last 5 years, particularly in the context of promoting scientific practices and culture, considered most relevant by the applicant to the scientific areas of this call. In the evaluation of this sub-criterion, it will be considered the dissemination of knowledge and scientific research results to society, to academic and non-academic audiences, and other science communication activities. The OA will be evaluated according to the following parameters:

Activities in the areas of this call - 60 to 100 points.

Activities in relevant areas - 11 to 59 points.

Activities in other areas - up to 10 points.

• Motivation Letter (ML) - It corresponds to the motivation letter clarifying the scientific activities of the last 5 years, considered most relevant by the candidate, how the candidate's competences align with the strategic plan and research groups of CIE-Ispa, and the research program for the duration of the position (6 months), specifying how the proposed research program adds to, complements or advances existing research in one of the two research axes identified in Point 3 of this Notice. The ML will be evaluated according to the following parameters:

Profile of the candidate within the areas of this call - 60 to 100 points.

Profile of the applicant in relevant areas - 11 to 59 points.

Profile of the applicant in other areas - up to 10 points.

The ranking of the candidates results from the curriculum evaluation (CA) obtained in each of the four criteria, expressed on a scale of 0 to 100, and results from the formula:

                                 CA = (SP x 0.55) + (RA x 0.30) + (OA x 0.05) + (ML x 0.10).

Candidates who obtain a score of 75 points or more in the CA will be invited to an interview to obtain clarifications and explanations of the curricular elements presented and additional information as well as to evaluate the candidate's attitude and profile. The remaining candidates will be excluded from the competition process, as the jury considers that they do not possess a scientific and professional curriculum vitae revealing a profile appropriate to the position.

10. INTERVIEW

10.1 The interview consists of a conversation between the candidate and the Jury, aimed at clarifying aspects related to the candidates' research results.

10.2 The evaluation criteria for the interview focus on the candidate's demonstrated scientific knowledge, and the suitability of the candidate's research to the position of the present call.

10.3 The evaluation of the interview is expressed on a scale of 0 - 100.

10.4 The final classification of the interview is obtained by the average of the scores given by each of the members of the jury, and expressed on a scale of 0-100, to one decimal place.

11. CLASSIFICATION AND FINAL RANKING

11.1 The final classification (FC) of each candidate admitted for interview is obtained from the weighted average of the evaluation and selection criteria, with a weighting factor of 90% for Curriculum Evaluation and 10% for the Interview: 

                                     FC = Curriculum Evaluation (CA) x 90% + Interview x 10%

11.2 In case of a tied score, the jury president has a deciding vote.

11.3 The final classification is expressed on a scale of 0 - 100, to one decimal place.

Minutes of the jury meetings shall be drawn up containing a summary of what took place, as well as the votes cast by jury members and respective reasoning and shall be made available to candidates whenever requested. The jury deliberates by means of a reasoned nominal vote according to the selection criteria adopted; abstentions are not allowed.

The final decision of the jury should be approved by the President of the Board of Directors of ISPA, CRL.

In the eventuality that none of the candidates possess the profile indicated for carrying out the work plan, the jury reserves the right not to award the contracts for the call.

12. JURY COMPOSITION

The jury will be composed by:

President – Prof. Doctor Francisco Peixoto (Integrated Researcher in CIE at Ispa – Instituto Universitário)

Effective member – Prof. Doctor Vera Monteiro (Integrated Researcher in CIE- Ispa – Instituto Universitário), (who substitutes the president in case of absence).

Effective member– Prof. Doctor José Castro Silva (Integrated Researcher in CIE- Ispa – Instituto Universitário).

Alternate member – Prof. Doctor Ana Cristina Silva (Integrated Researcher CIE- Ispa – Instituto Universitário).

Alternate member – Prof. Doctor Ana Teresa Brito (Integrated Researcher CIE- Ispa – Instituto Universitário).

13. FINAL DECISIONS ANNOUCEMENT

13.1 After notification of the results, the candidates have 10 working days to comment in a prior hearing, under the terms of articles 121 and following of the Administrative Procedure Code. The final decision will be issued after the analysis of the statements presented during the prior hearing. Within 90 days, counting from the deadline for submitting applications, the jury's final decision is rendered. All applicants will be notified, by email of the evaluation process and results.

13.2 After the period for hearing interested parties, the selected candidate has ten working days in which to accept, in writing, the position assigned, under penalty of, if no reasonable reason is invoked within the said period, this being considered as a resignation or withdrawal from the position. In case of resignation or withdrawal of the selected candidate, the jury reserves the right to notify and award the contract to the candidate ranked in the subsequent position, if applicable, and according to the final seriation list.

14. DEADLINE AND SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

Applications should be submitted by sending the application and supporting documents, digitally in PDF format, to the e-mail address candidaturas.investigadores@ispa.pt (cc to cie@ispa.pt) from 27 of April to 26^th May of 2023, until 12.00 p.m. (Lisbon time) with the reference of this call (CIE/007/2CT/2023) in the email’s subject.

Applications should include support documents (PDF format) and proof of the conditions laid down in the points above for admission to this call, mainly in points 2 and 8:

a) Copy of PhD certificate or diploma, with the date of its conclusion, or declaration of honor that the candidate will obtain the degree at the end of the application date, indicating the date of the Doctoral Thesis defense, committing to present the certificate or diploma until the beginning date of the contract.

b) PhD thesis, or link to published PhD thesis.

c) Detailed curriculum vitae, structured in accordance with points 2 and 8.

d) Other documents relevant for the evaluation of the qualification in related scientific area.

e) Letter of motivation, with a maximum of two pages, in which the first page should reflect the scientific activities in the last 5 years, and how the candidate's skills align with the strategic plan and research groups of CIE-Ispa. The second page, on the other hand, should contain a brief research program for the duration of the position (6 months), specifying how the proposed research program adds to, complements, or advances existing research in one of the two research groups identified in Point 3 of this Announcement.

f) Two letters of recommendation, with reference to the notice (CIE/007/2CT/2023).

Candidates who formalize their application incorrectly or who do not meet the specific requirements will be excluded from admission to the competition. In case of doubt, the jury is entitled to request further documentation to support the candidate statements.

False statements by candidates will be punished by the law.

Non-discrimination and equal access policy: ISPA, CRL actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access policy, wherefore no candidate can be privileged, benefited, impaired or deprived of any rights whatsoever, or be exempt of any duties based on ancestry, age, sex, sexual preference, marital status, family and economic conditions, education, origin or social conditions, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, origin territory, language, religion, political or ideological convictions and union membership.

Pursuant to DL nº. 29/2001 of February 3rd, disabled candidates have preference in an equal classification situation, which supersedes any legal preference. Candidates must declare, on their honor, on their application form during the selection period under the regulations above, their respective disability degree, the type of disability and the communication/expression means to be used.