1. The Board of Directors of Associação BIOPOLIS, has decided to open an international call for PhD holder Researchers, under a work contract with non-fixed term. This announcement is intended to 1 (one) research position (Reference BIOPOLIS 2023-04 UNRAVEL) to pursue scientific research in the scope of the research project UNRAVEL (PTDC/BIA-ECO/0207/2020, ended at at 28-03-2024) funded by national funds via FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P, is available at CIBIO/Associação BIOPOLIS, to look at the drivers and impacts of invasive species worldwide, considering the whole invasion pathway, from transport to establishment. UNRAVEL aims to harness knowledge from invasion ecology to support invasive species policy and management under global change, using innovative and integrated multidisciplinary approaches for quantifying invasion risk of all traded groups of terrestrial vertebrates. Research goals of the project include reviewing species traits relevant for invasion success; identifying species traits selected for trade, introduction, establishment and spread; and predicting new invasive alien species (IAS) under future environmental, political and socioeconomic scenarios. Hence, the candidate will be responsible for performing data collection on the i) potential global distribution of currently traded alien terrestrial vertebrates, along with climate and land-use suitability; ii) most relevant traits for exploring biological invasions by terrestrial vertebrates, using multiple existing sources; but more specifically i) analyze species traits filtering along the invasion pathway, using records on trade, introductions, establishment and spread. The candidate will consider land-use and climate projections, along with socioeconomic and geopolitical scenarios across supplying and demanding countries to comprehensively estimate how wildlife trade and biological invasions may change in the future. We expect the candidate to propose and lead research within the scientific scope of the project, exploring new research ideas and goals, which should result in scientific publications. The candidate should also be able to contribute to both scientific and financial project reporting and participate in project meetings, workshops and conferences both in Portugal and abroad.

2. Applicable Legislation

Decree-Law no. 57/2016 of August 29th, amended by Law 57/2017 and Regulatory Decree No. 11- A / 2017 which approved the doctorate hiring regime destined to stimulate scientific and technological employment for all knowledge areas (RJEC); Portuguese Labour Code, approved by Law 7/2009 of February 12, in its actual form.

3. Pursuant to article 13 of RJEC, the tender selection panel is formed by: Dr. Luís Reino (Researcher at CIBIO-InBIO, President of the selection panel by delegation of the Director of Associação BIOPOLIS), Dra. Joana Ribeiro (Researcher at CIBIO-InBIO), and Dr. César Capinha (Researcher at IGOT, UL) and Dra. Joana Santana as substitute.

4. The workplace: The work will be carried out at the CIBIO-InBIO, in Vairão, Vila do Conde (Porto district).

5. Monthly remuneration to be paid is that set by subheading a) nr.1 article 15 of RJEC and article nr 2 of the Regulatory Decree nr. 11-A/2017, corresponding to level 33 of the Tabela Remuneratória Única, approved by Order no. 1553-C/2008 of December 31st, i.e. 2206,05 Euros.

6. The application can be submitted by any national, foreign and stateless candidate(s) holding a doctorate degree in Biology or related areas and a scientific and professional curriculum whose profile is suited for the activity described below (item 7). In case the doctorate degree was awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the provisions of Decree-Law no. 66/2018 of 16 October, and all formalities established therein must be complied with at the signature of work contract.

7. The tender admission general requirements are those defined in the previous point 6, and additional specific requirements are having experience in various areas of Invasion Science, Ecology, Bioeconomy or Statistical modelling, validated by the (co)authorship of scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals.

Specifically, the candidate should have experience in collecting, compiling and analyzing geographic, land-use, climate and vertebrate trait datasets; a very strong background in modelling large and complex datasets with the programming language R, for example using CART, Random Forests, GAM, GLM and mixed models, which should be attested through peer-reviewed publications. Excellent speaking and written knowledge of English is required. The candidate should feel comfortable in multinational contexts and be able to communicate with researchers with different academic backgrounds (e.g., ecologists, biogeographers, statisticians, social scientists). Experience in other projects in Invasion Science will be valued, as well as the ability to organize international scientific/management meetings.

8. Pursuant to article 5 of RJEC, the selection is to be made based on the evaluation of the scientific and curricular career of the candidate.

9. Evaluation criteria:

The evaluation of the CV of the candidates, in particular the scientific merit and research experience will take into consideration the elements presented for the last five years of activity falling within the scope of the specific areas of the tender (see Point 1) and will be performed according to the following criteria:

9.1 Integrated assessment of the curriculum trajectory of the candidate, based on an overview of their scientific merits, namely:

I. Overall scientific coherence of the CV (15%)

II. Diversity and quality of scientific indicators within the scope of the research area (see point 1) -

20%

III. Participation in research projects, students supervision and international event organization- 5%

9.2. Relevant experience in:

I. Geographic, climate and trait data collection, compilation and analysis using R-Cran and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - 45 %

II. Writing of scientific papers – 5 %

III. Experience in Invasion Science - 10%

10. In the case of admitted candidates whose evaluation does not differ more than 10% from that obtained by the best positioned candidate, the jury will interview these candidates. This will be aimed at obtaining clarifications and explanations about the curricular elements and additional information as well as to evaluate the attitude profile and motivation of the candidate. The final score of each jury member is obtained by the following assessment: 90% scientific and curricular career evaluation and 10% interview.

11. The Candidate final classification system shall be given based on a scale 0 to 100.

12. The panel shall deliberate by means of roll-call vote justified under adopted and disclosed selection criteria, with no abstentions allowed.

13. Minutes of panel meetings shall be executed and include a summary of all occurrences of said meeting, as well as of all votes casted by the members and respective reasoning, and shall be provided to candidates whenever required.