An international tender is open for the award of a fixed-term contract to the position of Chief Technical Coordinator – Technical Coordinator, within the scope of Project INFRADEV-03- 2019/Ref: 871075, entitled “ELIXIR-CONVERGE - Connect and align ELIXIR Nodes to deliver sustainable FAIR life-science data management services”, funded by Horizon 2020, in the following conditions:
Scientific area: Informatics/Computer Sciences or similar.
Eligibility / Requirements: Candidates must hold a completed master degree in Informatics, Computer Sciences, or any related areas with life or health sciences flavor, and be proficient in written and spoken English.
Skills
• Ability to lead and motivate technical teams in a distributed environment to deliver against challenging goals and timelines;
• Ability to envision web-based services that meet user needs or solve business problems;
• Ability to discern user requirements and develop specifications;
• 3+ years experience in a life-science informatics research environment;
• Familiarity and experience with more than one software development methodology;
• Contribution to collaborative open source projects is an asset;
• Robust understanding and experience from data-intensive high performance computing with demonstrated ability to predict and project technical developments and needs accordingly to a business/project budget;
• Familiarity with network technologies and protocols, development, optimization and database management systems, web standards, revision control systems and data integration techniques including semantic data integration;
• Demonstrated understanding of information security vulnerabilities and risk management;
• Knowledge and practical experience in governance processes to ensure that business strategy and objectives are achieved;
• Results oriented with proven ability to lead teams in distributed and matrix-managed environments with excellent interpersonal skills;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and preferably one other European language;
• Ability to articulate ideas and vision to engage and inspire both technical and nontechnical audiences;
• Exceptionally self-motivated and directed;
• Superior analytical, evaluative, and problem-solving abilities;
• Exceptional service orientation;
• Awareness of European research policy and funding opportunities.
This will be a busy role with frequently changing priorities so it is essential that the role holder is able to:
• Set and manage priorities judiciously with a minimum of supervision;
• Meet deadlines and handle a heavy workload;
• Work to a high level of accuracy and attention to detail show a flexible approach, selfmotivation and resilience;
• Work occasionally outside normal office hours;
• If required, travel to ELIXIR headquarters or events, and BioData.pt nodes.
Functions to be performed/Workplan: The selected candidate will join BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT, the Portuguese Infrastructure for Biological Data and the Portuguese node of ELIXIR - European Distributed Infrastructure for Biological Data. The successful applicant will:
• Ensure the successful implementation and delivery of BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT services through the collaborative development and execution of the BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT technical strategy;
• Take a lead role in development and writing of the technical components of grant applications and proactively, in collaboration with National Nodes and other partners, identify new grant opportunities in the technical domain;
• Work closely with the BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT Executive Director and National Nodes to lead the planning for technical risk and growth of the distributed infrastructure, stay abreast of technical developments and hot topics as well as demonstrate the necessary strategic thinking, people and communication skills to build a high performant, innovative and collaborative team across the BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT national nodes;
• Drive the implementation technical standards from key European framework projects to BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT and be responsible to ensure that there are effective interactions between BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT and the ELIXIR, as well as other European ESFRI Infrastructures;
• Identify opportunities and risks for delivering BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT services including identification of opportunities for innovation, and assessment of obstacles and technical hurdles to the BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT success;
• As appropriate, advise the Executive Director and National Node Representatives in establishing governance processes of direction and control to ensure that objectives are achieved, risks are managed appropriately and the organization’s resources are used responsibly;
• Proactively work with National Nodes to identify, evaluate and implement appropriate technology platforms (including web application frameworks and the software deployment stacks) adoption of good practices and innovative solutions for delivering BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT services;
• Set timetables for the evaluation, development, and deployment of services;
• Establish a governance process that meets government, partner, and company expectations for customer information privacy within BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT;
• Lead the development and execution of an BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT information security plan that protects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data and servers;
• Communicate the BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT technology strategy to partners, users, and stakeholders with the BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT management team;
• Supervise technical needs for service and project delivery;
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of technology standards, industry trends, emerging technologies, and software development best practices;
• Collaboratively define and communicate BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT mission and standards for acquiring or developing systems, equipment, or software within the organisation;
• Ensure that technology standards and best practices are maintained across the organisation;
• Be responsible for the selection, training, retention, and organization of technical BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT staff in accordance with the BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT hiring process, personnel policies, and budget requirements;
• Take responsibility for the technical operating and budget at the BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT and proactively work with BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT Executive Director to ensure that financial targets are met with appropriate risk management. Establish standards of performance and monitor conformance for BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT technical staff (through performance review) and vendors (through setting criteria for service delivery and monitoring the service providers);
• Ensure that BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT internal technological processes and customerfacing services comply with community expectations and applicable laws and regulations for privacy, security, and social responsibility;
• Will contribute to standardization of technologies, and evolution of best practices by collaborating with peers outside the organisation, releasing code, presenting at conferences, and writing for publication (online or offline).
The successful applicant will report to the Executive Director and the Executive Board.
Applicable legislation and regulations: Labor Code, Law nº93 / 2019 of October 1st, in its current version.
Workplace: Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande, nº 6, Oeiras, Portugal, or at any other BioData.pt | ELIXIR PT member Headquarters, in accordance with the requirements and needs of research projects. National and/or international travel may be necessary.
Duration of the contract: The contract will last for 12 months, scheduled to begin in October 2021, possibly extended up to the end of the funding project (4 months).
Type of contract and salary: Term employment contract. The salary will be according to the 44th salary level of the Tabela Remuneratória Única (TRU), approved by ordinance nº1553-C / 2008 of December 31.
Selection methods: The evaluation of the scientific and curricular path focuses on relevance, quality and timeliness in the scientific area of the call:
• Academic and professional training (40%)
• Professional experience (40%)
• Interview (20%)
The Juri will interview only outstanding candidates with higher classification in person or in the impossibility of attending by video conference.
Each member of the jury assigns a classification to each of the candidates on a scale of 0 to 100 points, ranking the candidates according to their classification consisting on the sum of the partial classifications assigned in each evaluation criterion, and taking into account the weighting factor given to each parameter. In this process abstentions are not allowed.
Candidates shall be ordered by applying the successive voting method.
The jury may also decide not to assign the position, if none of candidates meets the required conditions.
Composition of the Jury: President: Dr. Ana Portugal Melo; Members: Dr. Mário Gaspar da Silva and Dr. Ricardo Leite. Alternate members: Dr. José Pereira Leal, Dr. Isabel Rocha and Dr. Ana Teresa Freitas.
Notification of results: Minutes will be drawn up with a summary of the Jury meetings, their votes and justification along with a seriated list of the approved candidates and their classifications. The results of this call will be sent by email to all candidates. The minutes will be sent to any candidate that makes that request.
Application deadline and application form: Applications must be submitted from 12.07.2021 to 30.07.2021. Applications must include a Letter of Motivation, including this announcement identification, full name, parents’ names, ID card, or Citizen Card number and date, or civil identification number, taxpayer ID number, date and place of birth, marital status, occupation, residence and contact address, including email address and telephone. Applications must also include all supported documents, namely, a copy of certificate or diploma, a detailed curriculum vitae, structured in accordance with the items described in Essential Skills and Preferred Skills in the Eligibility / Requirements section, and two reference letters focused on candidate’s professional path.
Applications should be sent independently by e-mail to info@biodata.pt.
Candidates who formalize their application incorrectly or who do not prove the requirements required in this notice are excluded from admission. In case of doubt, the jury may demand any candidate to present documents proving those statements. The false statements made by the candidates will be punished according to the law.
Hearing of the candidates and date of final decision: After notification of the results, all the candidates will have 10 working days to comment. Within the term of 30 days, counted from the deadline for the presentation of the candidacies, the final decisions of the jury are given.
Non-discrimination and equal access policy: The IGC actively promotes a policy of nondiscrimination and equal access, so that no candidate can be privileged, benefited, harmed or deprived of any right or exemption from any duty of reason, including descent, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced working capacity, disability, illness nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, political or ideological convictions, and trade union membership.
According to D.L. No. 29/2001 of February 3, the disabled candidate has a preference in equal classification, which prevails over any other legal preference. Candidates must declare their degree of incapacity, the type of disability and the means of communication to be used in the selection process, under the terms of the above-mentioned diploma.
