Notice nº 31179/2025/2
NOTICE OF OPENING OF INTERNATIONAL SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF A DOCTORATE - ARDITI-CAP-2025-001
1. Introduction
ARDITI – the Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation – Association, through its President of the Board of Directors, hereby announces the opening of an international selection procedure for one position of PhD researcher for the management, support of the progress and implementation of research and development activities foreseen in the Mac_DroneAI and DiveReporter-MAC projects, under a fixed-term employment contract governed by the Portuguese Labour Code.
This call is opened under the projects MAC_DroneAI (2/MAC/3/6.1/0224_CAP) and DiveReporter-MAC (2/MAC/3/6.1/0221_CAP), funded by Programa de Cooperação Territorial Interreg MAC 2021-2027.
2. Applicable Legislation
- Decree-Law no. 57/2016 of August 29, which establishes the legal framework for the hiring of PhD holders aimed at stimulating scientific and technological employment across all fields of knowledge (RJEC), as amended by Law no. 57/2017 of July 19;
- Regulatory Decree no. 11-A/2017 of December 29, which defines the remuneration levels for PhD contracts;
- Decree-Law no. 63/2019 of May 17, which establishes the legal regime of R&D institutions, as amended by Decree-Law no. 126-B/2021 of December 31;
- Decree-Law no. 66/2018 of January 1, which establishes the legal regime for the recognition of academic degrees and diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions, as amended by Decree-Law no. 86/2023 of October 10;
- Labour Code, approved by Law no. 7/2009 of February 12, in its current version.
3. Jury Composition
- President: João Gama Monteiro (UMa, MARE-Madeira)
- Effective Member: João Canning-Clode (MARE-Madeira, UMa)
- Effective Member: Marko Radeta (MARE-Madeira, UMa)
- Alternate Member: Ana Dinis (MARE-Madeira, UMa)
- Alternate Member: Manfred Kaufmann (UMa)
4. Duties
This position is open for the coordination and management of research activities foreseen in the Mac_DroneAI and DiveReporter-MAC projects, on an exclusive basis, with emphasis on the management and monitoring of the Diagnostic, Adaptation, and Implementation phases of technological solutions in the geographical areas of the projects. The work to be developed will guarantee the transfer of knowledge and capitalization of technological/methodological solutions already developed, specifically: the adaptation and implementation of a marine biodiversity monitoring program in the Azores, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde using citizen science and the DiveReporter app; and the adaptation and implementation of marine litter monitoring in the Azores, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde using remote sensing, drones, and artificial intelligence.
The hiring of a PhD researcher is necessary to ensure the successful execution of the aforementioned projects, supporting the management and coordination of their activities, organization and execution of workshops, meetings, and trips foreseen in the project, data processing and analysis, financial management, and collaboration in the preparation of reports and scientific publications.
5. Workplace
The work will be carried out at ARDITI’s facilities, located in Edifício Madeira Tecnopolo, Floor 2, Caminho da Penteada, 9020-105 Funchal, without prejudice to work being performed at other sites relevant to ARDITI’s activities.
6. Remuneration
This call is for the category of PhD Researcher, remuneration position 1, level 33 of the unified remuneration table (TRU), according to the ARDITI 2025 Salary Grid – PhD Researchers, corresponding to a gross monthly salary of €2,351.53.
7. Contract Duration
7.1 The contract will be a fixed-term contract of uncertain duration, valid while the project funding or justification remains, with a maximum duration of 6 years, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 3 and subparagraph b) of paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the RJEC.
7.2 The basis for the fixed-term contract is related to the execution of specific, precisely defined and non-permanent activities, referred to in item 4, necessary for the development of the MAC_DroneAI and DiveReporter-MAC projects, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 and subparagraph g) of paragraph 2 and paragraph 3 of Article 140 of the Labor Code. The hiring may eventually be subsequently supported by funds from other financed projects, therefore the financing is a necessary and determining condition for the hiring, and thus, its cessation will constitute the supervening, absolute and definitive impossibility for ARDITI to receive the worker's services.
7.3 The cessation of financing, the termination of the project or the conclusion of the activities that constitute the object of this competitive procedure will determine the expiry of the contract, which will take effect with the communication referred to in paragraph one of article 345 of the Labor Code, that is, if the term is foreseen, the employer communicates the termination of the contract to the worker, with a minimum notice of seven, 30 or 60 days depending on whether the contract has lasted up to six months, from six months to two years or for a longer period.
8. Admission Requirements
8.1 Candidates for this call may include national, foreign, and stateless individuals holding a doctoral degree in a field of knowledge or specialization encompassing various scientific areas, including, but not limited to, Marine Sciences, Computer Science, Life Sciences, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, among others.
8.2 Degrees obtained in foreign countries require the presentation of a Portuguese Recognition issued by a Portuguese higher education institution that confers the degree or diploma in that area of training, specialization, or field of knowledge, in accordance with the provisions of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16, which approves the legal regime for the recognition of academic degrees and higher education diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions, regulated by Ordinance No. 33/2019, of January 25, amended by Ordinance No. 43/2020, of February 14, and further amended by... Decree-Law No. 86/2023, of October 10.
In these situations, the presentation of the Recognition will only be required for the purpose of entering into the contract, that is, until the date of the end of the period granted for the execution of the contract.
9. Application Submission
9.1 Applications must be sent via email to
9.2 The application must be accompanied by documents proving the conditions set out in item 8 for admission to this call, namely:
a) Copy of certificate or diploma (Degrees obtained in foreign countries require the presentation of a Portuguese Recognition issued by a Portuguese higher education institution that confers the degree or diploma in that area of training, specialty or branch of knowledge, in accordance with the provisions of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of 16 August and amended by Decree-Law No. 86/2023, of 10 October, which approves the legal regime for the recognition of academic degrees and higher education diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions, regulated by Ordinance No. 33/2019, of 25 January, amended by Ordinance No. 43/2020, of 14 February.);
b) Doctoral thesis or equivalent document(s) that determined the granting of this academic degree;
c) Detailed curriculum vitae, structured according to the items in points 10.5 to 10.7, highlighting, with attached copies, the works that the candidate considers most relevant for each of the items in the aforementioned points;
d) Letter of motivation;
e) Other documents that the candidate justifies as being relevant to the analysis of their application.
9.3 Candidates must submit their application and the documents referred to in the previous paragraph, in PDF format, by the last day of the application period, which is set at 15 working days after the publication of this Notice. A candidate may, based on the impossibility or excessive burden of sending any of the documents referred to in the previous paragraph by email, deliver them in physical form, respecting the aforementioned deadline, by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt to the postal address “Edifício Madeira Tecnopolo, Piso 2, Caminho da Penteada, 9020-105 Funchal” or in person at the Administrative and Financial Department of ARDITI. If the candidate's justification for submitting documents only in physical form is not accepted, the Chairman of the Committee will give a reasonable period for submitting them also in digital format.
9.4 Applications and documents may be submitted in Portuguese or English, without prejudice to the Jury President, if a member of the Jury does not speak Portuguese, requiring the candidate to provide an English translation of any document previously submitted in Portuguese within a reasonable timeframe.
9.5 By decision of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ARDITI, candidates who do not meet the aforementioned requirements for formalizing their applications are not admitted to the competitive procedure. Candidates who do not submit an application, or who do not deliver all the documents referred to in points a) to e) of section 9.2, or who submit them illegibly, incorrectly completed, or invalid, will be summarily excluded. The Chairman also has the right to require any candidate, in case of doubt and for the purposes of their admission to the competitive procedure, to present supporting documents for their respective declarations.
10. Evaluation of Applications
10.1 The Committee will deliberate on the approval or rejection of the candidates on absolute merit, by justified nominal vote where abstentions are not permitted.
10.2 A candidate is considered approved on absolute merit if they obtain a favorable vote from more than half of the voting members of the committee.
10.3 In accordance with article 5 of the RJEC, the selection of candidates is carried out through the evaluation of their scientific and curricular background.
10.4 The evaluation of the scientific and curricular path focuses on the relevance, quality, and timeliness of:
a) Activities in managing science, technology, and innovation programs, or experience in observing and monitoring the scientific and technological system or higher education, in Portugal or abroad.
b) Applied research activities, or practice-based research, developed in the last five years and considered to have the greatest impact by the candidate;
c) Extension and knowledge dissemination activities developed in the last five years, particularly in the context of promoting scientific practices, considered to be of greatest relevance by the candidate;
d) Scientific, technological, and academic production of the last five years considered most relevant by the candidate;
e) Fluency in English and official languages of the Macaronesia region (Portuguese, Spanish, and Cape Verdean Creole).
10.5 The five-year period referred to in the previous paragraph may be extended by the jury, at the candidate's request, when justified by a suspension of scientific activity for socially protected reasons, namely, due to parental leave, prolonged serious illness, and other legally protected situations of unavailability for work.
10.6 The selection of the candidate to be hired will be made through the evaluation of their scientific and curricular history, focusing on the relevance, quality, timeliness, and suitability of this career path to the functions to be performed, considering the last 5 years of activity, according to the following evaluation criteria and weightings:
a) Doctorate in Life Sciences, Marine Sciences, or other (5%).
b) Experience in coordinating scientific activities and projects, including the preparation of activity reports, participation in and organization of conferences, meetings and workshops, and the development of deliverables (30%).
c) Development and promotion of citizen engagement and citizen science initiatives and science outreach activities (15%).
d) Previous work and/or experimental work experience with an emphasis on marine biodiversity in the Madeira and Macaronesia region, including the development and implementation of monitoring plans (15%).
e) Previous work and/or experimental work experience with an emphasis on the monitoring and study of marine litter in the Madeira and Macaronesia region, including the development and implementation of monitoring plans (15%).
f) Quality of scientific production considered relevant by the candidate to the project to be developed (10%).
g) Familiarity and fluency in spoken and written Portuguese, Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole, and English (10%).
10.7 The jury may select up to 3 candidates who will be invited to a presentation session of the results of their research, following which the jury members should encourage an open debate on its content and innovative character. This presentation session does not constitute a selection method and is not graded, aiming merely to obtain clarifications or explanations of elements contained in the candidates' curricula.
10.8 The panel may, whenever it deems necessary, request the candidate to present additional supporting documents for the candidate's statements that are relevant to the analysis and classification of their application.
10.9 False statements made by candidates will be punished according to law.
11. Candidate Classification
11.1 Each jury member assigns a score to each candidate in each evaluation criterion, on a scale of 0 to 100 points, proceeding to rank the candidates according to their final score, which is the sum of the partial scores assigned in each evaluation criterion, taking into account the weighting assigned to each parameter.
11.2 Candidates are ranked using the successive voting method.
11.3 The jury deliberates by absolute majority; abstentions are not permitted.
11.4 The final score of each candidate is that which corresponds to their ranking resulting from the application of the method referred to in item 11.2.
11.5 Minutes are taken at jury meetings, containing a summary of what occurred, as well as the votes cast by each member and their respective justifications, and are made available to candidates upon request.
11.6 The list of admitted and excluded candidates, as well as the final ranking list, are published on the ARDITI website, and candidates are notified individually by email with delivery receipt.
12. Prior Hearing and Final Decision
12.1 After being notified, candidates have 10 working days to exercise their right to a prior hearing, if they wish.
12.2 The candidate's statement during the prior hearing must be addressed to the jury president and submitted in writing to
In this case, the jury president will convene a meeting to analyze the statement presented by the candidate and produce the final decision within thirty working days.
12.3 The jury's final decision must be issued within 90 days from the deadline for submitting applications.
12.4 Within five working days of the jury's final decision, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ARDITI will approve it, and the candidates will be notified.
12.5 The hiring will be decided by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ARDITI, based on the jury's final decision.
13. Final Provisions
13.1 This competitive procedure is exclusively for filling the indicated vacancy and may be terminated until the final decision of the jury is approved, and expires upon the respective occupation of the offered job position.
13.2 ARDITI actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, therefore no candidate may be privileged, benefited, prejudiced or deprived of any right or exempted from any duty by reason of, in particular, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family situation, economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological convictions and trade union affiliation.
13.3 In accordance with Decree-Law No. 29/2001 of February 3, adapted to the Autonomous Region of Madeira by Regional Legislative Decree No. 25/2001/M of August 24, candidates with disabilities have preference in the event of equal ranking, which prevails over any other legal preference. Candidates must declare in the registration form, under oath, their degree of disability, the type of disability, and the means of communication/expression to be used in the selection process, in accordance with the aforementioned decree.
14. Personal Data Processing
14.1. ARDITI - Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation - Association will act as the data controller (as defined in the GDPR), with the collection and processing of personal data of job applicants being essential to the selection and recruitment process and to the eventual and subsequent conclusion of the employment contract.
14.2. In order to facilitate the performance of processing activities related to pre-contractual due diligence, job applicants are expressly informed that ARDITI - Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation - Association, as the controller, may use the following categories of personal data for processing and handling:
a) Identification data and contact data;
b) Curriculum/academic data;
c) Data relating to professional experience;
14.3. Job applicants are informed that ARDITI - Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation - Association, in order to comply with legal obligations to which it is bound, may communicate and/or transfer personal data to the following entities:
a) Tax Authority;
b) IGFSS – Institute for Financial Management of Social Security;
c) Regional Directorate of Labor and Fiscal Action;
d) National Institute of Statistics;
e) Labor Compensation Fund and Labor Compensation Guarantee Fund;
f) Insurance companies and banking entities;
g) Accounting firms.
14.4. Job applicants have the right to access, rectify, cancel, delete and object to the processing of their personal data at any time, as well as the right to data portability.
14.5. The record of recruitment processes carried out will be kept for 5 years, as required by law under Article 32 § 1 of the Labor Code. The remaining personal data resulting from the recruitment and selection process will be kept for the period strictly necessary to complete the recruitment process.
14.6. ARDITI - Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation - Association ensures that it takes appropriate technical and organizational measures, in accordance with current legislation, to ensure the confidentiality and security of the personal data of job applicants.
14.7. Job applicants are also informed that if they consider that their personal data is being processed in violation of data protection legislation, they have the right to lodge a complaint with the National Data Protection Commission www.cnpd.pt
December 12, 2025 - Dr. Rui Miguel Andrade Caldeira, President of the Board of DirectorsARDITI – Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation – Association
Official public notice of the announcement (in Portuguese) here: https://files.diariodarepublica.pt/2s/2025/12/245000000/0049300499.pdf