Junior doctoral researcher hiring_Hermetia - Investigador

Organisation/Company

Universidade Católica Portuguesa - Porto

Research Field

Technology » Biotechnology

Researcher Profile

Recognised Researcher (R2)

Positions

PhD Positions

Country

Portugal

Application Deadline

31 Dec 2025 - 17:00 (Europe/Lisbon)

Type of Contract

Other

Type of Contract Extra Information

NA

Job Status

Full-time

Offer Starting Date

12 Dec 2025

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Other EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

 PUBLIC NOTICE/0130/2025

PUBLIC NOTICE FOR AN INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR APPLICATIONS 

FOR THE POST OF POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHER

PURSUANT TO DECREE-LAW NO. 57/ 2016 OF 29 AUGUST

Internal Reference: Hermetia - Investigador 

                                                                                                                                                                             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 doctoral researcher to perform duties of scientific research and knowledge transfer (with an exclusivity clause), in the scientific field of Biotechnology. 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 Hermetia project - Sustainable and circular organic waste management through BSF, a project funded by the FEDER through the Northern Regional Program -NORTE2030-FEDER-01483600.

Within the scope of this project, research will be carried out in the area of developing methodologies for the sustainable processing of  agri-residues biomass, under fungal fermentation process, focused on the obtention and characterization of new subtrates/diets rich in proteins and fibres for the development of high nutritional black soldier fly larvae. The activities to be carried out fall within the specific objective of valorizing and recovering various industrial value biocompounds, spacially mycoproteins, aminoacids, peptides and enzymes, with more ecofriendly approaches and processing technologies, complying with the legal requirements for their incorporation in the feed, food and neutraceutical industries, which will promote the valorization of food residues and makeing the food supply chain more profitable. It may involve support in the guidance of PhD, Masters and undergraduate students involving the topics mentioned above, as well as in scientific dissemination activities.

2. Applicable Legislation 

Decree-Law no. 57/2016 of 29 August, amended by Law no. 57/2017 of 19 July, in its current wording, which sets out the framework for the hiring of post-doctoral academics, aimed at fostering scientific and technological employment in all areas of knowledge (RJEC), without prejudice to the specific regulations applicable to the Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

3. Workplace

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

4. Remuneration

Gross monthly pay is €2.351,53, plus meal allowance, to which will be added annual leave and Christmas allowances. 

5. Admission requirements

Any national, foreign, or stateless candidates who hold a doctoral degree in Biotechnology 

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. 11 of this public notice must be considered.

5.1. General Requirements

The general admission requirements are those defined in point 5. In specific terms, candidates must have:

Candidates who have participated in national and international projects linked to industry will also be valued.

6. Selection Process

The selection process must comply with article 5 of the RJEC.

7. 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 taking into account 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:

a) Scientific and technological output: 85%;

b) Applied or practice-based research activities: 15%; 

c) Knowledge extension and dissemination activities: 5%;

d) Interview (I).

If considered relevant, the candidates ranked in the first three positions will be interviewed (I), in order to clarify aspects related to the results of their research. They will be asked to make a 10-minute presentation (including a PowerPoint presentation), in which they demonstrate their contributions to the research field.

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

The selected candidate will have to obtain a final grade equal to or greater than 80 points.

8. Tender Selection Panel

Pursuant to article 13 of the RJEC, the tender selection panel shall be formed by: 

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

Other members:  Dr. Ricardo Gómez García e Dr. Ana Amaro.

9. 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://esb.ucp.pt . Candidates will be notified by email once this list has been made available.

10. 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.

11. Formal application procedure

Applications are formalized by completing the application form available at https://hr-ucpporto.inqueritos.porto.ucp.pt/552686?lang=en .

Applications must be submitted in English.

Applications shall include the following documents:

a) Curriculum vitae, highlighting the scientific and curricular course (of the past five years) considered most relevant by the candidate.

b) Doctoral Certificate with date of admission to the degree.

c) Cover letter, demonstrating the candidate's motivation.

d) If the PhD is issued by foreign higher education institutions, the candidate must submit the PhD Recognition Certificate or proof of the application for recognition in accordance with Portuguese law.

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 .

12. Application deadline

Candidates may submit their application, pursuant to the terms mentioned in the previous point, from December 12, 2025 until December 31, 2025 (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.

13. 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 to 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 the 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).

14. 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.

15. 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  junior researcher under an uncertain term contract (contrato a termo incerto), predicted to start on February 1, 2026 with the estimate duration of 35 months (duration of the activities) which will never, under any circumstances, be superior to 72 months.

16. 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

Lisbon, December 10, 2025

The Rector

Website

https://hr-ucpporto.inqueritos.porto.ucp.pt/552686?lang=en

Research Field

Technology » Biotechnology

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Universidade Católica Portuguesa - Centro Regional do Porto

Country

Portugal

Geofield

City

Porto

Website

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

Street

Rua Diogo Botelho, 1327

Postal Code

4169-005

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