PhD Holder Position

The PhD holder to be hired will carry out research activities within the framework of the project entitled “COPE: Elicitores imunitários oligoméricos de cutina para melhorar a proteção das plantas”, funded by the InnOValley Proof of Concept (IOV PoC) fund. The activities to be undertaken will be carried out within the current implementation phase of the project, which is expected to last for 6 months.

Place of work:

The work will be developed at the ITQB NOVA facilities, located at Avenida da República, in Oeiras, without prejudice to any travel and stays inherent to the functions to be performed and activities to be developed.

Academic background:

PhD in Biology, Plant Biology or related areas.

General requirements:

1. PhD Biology, Plant Biology or related areas;
2. Scientific publications in the field of fungal biology and biopolymer characterization;
3. Experience in supervising students and/or research fellows;
4. Proficiency in English, both written and spoken.

National, foreign, and stateless candidates holding a PhD degree in the areas mentioned and holders of a scientific and professional curriculum that reveals a profile that is adequate to the activity to be developed, may apply.

Specific requirements:

1. Experience in the manipulation of filamentous fungi;
2. Experience in Genetic and Molecular Biology techniques;
3. Experience in sample preparation and data analysis using analytical chemistry techniques (HPLC, LC-MS, NMR);
4. Proficiency in bioinformatics analysis techniques, particularly in transcriptomics;
5. Knowledge of the R programming language and familiarity with UNIX environments
6. Authorship of at least eight scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals in the field, as well as other scientific valorization outputs, including patents;
7. Participation in activities related to science communication and knowledge dissemination, including oral presentations at conferences, the organization of scientific meetings, and scientific cooperation activities.

Characteristics to be valued:

1. Strong motivation for scientific research;
2. Excellent planning and organizational skills;
3. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills;
4. Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Category and applicable law:

• PhD holder, Level 33 of the Single Retributive Table (TRU), in accordance with Regulatory Decree No.11-A/2017, of 29 December.
• Employment contract for an unspecified term, according to article 18 and paragraphs 1(b) and 3 of article 6 of the Decree-Law No. 57/2016, of August 29, amended by Law No. 57/2017, of July 19, under the legal terms in force. The contract is expected to start in October 2026.
• If the doctoral degree has been awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the provisions of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16, and any formalities established therein must be fulfilled by the date of signature of the employment contract.

Documents to be attached to the application:

• Detailed Curriculum vitae;
• Motivation letter, covering explicitly the general and specific requirements listed above, as well as the characteristics to be valued;
• Two contacts for references;
• Copy of the PhD certificate;
• Selection of two publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals (maximum 100 words explaining the relevance of each article to the current application).

Selection methods and definition of respective weightings:

• Curricular Assessment (CA), through the evaluation of the curriculum vitae and the motivation letter – 90%
• Selection Interview (SI) – 10%

The final classification will be expressed on a scale of 0 to 20 values, resulting from the application of the following formula: Final classification = 90% * CA + 10% * SI

Candidates will be ranked according to their score in the Curriculum Evaluation. The three highest-ranked candidates, provided they have obtained a score of at least 15 points, will be invited to attend a Selection Interview. Candidates will also be assessed in the Selection Interview on a scale from 0 to 20 points. Should the position remain unfilled, additional candidates may be invited for interview according to the ranking list.

ITQB NOVA reserves the right not to proceed with recruitment if no candidate is considered to have the appropriate profile for the position.

Composition of the Selection Committee:

• Professor Doctor Cristina Silva Pereira, ITQB NOVA (Chair);
• Doctor Tiago Martins, ITQB NOVA (Effective member)
• Doctor Patrícia Gonçalves, ITQB NOVA (Effective member)
• Doctor Nádia Ribeiro, ITQB NOVA (Substitute member)

Deadlines for applications:

Applications may be submitted within a period of 10 working days, from 29 September to 12 October 2026, inclusively.

Submission of applications:

All documents should be sent as a single PDF file, by email to concursos@itqb.unl.pt indicating the Reference 028/TRI-PhD/2026 in the subject.

Notification of results:

All candidates will be informed of the competition decisions by e-mail.

Non-discrimination and equal access policy:

ITQB NOVA actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, whereby no candidate may be privileged, benefited, prejudiced or deprived of any right or exempt from any duty on basis of, inter alia, ancestry age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family situation, economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological beliefs and trade union membership.

In terms of Decree-Law No. 29/2001, of February 3, the disabled candidate has preference in equal classification, which prevails over any other legal preference. Candidates must declare in the application form, under oath, their 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 aforementioned diploma.

The full notice of this recruitment procedure will be available on the ITQB NOVA website https://www.itqb.unl.pt/jobs/

Oeiras, 29 September 2026

Professor João Paulo Cerejo Goulão Crespo, Dean of ITQB NOVA