Post-doctoral researcher

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

PUBLIC NOTICE/0104/2026

PUBLIC NOTICE FOR AN INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

FOR THE POST OF POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHER

Internal Reference: THRIVE - Junior Researcher 3

Portuguese version

1. Framework

The Rector of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Prof. Dr. Isabel Capeloa Gil, hereby announces the opening of an international call for applications for one vacancy of junior researcher to perform duties of scientific research and knowledge transfer (with an exclusivity clause), in the scientific field of Food Science and Technology. The research activities will be carried out at the Centre for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry (CBQF), integrated at the Faculty of Biotechnology of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in Porto, within the framework of the Horizon Europe ERA Chairs project THRIVE - Creation of an Excellence Group to Foster the Design of Affordable, Sustainable, and Healthy foods.

This project, which will run until the 31st of March 2030, aims to promote and further develop the Food Science and Technology field, in particular the area of Food Structuring Technologies, at CBQF, particularly by increasing the research, innovation, and advanced training potential of CBQF in this area. The Junior Researcher to be recruited will be integrated in a newly established group on Food Structuring Technologies focused on the design of affordable foods with improved nutritional value, and green processes for efficient, sustainable food production.

The following activities are thus predicted to be developed in a period estimated to last 42 months:

• Perform research on structuring of hybrid products that combine animal and plant proteins;
• Supervise BSc and MSc students and co-supervise PhD students;
• Participate in the dissemination and communication activities of THRIVE.

2. Workplace

The workplace is located at the Porto facilities of Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

3. Remuneration

Gross monthly pay is 2.408,11 €, plus meal allowance, to which will be added annual leave and Christmas allowances.

4. Admission requirements

Any national, foreign, or stateless candidates who hold a doctoral degree in Food Science and Technology or related scientific fields, and who furthermore hold a scientific and professional curriculum vitae whose profile is suited to the activities to be performed, can submit their application. If the doctoral degree was awarded by a foreign higher education institution, said degree must comply with the provisions of Portuguese legislation regarding the recognition of foreign degrees. For those purposes, the requirements described in point no. 9 of this public notice must be considered.

4.1. General Requirements

The general requirements are stated in point 4 of this public notice.

4.2. Specific Requirements

• a) Research experience in the field of Food Science and Technology or Food Engineering, with a specialization in Food Structuring Technologies;
• b) Experience in protein and structure characterization;
• c) Scientific production demonstrating results in the aforementioned areas in the bibliometric system of Web of Science and/or Scopus;
• d) Experience in BSc and/or MSc student supervision is a plus;
• e) Demonstrated experience in science communication activities;
• f) Excellence in both written and spoken English language.

5. Assessment criteria

The assessment criteria are the following: scientific output and its relevance, participation in scientific projects and conferences, student supervision, scientific dissemination activities, knowledge transfer, and other relevant activities and experience.

The final candidate classification shall be given on a scale of 0 to 100. The value shall be invariably calculated considering that, for each item, only those activities relevant to the field of the present call for applications are to be considered, with the following weighting:

1. Scientific and curricular background (SCB)

• a) Scientific and technological output: 80%;
• b) Applied or practice-based research activities: 10%;
• c) Knowledge extension and dissemination activities: 10%;
• d) Interview (I).

If necessary, interviews can be held to clarify aspects related to the results of the candidate's research. They will be asked to make a 20-minute presentation (including a PowerPoint presentation), in which they demonstrate their contributions to the research field and interest for the position.

Applicants who are interviewed will be awarded a new classification – in addition to the initial one –, based on the following formula:

Final classification = 90% SCB + 10% I

Note:

This selection process is part of a project involving a global team of researchers, whose funding regulations require a minimum quota of 50% of members with no prior affiliation to the contracting entity. As of the opening date of this procedure, the project's target stipulates that at least 3 of the 5 new vacancies must be filled by candidates without a previous affiliation. As such, the approval of the final ranking list and the subsequent hiring under this call are strictly conditional upon meeting this global target. The contracting entity reserves the right to reorder the candidates or to not hire the highest-ranked candidate if their integration precludes compliance with the aforementioned project regulatory quota.

Only candidates with a final score of 75 or higher on a scale of 0 to 100 will be selected for the position.

6. Tender Selection Panel

The tender selection panel shall be formed by:

President of the Jury: Prof. Dr. Manuela Pintado;

Other members: Prof. Dr. Lília Ahrné; Prof. Dr. Jose Aguilera and Prof. Dr. Jose Bonilla.

7. Deliberation and publication

The panel shall deliberate by means of roll-call voting based on the adopted and disclosed selection criteria, with no abstentions allowed. Minutes of panel meetings shall be taken. These shall contain a summary of events, as well as details of the votes cast by each of the members and their respective reasoning. After all selection criteria have been applied, the panel shall prepare a ranked list of approved candidates and their respective classification. The panel’s final decision shall be approved by the Rector, who shall also approve the hiring of the selected candidate.

The ranked list of approved candidates will be posted at the Porto facilities of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, located at Universidade Católica Portuguesa – Centro Regional do Porto, Rua de Diogo Botelho, 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal and will be published on the website https://cbqf.esb.ucp.pt/. Candidates will be notified by email once this list has been made available.

8. Preliminary Hearing and Final Decision Deadline

After notification of the results, candidates have ten working days to respond. In the following five working days (counting from the end of the candidates’ response period), the panel’s final decision is issued.

9. Formal application procedure

Applications are formalized by completing the application form available at https://hr-ucpporto.inqueritos.porto.ucp.pt/762665?lang=en

Applications must be submitted in English.

Applications shall include the following documents:

• a) Curriculum vitae, highlighting the scientific and curricular path (of the past five years) considered most relevant by the candidate.
• b) Doctoral Certificate with date of admission to the degree
• c) Motivation letter stating the reasons to apply to this position and highlighting the candidate's experience in the field;
• d) Contact details of two references.
• e) Declaration under oath stating the existence, or non-existence, of an employment contract or a research grant contract.

If the doctoral degree has been awarded by a non-Portuguese higher education institution, said degree must comply with the provisions of the Portuguese legislation on the recognition of foreign degrees, as set out in Decree-Law no. 66/2018 of August 16th. Entering into a contract with the selected candidate is conditional on the submission of the formal document.

For additional information on this matter candidates are advised to check the website of the Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES): https://www.dges.gov.pt/en/pagina/degree-and-diploma-recognition.

10. Application deadline

Candidates may submit their application, pursuant to the terms mentioned in the previous point, from August 7, 2026 until August 31, 2026 (until 5pm, Continental Portugal time).

Candidates who do not comply with the application’s prerequisites or who fail to submit proof of meeting the requirements stated in the present public notice shall be excluded from consideration. In case of doubt, the panel is entitled to request that candidates present further documentation attesting to their written statements. Failure to submit the requested clarification, information, or documents, within five working days of being requested to do so, determines the dismissal of the application.

Any false statements made or provided by the candidates are punishable by law.

11. Privacy Policy

Universidade Católica Portuguesa is the controller responsible for the processing of Personal Data in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 – General Regulation on Data Protection.

The personal data submitted within the scope of this tender procedure is processed within the framework of said tender procedure only and will be treated by Universidade Católica Portuguesa with the purpose of verifying the fulfillment, by the candidates, of the assumptions established in the applicable legislation for their contracting. Opposition to the processing of data by the candidates will make it impossible to accept the application and, therefore, to analyze and evaluate it.

The personal data of the Data Subject, if it be indispensable for the fulfillment of the obligations of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, may be conveyed to third parties, namely to the Financing Entities identified in this announcement.

The data retention period shall correspond to the legally defined period of five years.

The Data Subject is entitled to oppose the collection and processing of data, has the right to verification, the right to rectification, the right to deletion, and the right to restriction of processing of the data collected. However, the exercise of such rights may be excluded when personal data is used to protect public interest, namely in the detection and prevention of crimes or when subject to professional rules of confidentiality.

The Data Subject has the right of access and portability of the data.

Rights of Personal Data Subjects: https://www.ucp.pt/rights-data-subjects.

For purposes of exercising the respective rights, contact the University through the e-mail address compliance.rgpd@ucp.pt or by using the address found at the end of this announcement, through the means set out in "Contacts for clarification".

The Data Subject is always entitled to contact and file a complaint with the Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (Portuguese Supervisory Authority for Personal Data).

12. Non-discrimination and equal access policy

Universidade Católica Portuguesa 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, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, family and economic conditions, instruction, 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 convictions, and/or union membership.

13. Final remarks

The present call for applications is exclusively destined to fill this specific vacancy and can be terminated at any time up to the approval of the final candidate list. The call for applications expires once the vacancy has been filled.

The present call for applications and the contract signed as a result thereof shall only take effect if financing conditions are met.

The present call for applications may be canceled when it is vacant, when any case of force majeure occurs, or when other reasons of a budgetary nature, occurring after the opening of the competition, determine it.

The selected candidate shall be hired by Universidade Católica Portuguesa as a researcher under an uncertain term contract (contrato a termo incerto), predicted to start on October 1, 2026 with the estimate duration of 42 months (duration of the activities) which will never, under any circumstances, be superior to 48 months.

14. Contacts for further information:

Universidade Católica Portuguesa – Centro Regional do Porto, Rua de Diogo Botelho, 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal

Human Resources Department

drh.recrutamento.porto@ucp.pt

Where to apply

Website: https://hr-ucpporto.inqueritos.porto.ucp.pt/762665?lang=en

Requirements

Research Field: Technology » Biotechnology

Education Level: PhD or equivalent

Additional Information

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available: 1

Company/Institute: Universidade Católica Portuguesa do Porto

Country: Portugal

Geofield

Contact

City: Porto

Website: http://www.porto.ucp.pt/

Street: Rua Diogo Botelho, 1327

Postal Code: 4169-005