The Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto (ISPUP), intends to hire an Assistant Researcher, under Decree-Law No. 124/99, of 20 April, Decree Law No. 57/2016 of August 29 (modified by Law No.57/2017, of July 24) that establishes the legal framework for contracting PhD holders, for conducting scientific research activities in the Epidemiology Research Unit - Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto (EPIUnit), under the Base Financing - UIDB/04750/2020, funded by national funds, through FCT.

Admission period: from December 1st until December 16th

The Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto (ISPUP), intends to hire an Assistant Researcher, under Decree-Law No. 124/99, of 20 April, Decree Law No. 57/2016 of August 29 (modified by Law No.57/2017, of July 24) that establishes the legal framework for contracting PhD holders, for conducting scientific research activities in the Epidemiology Research Unit - Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto (EPIUnit), under the Base Financing - UIDB/04750/2020, funded by national funds, through FCT.

1. Scientific Area: Health Sciences

2. Admission requirements:

The candidate must have:

1. PhD in Public Health, undergraduate degree in Applied Mathematics, and at least 6 years of postdoctoral experience;
2. Experience with the development and application of methods and techniques for advanced data analysis;
3. Participation in multinational scientific research projects in population health.

All national, foreign or stateless persons who hold a doctorate and a scientific and professional curriculum that reveals an appropriate profile to the activities mentioned above can apply to this call.

Note: If the PhD degree has been awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must be recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution, under the terms of Decreto-Lei n.º 66/2018, de 16 de Agosto. This Decree-Law approves the legal regime of recognition of academic degrees and diplomas of Higher Education, and any formalities established there, must be completed by the application deadline.

3. Activity Outline

The expected activity will follow the general guidelines by the “Estatuto da Carreira de Investigação” (Decree-Law no. 124/99) for an Assistant Researcher. In the present position those activities will be adjusted to the area of statistical analysis concerning public health challenges. The researcher is also expected to lead his/her own projects, publish original work in international journals and train team members.

4. Workplace: Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto, at Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal.

5. Applicable legislation: The hiring will be governed by the Decree-Law no. 124/99 of 20 April, Decree Law No. 57/2016 of August 29 (modified by Law No.57/2017, of July 24) that establishes the legal framework for contracting PhD holders and the Labour Code, approved by Law no. 7/2009, of 12th February, in its current wording.

6. Duration: Work contract with non-fixed term according to the Labour Code, expected to start in January 2021. 

7. Monthly Salary: The monthly salary is set in accordance with the Decree-Law No. 124/99, corresponding to level 195, of the Scientific Research Career Statute at 3.201,39 Euros gross. The salary is paid 14 months per year.

8. Selection criteria: 

Initiative, critical thinking and autonomy in carrying out scientific work will be highly valued, with the relative merit of candidates relying on the following criteria:

8.1. Criteria for Curriculum Vitae evaluation (0 to 20 points) (50%):

1. Track record of international publications in peer-review journals in terms of number and quality, regardless of impact factor but considering number of citations (0 to 4 points);
2. Skills in advanced quantitative methods, especially dealing with longitudinal research, data from cohorts, and biological markers (0 to 4 points);
3. Integration of multi or interdisciplinary teams of researchers (0 to 3 points);
4. Participation in national and international scientific research projects (0 to 3 points);
5. Training of undergraduate and graduate students (0 to 3 points);
6. Knowledge transfer activities (0 to 3 points).

8.2. Detailed and justified action plan for a three years period, including research activity, teaching and/or training and society-oriented activities (0 to 20 points) (50%).

Candidates scoring under 15 points in any of the criteria above will not be admitted to the interview. The three candidates with the highest scores will be invited to a face-to-face or videoconference interview.

8.3. Criteria for interview evaluation (0 to 20 points):

1. Presentation and defense of the work plan (0 to 9 points);
2. Ability to create and lead research teams (0 to 4 points);
3. Managerial competencies (0 to 4 points);
4. Communication skills (0 to 3 points).

Each member of the Jury will score the candidate; final interview classification will be the result of the arithmetic average of the individual scores.

Candidates’ Final Classification (FC)

Maximum score of 20 points based on the formula:

FC = [(Documental Evaluation =0.5*CV+0.5*Plan) + Interview (I)] / 2

For tiebreaking purposes, the ranking of candidates will be based on the ratings assigned to each of the evaluation criteria in the following order of precedence: 1 – Documental evaluation; 2 – Individual Interview.

9. Members of the Jury:

President: Henrique Barros

Effective member: Carla Lopes

Effective member: Denisa Mendonça

Substitute member: Nuno Lunet

Substitute member: Raquel Lucas 

10. Non-discrimination and equal access policy:

ISPUP actively promotes a 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 their ancestry, age, sex, sexual preference, marital status, family and economic conditions, instruction, 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.

11. Documents Required:

Applications must be formalized by an application letter along with the following documents: Curriculum Vitae, PhD certificate, Action Plan, reference letter(s) (optional), and other relevant documents (if applicable).

Applications must be sent by email to “candidaturas@ispup.up.pt”, within the timeframe of the call (from December 1st until December 16th), and please highlight the following reference in the subject field of the application email: “Epiunit- Assistant Researcher”.

12. Notification of results: Candidates will be notified by email and all relevant information will be published at the ISPUP website (http://www.ispup.up.pt).

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The minutes with the final classification were made available to the candidates. The minutes are posted at the Institute for the period determined in a public notice.