Research Assistant

Offer Description

The Centre for Social Studies (CES) – Associate Laboratory - University of Coimbra (Portugal), opens a call for applications for 1 Research assistant (ref. CES/26/2026-RA-RacialCRIT) in the project “Plataforma Multimédia para uma Pedagogia Racial Crítica”, operation code CENTRO2030-FEDER-02358900, funded by the European Union under the programme ERDF - European Regional Development Fund, Portugal 2030 and CENTRO2030 – Programa Regional do Centro 2021-2027, and coordinated at CES by the Principal Investigator (PI), Sílvia Maeso.

CES provides a stimulating intellectual environment in the domain of social sciences and humanities.

a. Project Description:

The National Plan to Combat Racism and Discrimination 2021-2025 considered higher education and the inclusion of anti-racism and diversity education strategies in curricula to be a priority area for intervention. The University of Coimbra's Plan for Equality, Equity and Diversity 2019-2023 established the promotion of reflection and debate on ethnic and racial inequalities in the academic community as a strategic objective. In the Brazilian context, since 2003, significant progress has been made in implementing curricular policies to understand and combat racism, but their operationalisation in higher education remains a challenge.

In this context, and based on the results of the POLITICS (ERC) and COMBAT (FCT) projects, this project aims to develop a teaching methodology for knowledge transfer through an innovative syllabus in the form of a Multimedia Platform for Critical Racial Pedagogy (RacialCRIT). It provides for the implementation of a critical study plan on “race” racism, and anti-racism based on the realities of Portugal and Brazil. The Platform will have the potential for transferability and applicability in 1st, 2nd and 3rd cycle courses at Portuguese and Brazilian universities in various areas of the Social, Educational and Legal Sciences, and the Humanities, e.g. Sociology, Political Science, International Relations, Education Sciences, History, Journalism, Law or Communication.

RacialCRIT started on February 1, 2026, with a duration of 18 months.

b. Scientific field:

Social Sciences

c. Work plan, tasks:

The selected candidate is expected to contribute to:

1. the design of teaching and learning tools;
2. the organization of curriculum materials;
3. the organization of project’s internal meetings and the preparation of necessary administrative tasks;
4. all other tasks required to guarantee the successful implementation of RacialCRIT.

d. Applicable Legislation and Regulations: Labour Code Law No. 7/2009, of February 12th (and subsequent amendments).

e. Work place: The workplace is the Centre for Social Studies’ facilities in Coimbra or in other locations when necessary for the good implementation of the work plan, under the scientific supervision of the Project’s Principal Investigator.

f. Duration of the contract: The employment contract will be a temporary position (termo certo) abiding by article 149, no. 4 of the Labour Code, starting in November 2026, and the total duration of the contract is 12 months. The contract duration may be reduced if it’s not possible to start the contract on the scheduled date.

g. Application dates: Opens on: October 2, 2026. Closes on: October 19, 2026 (23h59m, Lisbon time zone). After October 19, 2026, applications will not be considered for evaluation.

h. Application process:

Applications must include:

1. A letter of intent/motivation in Portuguese with the contest reference (CES/26/2026-RA-RacialCRIT), e-mail and phone number (max. 2 pages);
2. detailed Curriculum Vitae, highlighting the experience in fields such as Critical Studies of Race and Racism; Critical Race Theory; Anti-Racism movements; Antiracist education and/or critical race pedagogies;
3. copies of degree certificates (note: candidates must meet the conditions indicated in point k.);
4. a copy of the Master’s dissertation (pdf file);
5. other relevant documents that the candidate feels are relevant for the selection committee and eligibility purposes.

Applications should be sent by email to concursos@ces.uc.pt by the final deadline. The subject line of the application email must indicate the reference for this call (ref. CES/26/2026-RA-RacialCRIT) and the applicant's name.

Where to apply

E-mail: concursos@ces.uc.pt

Requirements

Research Field: Other

Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Specific Requirements

i. Preferred selection criteria and their weighing:

Applicants must demonstrate expertise on the topic of the project, by fulfilling the following criteria:

1. Academic background in the Social Sciences and Humanities (with preference for the areas of Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science and Education) and the adaptation of the academic and/or professional trajectory to the project’s activities and objectives (50%);
2. Master's thesis addressing the central themes of the project, namely race, racism, and anti-racism (20%);
3. Excellent language skills in both oral and written Portuguese and English, including the ability to independently write in these languages (20%);
4. Availability for national travel to implement outreach activities (10%).

The jury reserves the right not to select applicants for the vacancy if the applicants do not have adequate quality and profile in terms of absolute merit.

Languages: ENGLISH — Level: Excellent

Languages: PORTUGUESE — Level: Excellent

Research Field: Other

Additional Information

Benefits

j. Monthly Allowance

The monthly salary is set in accordance with standards applicable at CES, being the gross monthly salary 1.506,58 euros. The salary further includes a 13th and 14th months, and meal allowance, and all social security charges, in accordance with the Portuguese Labour Code.

Eligibility criteria

k. Mandatory requirements

1. Holding a Master's degree in the area of Social Sciences and Humanities. Applicants need to have a Master's degree by the deadline of this call (see associated conditions in 1.a and 1.b).
   1. Applicants with an academic degree or diploma issued by a foreign institution must provide proof of recognition of the academic degree in Portugal, under Decree-Law no. 57/2016, of August 29th, altered by Law no. 57/2017 of July 19th. Any applicant without recognition of the degree (s) may be admitted to the competition, but during the application evaluation process, the jury may not:
      1. recognise the applicant's degrees and evaluate according to their possession of such degrees;
      2. give equivalence, or consider valid, a degree that is not recognised and registered;
      3. use that note or its conversion as an evaluation parameter.
   2. In case of selection, the contract can only be signed after the recognition of the academic degree by the Portuguese authorities, under the terms of the Law-decree n66/2018, August 16. The selected candidate must deliver the recognition of the degree within 30 days after the communication of the results. After 30 days, the jury may decide to 1. either extend the deadline for the candidate to prove the recognition; 2. assign the fellowship to the second place; 3. or not award the contract.
2. Having completed a Master’s dissertation on some of theoretical frameworks and topics addressed by the project RacialCRIT: Critical Studies of Race and Racism; Critical Race Theory; Institutional Racism and Anti-Racism in European and/or Latin American contexts.

Selection process

l. Selection process

The selection of the candidate will be made based on the curricular evaluation and, if the jury decides to be necessary, the best-positioned applicants can be short-listed for an interview. The interviews can be carried out in person or remotely. The interview is meant to clarify aspects related to the curriculum and previous experience, the candidate's ability to integrate into the project, motivation and interest will be evaluated. When applying the two methods of selection, curricular evaluation and interview, each will have a valuation of 50% in the final classification.

The jury reserves the right to not select applicants for the vacancy, if the applicants do not have the adequate quality and profile in terms of absolute merit.

If the President of the jury is unable to perform his or her duties, s/he shall be replaced by the permanent member of the jury with the highest professional rank.

When any conflicts of interest involving permanent or substitute members of the jury compromise the jury’s ability to meet the minimum quorum, the Presidency of the CES Scientific Board is responsible for appointing new substitutes.

m. Selection panel:

• Silvia Rodríguez Maeso (President)
• Danielle Araújo (Permanent member)
• Julio César Sanches (Permanent member)
• Diego de Souza Cotta (Substitute member)
• Mónica Lopes (Substitute member)
• Luciane Lucas dos Santos (Substitute member)

n. Communication of Results: All candidates will receive the results by email. The meeting minutes of the selection panel will become available publicly. After the communication of results, applicants have 10 working days to present a redress to the evaluation and the result by email.

Additional comments

Equality of opportunities: CES abides by the national law that regulates the prevention, prohibition and fighting against discrimination on the grounds of racial and ethnic identity, colour, nationality, family background, territory of origin, and disability. (Law nº 93/2017, 23 August; Law nº 4/2019, 10 January).

Data protection: By submitting your application, you are agreeing with the use of your personal data by CES administrative services for the sole purpose of the current call, namely to be contacted directly by CES services and allow the communication of results as in point n. of this call. CES abides by the principles of GDPR.

Contact:

Centro de Estudos Sociais
Colégio S. Jerónimo, Apartado 3087
3000-995 Coimbra, Portugal
concursos@ces.uc.pt

Website for additional job details: https://ces.uc.pt/en/agenda-noticias/emprego-bolsas-estagios

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available: 1

Company/Institute: Centre for Social Studies (CES)

Country: Portugal

Contact

City: Coimbra
Website: http://www.ces.uc.pt
Street: Colégio S. Jerónimo, Apartado 3087, 3001-401 Coimbra
E-Mail: concursos@ces.uc.pt