#NOVAID-B540: COMPETITION FOR GRANTING 1 Research Scholarship

Euraxess CZ; Setúbal; Hybrid; EUR 13,000 - 18,000; Full time

Job summary

NOVA.id.FCT – Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento, FCT, invites applications for a PhD research fellowship in environmental science. The focus is on PFAS and micro‑/nanoplastics across water, soil, sediments and biota, with both lab and field work, and data analysis under supervision in LAQV‑REQUIMTE and NOVA.id.FCT.

The fellowship lasts 6 months, starting December 2026, with possible renewal, under the regulation of NOVA.id.FCT.

Qualifications

• Hold a doctoral degree obtained within three years prior to the date of submission.
• PhD in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences or related field.
• Not exceed 3 years post‑doctoral in the system and carry out the research work in a host.
• Demonstrate laboratory experience in Environmental Engineering, particularly in extraction and detection of micro‑ and nanoplastics.
• Demonstrate ability to plan cyto‑ and ecotoxicological assays for emerging contaminants.

Responsibilities

• Carry out research activities in emerging contaminants, focusing on PFAS and micro‑ and nanoplastics in environmental matrices (water, soil, sediments, biota).
• Apply analytical techniques for chemical and physical characterization and perform data treatment and analysis.
• Conduct cyto‑ and ecotoxicological assays to assess biological effects of contaminants.

Skills

Lab experience

English proficiency

Experimental design

Ecotoxicology assays

Education

PhD in Environmental Sciences

Tools

ATR-FTIR

Raman spectroscopy

Pyrolysis-GC/MS

Job description

Organisation/Company NOVA.id.FCT- Associação para a Inovação de Desenvolvimento da FCT Department Department of Chemistry, from NOVA School of Science and Technology Research Field Environmental science » Water science Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Postdoc Positions Application Deadline 21 Oct 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon) Country Portugal Type of Contract Other Type of Contract Extra Information Research Scholarship Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number PR8110 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

A tender is now open for the award of one PhD holder research fellowship under the R&D project LAB Ana Pereiro Estevez com ref. PR8110, funded by own funds., under the following conditions:

3. WORK PLAN: The grant holder will carry out research activities in the field of emerging contaminants, with a particular focus on the monitoring, identification, and quantification of per‑and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and micro‑and nanoplastics in different environmental matrices, including water, soil, sediments, and biota. Activities will involve both laboratory and field work, sample collection, preparation and processing, application of analytical techniques for the chemical and physical characterization of contaminants, as well as data treatment and analysis. The grant holder will also perform cyto- and ecotoxicological assays to evaluate the biological effects associated with exposure to these contaminants, contributing to a better understanding of their environmental and ecotoxicological impacts. The results obtained will support the development of monitoring strategies, risk assessment approaches, and mitigation measures for environmental contamination.

4. APPLICABLE LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS: Law No. 40/2004, of August 18, amended and republished by Decree‑Law No. 202/2012 of August 27 (Statute of the Scientific Research Fellow) and amended by Decree‑Law No. 233/2012 of October 29, by Law No. 12 /2013 of 29 January, by Decree‑Law No. 89/2013, of 9 July and Decree‑Law No. 123/2019, of 28 August; Regulation of Research Grants of NOVA.id.FCT – Association for Innovation and Development of FCT; Regulation of Research Grants of the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P. in force ( https://arquivo.pt/wayback/20230310103412/https://former.fct.pt/apoios/… sasFCT2019DR.pdf?);

5. WORKPLACE: The work will be developed at LAQV‑REQUIMTE associated laboratory at the Chemistry department from NOVA School of Science and Technology under the scientific guidance of Ana B. Pereiro and João M.M. Araújo being the contracting entity the NOVA.id.FCT – Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento, FCT.

6. FELLOWSHIP DURATION: The fellowship will last for 6 months, scheduled to begin in December 2026, possibly renewable for the same duration within the duration of the project.

11. APPLICATION DEADLINE AND FORM OF APPLICATION SUBMISSION: The competition is open from 8th to 21st October 2026:

Requirements

Research Field Environmental science » Water science Education Level PhD or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

2. RECIPIENTS PROFILE/CATEGORY:

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS : Applicants must:

• hold a doctoral degree obtained within three years prior to the date of submission of the application.
• Hold a PhD in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences or a related field.
• be informed that the BIPD are restricted in time in order to stimulate scientific employment and the use of researcher contracts as a rule for hiring them, as well as to promote the development, in the entities of the national science and technology system
• not exceeded, with the conclusion of this contract, an accumulated period of 3 years, consecutive or interpolated, as a post‑doctoral research fellow in the scientific and technological system and carry out the research work of this fellowship in a host
• present the documents proving this situation at the latest by the time the fellowship is contracted.
• Demonstrate proven laboratory experience in Environmental Engineering, particularly in methodologies for the extraction and detection of micro‑and nanoplastics in various environmental matrices (water, sediments, food, and soils).
• Demonstrate experience in experimental design and the planning of cyto‑ and ecotoxicological assays for the assessment of emerging contaminants, namely micro‑and nanoplastics, per‑and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), heavy metals, among others.

PREFERRED FACTORS: Preference will be given to candidates with:

• Proven laboratory experience in polymer identification using ATR‑FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, including data acquisition, processing, interpretation, and spectral identification.
• Proven laboratory experience in the identification and characterization of polymeric materials using Pyrolysis‑GC/MS (Py‑GC/MS), including sample preparation, analytical data acquisition and processing, and interpretation of chromatograms and mass spectra.
• Demonstrated experience and ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience and demonstrated ability to work in multidisciplinary teams.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English

8. SELECTION CRITERIA: The evaluation of the applications will focus on the merit of the candidate, applying the following criteria, valued on a scale of 0 to 20 values:

FIRST PHASE:

A. Curriculum Evaluation (0 to 20 points) – 70%

B. Research Experience (0 to 20 points) – 30%

Candidates who do not achieve a minimum score of 17 points, based on the jury’s evaluation according to the selection criteria, will not proceed to the 2nd phase The selection methods and respective weightings in this phase will be as follows:

SECOND PHASE:

A. Curriculum Evaluation (0 to 20 points) – 30%

B. Research Experience (0 to 20 points) – 30%

C. Interview (0 to 20 points) – 40%

Candidates who do not achieve a minimum score of 17 points, based on the jury’s evaluation according to the selection criteria, will not be hired.

Selection process

9. COMPOSITION OF THE SELECTION JURY:

• President of the Jury – Doctor Ana B. Pereiro

10. FORM OF ADVERTISING/NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS: The evaluation results proposed by the jury will be notified, up to 90 days after the deadline for the submission of applications, by email, of the results proposed by the jury, with access to the minutes and the final ranking list.

After notification, candidates will have 10 working days to comment on the draft decision (prior hearing of interested parties, under the terms of the Code of Administrative Procedure). The final decision will be taken after the expiry of the prior hearing period, again notified to all candidates by e‑mail. Of this final decision the candidates can file a complaint within 15 working days (to the e‑mail address used for the notification), or a hierarchical appeal, within 30 working days, addressed to NOVA.ID.FCT's Board through the address [e-mail] .

Additional comments

12. DRAFTS: The drafts of: i) fellowship contract, ii) final report to be presented by the fellowship holder, iii) final report to be presented by the scientific advisor, and; iv) declaration on honor, can all be found on NOVA.id.FCT website.