Job Information
- Organisation/Company: Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Department / School of Engineering
Offer Description
Research Project MaPPLexiC (ERC Advanced Grant #101201497)
- Position Reference: MaPPLexiC-2026-02-Czech
- Target Language: Czech
- Budget Ceiling: Maximum €40,000.00 (excluding VAT)
- Procedure: Call for Experts / Simplified Contract Framework (Contrato Menor)
- Work Execution Period: Sep 15, 2026 – March 15, 2027 (6 months)
- Invoicing & Payment: Single final invoice in 2027 (upon completion and PI verification)
- Funding Body: European Research Council (ERC)
1. OBJECT OF THE CALL
The object of this call is the selection and procurement of a lexicology expert specialized in Czech language, to provide services for creation, extension, and evaluation of multilingual collocation datasets. This work forms part of the research project MaPPLexiC (Multilingual Collocation Production Principles Grounded in Explanatory Combinatorial Lexicology), funded under the European Research Council’s (ERC) Advanced Grant #101201497 and hosted by Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF).
2. SCOPE OF WORK AND TASK BREAKDOWN
The selected expert will execute the initial phase of dataset construction. The workflow is strictly quantified and structured around completed units of work, divided into the following primary tasks:
Task A: Compilation of Czech Collocation Lists
- Compile lists of canonical Czech collocation samples corresponding to twenty (20) preselected lexical-function (LF) classes defined within Explanatory Combinatorial Lexicology (ECL). The number of samples to be covered in the lists will naturally vary from LF to LF, matching the numbers of the English reference lists.
- Extend the compiled lists by samples translated from English sample lists provided by the project team.
- Provide corpus attestation, frequency metrics, and full documentation of sources or extraction procedures used.
Task B: Creation of a Contextualized Sentence Dataset
- Develop a structured digital dataset containing natural-language sentences illustrating the exact contextual use of the collocations compiled in Task A.
- Ensure sentences reflect authentic, grammatically correct use (avoiding artificial or unnatural machine-translated structures).
- Annotate each entry with appropriate lexical-function labels, base, and collocate tags with source metadata.
Task C: Linguistic Evaluation of Neural Language Model Output
- Evaluate the naturalness and LF-oriented classification of Czech collocation samples provided by the project team, assigning to each of them one of the two tags “T” for a natural and correctly classified sample and “NIL” for an either unnatural or misclassified sample.
- Perform ad-hoc linguistic evaluations of Czech collocation samples generated by neural language models, using a binary rating schema (“valid” vs. “invalid”).
- Evaluate sentences generated by neural language models that shall illustrate the use of generated collocation samples with respect to their grammatical correctness and canonical acceptability, using specific tags for “grammatically correct vs. incorrect” and “canonical” vs. “unnatural” with standardized error tracking mechanisms.
3. EXECUTION TIMELINE AND INVOICING FRAMEWORK
The framework is specifically established to ensure high-quality dataset curation with a clear administrative timeline:
- Work Start Date: September 15, 2026
- Work Completion Date: March 15, 2027 (total duration: 6 months)
Invoicing and Payment: single final invoice shall be issued and processed in 2027, strictly after the full delivery of all tasks and the completion of up to 3 revision/corrective cycles. Payment is counter-invoice, subject to a formal validation report from the project's Principal Investigator (PI).
4. TECHNICAL AND PROFESSIONAL SOLVENCY REQUIREMENTS
Bidders must formally demonstrate compliance with the following minimum criteria to be considered:
- Native or near-native competence in the Czech language.
- University-level degree (BA, MA, or PhD) in Linguistics, Computational Linguistics, Philology, or a closely related discipline.
- Demonstrable expertise or familiarity with dependency linguistics.
- Familiarity with Explanatory Combinatorial Lexicology (ECL) and the framework of lexical functions.
5. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Interested experts should submit their application via email in English to Prof. Leo Wanner (leo.wanner@upf.edu), containing the following documentation in separate digital files:
5.1. Technical Dossier (CV & Motivation Letter):
A comprehensive Curriculum Vitae and motivation letter validating the required research publication record and involvement in prior linguistic or annotation projects.
5.2. Economic and Work Proposal:
A detailed proposal specifying the unit prices (excluding VAT) based on blocks of 50 items (50 collocations, 50 sentences, 50 units (isolated collocations or sentences) generated by a model). This document must explicitly include a tentative work schedule and milestone calendar aligned with the 6-month period (September 15, 2026 – March 15, 2027).
5.3 Application Deadline:
Applications are expected to be received by September 11 at the latest.
6. EVALUATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA
The evaluation of proposals will be conducted based on a total objective score of 100 points, distributed as follows:
Phase 1: Technical and Curricular Evaluation (Maximum 75 points)
- Academic Background & Linguistic Competence (Max. 25 points): Relevance and level of academic degrees in Linguistics or Philology, and certified/demonstrable native-level mastery of Czech.
- Professional and Research Experience (Max. 30 points): Proven track record in linguistic annotation, computational corpus analysis, or dataset curation. Prior research publications will be highly valued.
- Specific Framework Knowledge (Max. 20 points): Evidenced familiarity with dependency grammar, collocation research, and Explanatory Combinatorial Lexicology (ECL).
Candidates must achieve a minimum threshold of 45 points in Phase 1 to proceed to Phase 2
Phase 2: Economic Offer, Proposal Detail & Interview (Maximum 25 points)
- Financial and Work Proposal (Max. 15 points): Best value for money regarding the unit prices submitted, and the operational coherence, detail, and viability of the submitted work schedule/calendar.
- Technical Interview (Max. 10 points): A brief online interview to assess technical alignment, approach to tasks, and immediate availability. Note: The contracting authority reserves the right to waive the interview if the technical and economic documentation allows for a clear, definitive selection.
Where to apply
E-mail: leo.wanner@upf.edu
Requirements
Research Field: Other
Education Level: PhD or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications
- Native or near-native competence in the Czech language.
- University-level degree (BA, MA, or PhD) in Linguistics, Computational Linguistics, Philology, or a closely related discipline.
- Demonstrable expertise or familiarity with dependency linguistics.
- Familiarity with Explanatory Combinatorial Lexicology (ECL) and the framework of lexical functions.
Languages: CZECH
Level: Mother Tongue
Additional Information
Eligibility criteria
The evaluation of proposals will be conducted based on a total objective score of 100 points, distributed as follows:
Phase 1: Technical and Curricular Evaluation (Maximum 75 points)
- Academic Background & Linguistic Competence (Max. 25 points): Relevance and level of academic degrees in Linguistics or Philology, and certified/demonstrable native-level mastery of Czech.
- Professional and Research Experience (Max. 30 points): Proven track record in linguistic annotation, computational corpus analysis, or dataset curation. Prior research publications will be highly valued.
- Specific Framework Knowledge (Max. 20 points): Evidenced familiarity with dependency grammar, collocation research, and Explanatory Combinatorial Lexicology (ECL).
Candidates must achieve a minimum threshold of 45 points in Phase 1 to proceed to Phase 2
Phase 2: Economic Offer, Proposal Detail & Interview (Maximum 25 points)
- Financial and Work Proposal (Max. 15 points): Best value for money regarding the unit prices submitted, and the operational coherence, detail, and viability of the submitted work schedule/calendar.
- Technical Interview (Max. 10 points): A brief online interview to assess technical alignment, approach to tasks, and immediate availability. Note: The contracting authority reserves the right to waive the interview if the technical and economic documentation allows for a clear, definitive selection.
Work Location(s)
Number of offers available: 1
Company/Institute: Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Enginyeria
Country: Spain
Contact
City: Barcelona
Website: https://www.upf.edu/web/enginyeria/
Street: Roc Boronat 138
Postal Code: 08018
E-Mail: leo.wanner@upf.edu
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