PhD Scientific Researcher Recruitment (Initial Stage Researcher) #5113

Organisation/Company FCiências. ID Department HR Research Field Biological sciences » Other Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Postdoc Positions Country Portugal Application Deadline 14 Nov 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full‑time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 16 Nov 2025 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe Reference Number #5113; FCiências. ID/2025/DL57/ c
E3c/13 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

#5113

Public Notice - International Selection Procedure

Ph
D Scientific Researcher Recruitment (Initial Stage Researcher)

FCiências. ID - Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências, through its President of the Administration Board, hereby announces the opening of an international call for the recruitment of a Scientific Researcher with a Ph
D degree, in the category of Initial Stage Researcher, of the FCiências. ID Scientific Research Career, within the scope of theproject Ground
Work: Regenerative living labs to improve soil ecosystem functions by adapting agricultural land use with livestock integration (Ref. HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-01-101218207), financed by European Union´s Horizon Europe Research & Innovation Programme under the Grant Agreement nº 101218207, in the form of an indefinite duration fixed‑term employment contract, on an exclusive regime, according to the Portuguese Labour Code and Decree‑Law No. 57/2016, of August 29th, as amended by Law No. 57/2017, of July 19th.

I. Admission Requirements

Portuguese nationals, foreign and stateless persons may submit applications to this selection procedure, provided they hold a doctoral degree* in microbiology or associated fields, speciality in mycology, and fully comply with the following requirements:

• The Ph
  D must have been granted at less than 1 year;
• Demonstrated scientific and/or professional experience in the area of taxonomy, systematics and fungal ecology - information provided in the CV and/or in the motivation letter;
• Experience in field work and experimental
  - information provided in the CV and/or in the motivation letter;
• Knowledge in techniques of molecular biology and microbiology. - information provided in the CV and/or in the motivation letter;
• Demonstrated previous scientific and/or professional experience in soil‑plant‑microbe interaction - information provided in the CV and/or in the motivation letter;
• Proven scientific experience in the
  - mentioned topics, demonstrated by the quality and number (minimum of 5) of scientific articles published in
  - reviewed scientific journals.
• R&D activity in metagenomics - information provided in the CV and/or in the motivation letter;
• Experience in participation in national and/or international scientific projects in the scientific areas of this call for applications - information provided in the CV and/or in the motivation letter;
• Relevant scientific and/or professional training on the use of software for big data set - information provided in the CV and/or in the motivation letter;
• Demonstrated experience in outreaching activities in the scientific area(s) of this call for applications - information provided in the CV and/or in the motivation letter;
• Demonstrated experience in supervising postgraduate students in the scientific area(s) of this call for applications - information provided in the CV and/or in the motivation letter;
• Proficiency in Portuguese and English (written and spoken) - information provided in the CV and/or in the motivation letter.

III. Applicable Law

• Decree‑Law No. 57/2016, of August 29th (RCD), in the wording conferred on it by Law No. 57/2017, of July 19th (RCD);
• Portuguese Labour Code, as approved by Law No. 7/2009, of February 12th, in its current version (CT);
• Regulatory Decree No. 11‑A/2017, of December 29th;
• Administrative Procedure Code, as published in Decree‑Law No. 4/2015, of January 7th, in its current version (CPA).

IV. Work plan

The work plan to be carried out includes the following tasks of the project:

• Finalizing the list of soil health assessment indicators: compile both science‑based and practical soil health indicators using references such as: Soil Mission Implementation Plan; Directive on Soil Monitoring & Resilience proposal; EU CAP Network Focus Group on Regenerative Agriculture for Soil Healt; integrate results from BENCHMARKS and AI4Soil
  Health for harmonization and scientific accuracy (T4. 1).
• Develop and finalize the sampling & data collection protocol defining detailed procedures for: sampling frequency and timing; data and sample collection methoda; sample storage, shipping, and extraction procedures; analytical instrumentation to be used; proficiency testing for inter‑partner comparability; sensor deployment methods; ensure the protocol supports all relevant assessment tasks and will evolve into the EMMA guide (T4. 2).
• Baseline situation assessment: coordinate the collection of samples and data at all experimental sites, perform baseline assessments of soil health and ecosystem services, evaluate financial viability and environmental sustainability indices, ensure all collected data are stored in the project database openly shared via Zenodo (T4. 3).
• Soil health analysis and validation of practical indicators: measure and monitor selected scientific soil health indicators across sites; conduct statistical analysis (e. g. SEM) to explore cause–effect relationships between practices and outcomes; assess the impact of regenerative practices (RLGPs) holistically, considering site‑specific factors (T4. 4).
• Soil microbiota analysis: collect soil samples from Living Labs (LLs) for microbial isolation and identification; support culturing and characterization (target: ~200 microbial strains total, 30–35 bacteria and 5–10 fungi per LL country); coordinate sampling (≈50 samples per LL) with site coordinators and send samples to FC. ID for processing (T4. 5).
• Data merging, mapping & combined analysis: consolidate all assessment data into a unified project database (managed by Cy
  RIC); ensure integration and harmonization of: sensor data and support data sharing, mapping, and visualization. (T4. 9).

V. Composition of the Jury

In accordance to article 13 of the RCD, the members of the jury are:

• President – Cristina Cruz;
• 1st Member of the jury – Teresa Dias;
• 2nd Member of the jury – Juliana Melo;
• 1st Alternate Member of the jury – Inês Ferreira;
• 2nd Alternate Member of the jury – Patrícia Correia.

VI. Place of work

Work will be developed at the facilities of Research Center c
E3c – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, in Campo Grande, Lisboa, Portugal.

VII. Contract Duration

The full‑time indefinite duration fixed‑term employment contract, on an exclusive regime, is expected to start in November 2025, and will last until the Work Plan referred to in section IV is completed. It will have an expected duration of 26 months, will not exceed the limits set in the RCD, including an initial experimental trial period of 30 days.

VIII. Monthly Allowance

The gross monthly salary corresponds to 2. 351, 53 Euros, on an exclusive regime , which complies with one of the Levels of the Salary Table (NTS) for a Initial Stage Researcher, in step1 level 33 , equivalent to the same level of the Single Remuneratory Table, as approved by Government Order No. 1553‑C/2008, of December 31st, in its current version, on which legal discounts will apply, plus holiday and Christmas allowances, as well as food allowance in the amount and conditions set out for workers with a legal employment relationship under the Labour Code.

IX. Evaluation of applications

• Failure to comply with the Admission Requirements implies the non‑admission of candidates in absolute merit.
• According to article 5 of the RCD, the selection of the candidates approved in absolute merit will rely on the evaluation of their scientific and curricular achievements in the last five (5) years, taking into consideration the quality and relevance of the scientific production, and the professional activity indicated as more relevant by the candidate, within the scope of the project.
• Based on the assessment of the candidates' scientific and curricular background in the last five (5) years, each member of the jury presents a justified proposal for admission (final classification equal to or greater than 75%) or exclusion (final classification below 75%) for each candidate, according to the evaluation criteria referred to in no. 5.
• The final classification of candidates is given on a scale of 0 to 100%.
• Evaluation of the relative merit of candidates, will rely on the following criteria:
• a) Scientific publications in the area - 30%;
• c) Participation in relevant scientific projects in the area - 20%;
• d) Pedagogical, extension and outreach of knowledge activities, in particular in the context of the promotion of scientific practices, organization of courses, seminars and conferences for promotion and dissemination in the area - 10%;
• e) Assessment of the reference letter(s) - 10%;
• f) Assessment of the selected publications relevant for the objectives of the Work Plan - 15%;
• g) Interview - Interview, if deemed necessary by the jury - 10%.
• The jury may decide to interview the 3 best ranked candidates [in criteria a) to f) of no. 5], for clarifications and improved explanations of curricular elements. If there is an interview, the sum of the classification obtained in the evaluation criteria a) to f) will correspond to 90% of the final classification and the interview will correspond to 10%.
• The jury shall deliberate by means of a roll‑call vote based on the evaluation criteria.
• Minutes of the jury meetings are drawn up, summarizing all relevant elements considered by jury members, as well as their individual votes and justifications.
• After completion of the evaluation process, the jury will draw up a ranking of successful candidates with their classifications.
• Hiring will be decided by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of FCiências. ID, based on the final jury recommendation.
• The candidates will be individually notified of the evaluation results by e‑mail sent to the address indicated in the "Personal Data" section of the submitted form.
• With the notification referred to in the no. 11, the hearing phase of interested parties referred to in Article 121 et seq. of the CPA will begin, and last for ten working days.
• The possible pronouncement of the candidate in a prior hearing must be addressed to the President of the jury and submitted in writing to concursos@fciencias-id. pt. The President of the jury will convene a jury’s meeting to produce the final decision, within thirty working days.
• Within five working days of the final jury decision, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of FCiências. ID will approve it and the candidates will be notified.
• The communication between FCiências. ID ( concursos@fciencias-id. pt ) and the candidates will be electronic and will comply with the following rules:
• At the time of electronic submission of any document - namely in the case of no. 13 - the candidates must generate proof of "sent message".
• FCiências. ID will send an email message acknowledging documents received to the email address used by the candidates, within two working days.
• In case of absence of a confirmation receipt by FCiências. ID – showing the possibility of technical problems that should neither be the responsibility of the candidate nor FCiências. ID - the candidates should contact FCiências. ID, with the proof referred to in point (a), to ensure delivery and proper receipt of the documents concerned.

X. Processing of personal data

• FCiências. ID - Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências, as the responsible for processing the personal data, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation , collects and processes the personal data requested in the context the job application, under paragraphs b) and c) of Article 6. 1 of the General Data Protection Regulation (RGPD).
• The personal data shall be kept for the period necessary for the execution of the purposes for which they are intended, and the processing and protection, in an appropriate and diligent manner, of the confidentiality and integrity of such data shall be ensured through appropriate technical and organisational measures.
• Personal data may be transmitted to third parties, namely the entity funding the research project, solely for the purposes specifically established. In this sense, whenever necessary the transfer of personal data to countries outside the European Union and/or international organizations, compliance with the applicable legal provisions shall be ensured.
• You have the right to request access, rectification, erasure, limitation of processing, the right to object and also data portability (if technically feasible) by sending an e‑mail to: dpo@fciências-id. pt. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the National Data Protection Commission.
• For more information, we recommend that you consult the Internal Rules of Data Protection of FCiências. ID - Association for Research and Development of Sciences at https://fciencias-id. pt/.

XI. Compliance with public policies

• FCiências. ID actively promotes a policy of non‑discrimination and equal access, so that no candidate can be privileged, benefited, disadvantaged or deprived of any right or exempt from any duty due to, inter alia, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced working capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological beliefs and trade union membership.
• Under the terms of D. L. No. 29/2001, of February 3rd, a disabled candidate has a preference in equal classification, which prevails over any other legal preference. Candidates must declare their respective degree of disability, the type of disability and the means of communication / expression to be used in the selection process, under the terms of the
  - mentioned diploma.

XII. Submission of Applications

• The present call will be open from the 3rd of November 2025 to the 14 of November 2025.
• The application and all the required documents must be submitted in Portuguese or English.
• On the electronic platform, applicants will complete a mandatory section on Personal Data [name, address, date of birth, contact email, nationality and scientific identifiers] and upload files with the documents listed below:
• Detailed Curriculum vitae in PDF
  - mandatory;
• A motivation letter clearly demonstrating that the candidate has an adequate profile for the position and fully complies with the Admission Requirements- mandatory;
• Up to five publications relevant for the objectives of the Work Plan - mandatory;
• Reference letter(s) (maximum 3) - mandatory;
• Digital copies of documents proving formal academic degrees (Ph
  D) and/or other scientific and professional qualifications - original documents must be provided in case of actual recruitment - mandatory;
• Other documents that candidates consider relevant for the assessment of their scientific merit, or