PUBLIC NOTICE

International tender for the position of Assistant Professor, in the subject area of Pedagogy, Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education, in the specialty of Early Childhood Education, at the School of Education and Communication of the University of Algarve

By ordinance dated February 12, 2025, issued by the Rector of the University of Algarve, an international tender for the position of Assistant Professor, in the subject area of Pedagogy, Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education, in the specialty of Early Childhood Education, at the School of Education and Communication of the University of Algarve. The tender will be open, for a period of 30 working days, starting from the working day immediately following the publication of this notice in the Diário da República (the Official Portuguese Gazette).

This tender is governed by the provisions of Article 15 and the following articles of the Estatuto da Carreira Docente do Ensino Superior Politécnico (Statute of the Lecturing Career of Polytechnic Higher Education), hereinafter referred to as ECDESP, which was approved by Decree-Law no. 185/81, on July 1, in its current version, as well as the Regulation for the Tendering of Personnel for Lecturing Careers at the University of Algarve, Regulation no. 520/2010, published in Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 111, on June 9, 2010. 

This tender will be published on the Public Employment Exchange (BEP), within 2 working days, after its publication in the Diário da República, pursuant to the terms of Decree-Law no. 78/2003, of April 23rd, advertised on the Euraxess Portugal portal at https://www.euraxess.pt, and on the University’s website, in both Portuguese and English, pursuant to Article 29-B, paragraph 1 of the ECDESP, in its current version.

The purpose of this tender is to fill in one (1) position, in the form of a non-fixed-term contract as a government employee, in accordance with Article 10-B of ECDESP. The tender will end once the position has been filled.

The rector is authorized under Article 92, paragraphs d), e) and q) of Law 62/2007 of 10 September, to cancel the tender in the event of compelling reasons.

In compliance with Article 9, paragraph h) of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, the Public Administration actively promotes a policy of equal opportunities for employment and career advancement for both men and women, taking all necessary measures to prevent any form of discrimination.

I - Admission requirements

1. Admission requirements:

a) Applicants must hold, under the terms of article 17 of the ECDESP, a doctoral degree in Educational Sciences or Pedagogy or Child Studies or a specialist in Educational Sciences (Area CNAEF 142). The title of specialist mentioned in article 17 of the ECPDESP refers to the provisions of article 48, of Law no. 62/2007, of 10 September and Decree-Law no. 206/2009, of 31 of August.

i) Holders of a doctoral degree obtained abroad must provide proof of recognition of their degree in Portugal under the terms of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of 16 August and other applicable legislation.

ii) Applicants covered by the previous subparagraph applies who fail to provide proof of recognition of their degree by the end of the application period will be excluded from the tender.

b) Applicants must be fluent in the Portuguese language, both spoken and written;

i) Non-native speakers of Portuguese must provide proof of proficiency by presenting an officially recognized diploma, demonstrating their mastery of the language, or a certificate or diploma of communicative competence in the Portuguese language from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages of the Council of Europe (proficiency level C1) by the deadline stablished for the signing of the contract, when applicable.

c) Meet the general requirements for employment in public functions as set out in Article 17 of the Labor Law in Public Functions, contained in the Annex to Law No. 35/2014 of 20 June, in its current wording, unless exempted by the ECDESP.

2. Applicants will be excluded from the tender procedure if they:

a) Do not hold a doctoral degree in Educational Sciences or Pedagogy or Child Studies or a specialist title in Educational Sciences (Area CNAEF 142);

b) Do not hold a recognized doctoral degree by the closing date for applications if their qualification is from a foreign institution;

c) Do not submit the required documents or works stipulated in the Public Notice within the designated timeframe. 

3. The selection committee will notify the applicants of their admission or exclusion, by email with delivery receipt of the notification, for the purposes of prior hearing.

II – Admission requirements based on absolute merit:

1. Acceptance of applicants on the basis of absolute merit will depend on: 

a) Having an overall curriculum that, in the substantiated opinion of the selection committee, demonstrates technical and scientific merit, research capacity and the value of pedagogic activity already developed, compatible with the subject area of ​​Pedagogy, Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education, in the specialty of Early Childhood Education, for which the tender is opened and appropriate to the respective lecturing category.

b) Hold a bachelor's or master's degree in an area of academic training that is qualified in area 143 - Childhood Educator Training (CNAEF).

2. A vote against admission on the basis of absolute merit shall be based on the following grounds:

a) The applicant's overall curriculum does not demonstrate technical-scientific merit, research capacity and the value of the pedagogic activity, as described in paragraph a) of the previous number;

b) They do not hold a bachelor's or master's degree in an area of academic training that is qualified in area 143 - Training of Early Childhood Educators (CNAEF).

3. In order to assess the absolute merit of the applicants, each member of the selection committee will independently submit a list of the applicants who, in their view, do not meet the requirements set in paragraph 1 of point II, and provide written justification for their decision. The selection committee will then vote on each of these proposals, in accordance with the provisions of Article 23, paragraph 1, subparagraph b) of the ECDESP. Abstentions are not permitted.

4. An application will be rejected on the basis of absolute merit if at least one proposal is approved by a majority of the members of the selection committee present at the meeting. The proposals, votes obtained by each, and the respective substantiations, will be an integral part of the minutes.

5. The selection committee will notify applicants of the exclusion of applications based on absolute merit, by means of email with delivery receipt of the notification, for the purpose of a preliminary hearing.

III — Application instructions

1. The application must be submitted by means of a request addressed to the Rector of the University of Algarve, available on the website of the University of Algarve https://www.ualg.pt/procedimentos-concursais . It may be submitted:

a) In person, at the Human Resources Department, located on floor 0 of the Library Building at the Penha Campus of the University of Algarve in Faro; or

b) By registered mail, posted no later than the deadline for submitting applications, addressed to: Serviços de Recursos Humanos, Campus da Penha, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.

2. The application for admission to the tender must be accompanied by the following documents, in Portuguese:

a) Photocopy or scan in PDF format of a valid identification document at the date of application; 

b) Certificates proving the holding of all academic degrees or the specialist title (if applicable), photocopied and in PDF electronic format;

c) One (1) paper copy and one (1) copy in PDF format of the applicant's curriculum vitae, duly signed and dated, including technical-scientific, pedagogic and other activities relevant to the mission of higher education institutions, carried out by the applicant, including a contents page and numbered appendices, mandatorily respecting the order of the parameters and factors set out in point V of this Notice;

d) One (1) printed or copied copy and one (1) copy in PDF format of each of the works that have been selected by the applicant for the purposes set out in Point V, paragraph A) subparagraph iii), up to a maximum of three (3).

e) Indication of the results of the "quality assessment" carried out regarding the courses for which the applicant was responsible, where applicable, also for the purposes of Article 23, paragraph 6, subparagraph b) of the ECDESP;

f) Other documents which the applicant considers to be of interest for the selection committee to fully appreciate his or her scientific performance, pedagogic skills, and other relevant activities that the applicant may have undertaken and that prove the activities mentioned in the curriculum vitae or that constitute a legally-founded reason for preference. However, the selection committee shall only consider such activities as duly proven if it deems appropriate, photocopied or in PDF format;

g) A criminal record certificate stating that the applicant is not prohibited from exercising public functions or disqualified from performing the duties they propose to undertake;

h) Certificate of physical robustness and psychological profile essential for the performance of the duties;

i) Fully updated mandatory vaccination certificate.

j) A document with a career development plan, containing objectives, a development plan and a synopsis of the line of research they intend to implement and a pedagogical development plan, with a maximum of 5000 words, printed and in electronic pdf format.

3. The documents in PDF format referred to in paragraphs g) to i) of Section III, may be waived as long as applicants make a declaration of honor in a separate section of their application, stating their current circumstances regarding each of the requirements in question. However, these documents will be required in case the applicant fills the vacancy.

4. The PDF documents required in paragraphs c) to f) and j), must be delivered on a pen-drive. The pen-drive, should allow for document search by numbering the documents in accordance with the parameters and factors set out in point V of this Public Notice.  When these documents are available in a freely accessible repository on the Internet, the link must be made available in front of each entry in the curriculum vitae. Clickable links to the web pages of the entities or events referred to in the curriculum vitae, should also be provided, whenever reasonable and relevant, as well as, if possible, to the web pages of curricular units for which the applicant has been responsible.

5. The curriculum vitae and respective appendices must be systematized in the order of the parameters and factors listed in point V of this Notice. Failure to comply with this order may result in information not being considered for evaluation.

6. According to Article 7, paragraph 2 of the Regulation governing tenders for the contracting of career lecturing personnel for the University of Algarve, the selection committee may request additional documentation related to the submitted curriculum.

IV – Public Hearings

1. The selection committee may decide to hold public hearings, on an equal footing for all applicants and pursuant to the terms of Article 23, paragraph 4, subparagraph b) of the ECDESP and pursuant to Article 7, paragraph 2, of the Regulation governing tenders for the contracting of career lecturing personnel for the University of Algarve.

2. In the event that the selection committee for the tender decides to hold the hearings referred to in the previous paragraph, the conditions and scheduling of the hearing shall be announced to the applicants at least eight (8) days in advance.

V - Evaluation parameters and seriation in relative merit, respective weighting and final valuation system

The assessment and seriation in relative merit is based on the following seriation criteria and their weighting, resulting in the ordering of the weighted average of the quantitative scores obtained in each of the assessment parameters, within a scale of 0-100 points: 

Curriculum evaluation (100%) - The Curricular Evaluation focuses on the activities developed by the applicants, in the subject area of Pedagogy, Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education, in the specialty of Early Childhood Education and its adequacy to the position of Assistant Professor, considering the following parameters:

A) Technical-Scientific and Professional Performance (35%);

B) Pedagogic Capacity (50%);

C) Other activities relevant to the University’s mission (15%);

The above-mentioned components are evaluated according to the following parameters and respective factors:

A) Technical-scientific and professional performance (35%)

i) Participation in completed/ongoing scientific projects in the subject area of ​​Pedagogy, Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education, in the specialty of Early Childhood Education, namely (10%):

• coordinator of externally funded project completed/ongoing;

• member of an externally funded project completed/ongoing;

• coordinator of completed/ongoing service provision project;

• member of a completed/ongoing service provision project;

• other relevant projects.

ii) Supervision of academic and professional work, and participation in juries of academic examinations, namely (15%):

• completed doctoral thesis;

• completed master's thesis/report;

• other relevant guidelines; 

• participation in the jury of academic examinations as an examiner.

iii) Technical-scientific production in the subject area of ​​Pedagogy, Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education, specialty of Early Childhood Education, namely (30%): 

• publications indexed in Scopus or WoS;

• publications indexed in other indexes (eg EHR, Latindex, Scielo);

• publications in non-indexed international journals;

• publications in proceedings of international conferences;

• publications in proceedings of national conferences;

• books and e-books;

• chapters in a collective work;

• other publications.

iv) Intervention in scientific and professional communities, namely (15%):

• international conference communication by invitation;

• international peer-reviewed conference communication;

 • review of articles or chapters in international publications indexed in WoS or Scopus;

• review of scientific articles or chapters in other publications;

• (co-)editor of a scientific journal;

• integrated member of a research unit;

• professional experience in relevant activities outside the academia.

v) Career development plan (30%).

B) Pedagogic Capacity (50%).

i) Quality and extent of pedagogic practice (60%):

• experience and dedication to lecturing in polytechnic or university higher education;

• lecturing curricular units within the scope of the subject area and specialty for which the tender is open;

• teaching experience in primary education;

• dynamization of pedagogic, continuous and lifelong training actions as a trainer in the scientific or related area for which the tender is open.

ii) Participation in pedagogic bodies, groups or committees (10%):

• design or restructuring of curriculum plan proposals;

• participation in examination boards and organization of tests.

iii) Participation in the development of programs or manuals and other texts and materials to support lecturing activities (10%):

• lecturing support books with ISBN;

• preparation of printed and digital notes and exercise books and other lecturing support materials, duly identified and dated;

• coordination/responsibility for the syllabi of taught curricular units.

iv) Supervision of pedagogic activities (10%)

• guidance/supervision of curricular internships;

• organization of educational events.

v) Performance of other pedagogic activities that the selection committee considers relevant in the subject area or areas in which the tender is open (10%):

• experience of lecturing short courses not leading to a degree;

• attendance at pedagogic training courses.

C)Other activities relevant to the University's mission (15%)

i) Exercise of management positions in bodies of the lecturing unit or Higher Education Institution and Direction /Coordination of course or department, namely (65%):

• member of statutory bodies (e.g., Technical-Scientific Council, Pedagogic Council);

• course coordinator/director;

• department coordinator/director;

• Deputy Coordinator/Deputy Course Director;

• deputy coordinator/sub-department director;

• appointment to management positions by the management of the Institution or Organic Unit;

• other relevant management positions.

ii) Participation in juries or panels, namely (15%):

• public administration career tenders (lecturing and non-lecturing staff, research scholarship holders);

  • member of juries or commission for ranking candidates for master's degrees, special tenders, over 23s, professional higher technical courses and others;

• other participations in relevant juries and committees.

iii) Other management positions of recognized public interest in the subject area and specialty of the tender, namely (20%):

• member of the organizing committee of congresses and conferences;

• services provided abroad that generate their own revenue;

• other relevant activity.

VI - Selection process in relative merit

The methodology of selection in relative merit is as follows:

a) Before voting begins, each member of the selection committee submits a written document, which will be attached to the minutes, stating their own ordering of the applicants, which is based on the assessment of technical-scientific performance, pedagogic skills and other relevant activities, and showing their respective weights. At each ballot, every member of the hiring committee will always abide by the ordering they submitted. Abstentions are not permitted.

b) The first ballot is intended to determine which applicant shall be placed at the top of the ordered list.

c) If an applicant obtains more than half of the votes, the applicant shall be placed first on the ordered list;

d) If two applicants obtain exactly half of the votes each, the selection committee’s chairperson shall have the casting vote, using the score in the «Pedagogical Capacity», «Technical-Scientific and Professional Performance», and « Other activities relevant to the mission of the University » components as successive tie-breaking criteria, prevailing the one who is placed first in the ordered list; who obtained the highest score;

e) If none of the situations mentioned in points c) and d) occur, a new ballot will take place after applicants who obtained no votes in the previous ballot have been eliminated as well as the applicant who obtained fewest votes but who obtained at least one vote; 

f) If there is a draw between two or more applicants for the position of least-voted, another ballot shall be held to determine which of the least-voted applicants shall be eliminated. At this ballot, the selection committee members vote obligatorily for the applicant who is lowest-placed on their own seriation;

g) If there is still a draw between two or more applicants, the selection committee’s chairperson decides which applicant shall be eliminated, using the lowest scores in the «Pedagogic Capacity», «Technical-Scientific and Professional Performance» and «Other activities relevant to the University's mission» components as successive tie-breaking criteria. The applicant with the lowest score will be eliminated.

h) After this applicant has been eliminated along with the applicants who received no votes in the first ballot, another ballot will be held to decide which applicant shall be placed at the top of the ordered list, continuing to use the same procedure until one applicant obtains more than half the votes for first place.

i) Once an applicant has been placed first on the ordered list, his or her name shall be removed from the voting and the process will be repeated to find the second-placed applicant, and so on until all the applicants have been placed on the ordered list.

VII - Composition of the selection committee

President: 

- Doctor Ana Maria de Melo Sampaio de Freitas, Vice-Rector of the University of Algarve, with delegated competence by the Rector.

Committee members:

Doctor Maria Gabriela Correia de Castro Portugal, Associate Professor at the University of Aveiro;

Doctor Amélia de Jesus Gandum Marchão, Coordinating Professor of the School of Education and Social Sciences of the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre;

Doctor Catarina Almeida Tomás, Coordinating Professor of the School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon;

Doctor João Augusto Guerra da Rocha Nunes, Coordinating Professor of the School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu;

Doctor Sara de Barros Araújo, Coordinating Professor at the School of Education of the Porto Polytechnic Institute.

Alternative committee member:

Doctor Ana Maria Sarmento Coelho, Coordinating Professor at the School of Education at the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra;

Doctor Joaquim Miguel Freitas Falcão, Coordinating Professor, at the School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon.

VIII – Access to the tender procedure

The tender procedure can be accessed by appointment at the Human Resources Department of the University of Algarve, located on floor 0 of the Administration Building at the Penha Campus of the University of Algarve in Faro. The department is available for appointments from 9.30 am to noon and from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm.

April 4, 2025, Vice-Rector Ana Maria de Melo Sampaio de Freitas