We are currently seeking a PhD Candidate to join our Marine and Continental Waters team located in La Ràpita (Tarragona), offering a great opportunity to work in a dynamic and collaborative environment within our organization.

We invite applications from motivated candidates with passion and a strong interest in conducting research and innovation activities on the PhD project “Mobilizing paleoecology for sustainable aquatic ecosystems: using multi-proxy temporal data to contribute to management and recovery schemes (PAST4FUTURE)”. The objective of the thesis project is to investigate aquatic ecosystem dynamics at centennial and millennial time scales based on the responses of biological communities with complementary geochemical, molecular, and climatic reconstructions. This thesis will combine classical paleoenvironmental reconstructions using aquatic organisms (diatoms and foraminifera) with novel measurements of environmental change (ancient DNA) for i) developing reference conditions in highly dynamic and impacted Mediterranean coastal wetlands for a better implementation of the Water Framework Directive, ii) identifying unequivocal past anthropogenic influences to refine chronological frameworks of human and environment constraints in agroecosystem changes, and iii) elucidating relationships between past climates, past land-use changes, and diatom biodiversity in freshwater lake ecosystems to understand spatio-temporal variations of community and functional properties. Collectively, the three objectives will inform management and restoration actions to mitigate the impact of current anthropogenic impacts, including climate change.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Field sampling and sediment coring in coastal wetlands.
• Sediment sample processing in the lab (clean and wet conditions).
• Taxonomic identification of aquatic microfossils under the light microscope.
• Data analyses and statistical modelling of own-generated data and compilation of datasets from open repositories.
• Data wrangling and script management for reproducible results.
• Manuscript writing and scientific communication (e.g., conferences, workshops) 

Required qualifications and experience

• Candidates must hold one of the following degrees:
  a) A bachelor’s degree in Biology, Geology, Environmental Sciences or similar.
  b) A master’s degree in Ecology, Geosciences, Paleoecology or similar; or
  c) To be able to access a doctoral programme according to the requirements of Catalan universities, i.e. accrediting between 60 and 120 ECTS credits at the official university master's degree level or equivalent. Therefore, students who will obtain their master’s degree this academic year can apply.
  
  
• Not to have a previous PhD degree.
• Proficiency in English
  
• Strong teamwork skills, ability to adapt to multidisciplinary environments and a focus on professional growth and development.

Candidates who have been chosen for an interview with the Selection Committee, should bring or send –for the interview- a certified copy of the degree and/or master, as well as the academic record showing the marks of all subjects studied Training…

Desirable requirements

• Strong interest in environmental change and aquatic ecology.
• Rigorous and detail-oriented person, motivated to learn new skills.
• Previous work with diatoms and/or foraminifera, or molecular approaches.
• Enthusiasm for collaborations and team building, including national and international networks (see an overview of PhD supervisor’s projects here).
• Interest in combining field, laboratory, and bioinformatic analyses.
• Knowledge using R software language. 
• Catalan and Spanish are valued.

Advantages of joining our team:

• Supervisor/s: Dr Xavier Benito (https://xbenitogranell.github.io/)
• Terms of appointment: 4 years
• Contract: The financial remuneration for the PhD Candidate contract will be €1,363.10/gross per month (19,083.40./gross per annum) and for the first and second years. For this third year, it will be €1,460.46/gross per month (€20,446.44/gross per annum) and for the fourth year it will be €1,825.58/gross per month (€25,558.12/gross per annum) which will be subject to the corresponding withholdings, pursuant to prevailing regulations, and to the collective employment agreement of IRTA. IRTA will also pay the fees of the doctoral school when receiving the enrolment. (1)
• 37.5 hour workweek, with Friday afternoons off
• Intensive work schedule from 15/06 to 15/09
• 22 vacation days
• 3 days of family & work conciliation
• 45 hours of personal days
• Flexible Schedule for a good work-life balance.
• Continuous training and professional growth opportunities.

Please know that if you are the chosen candidate and you are from a country which does not belong to the UE, IRTA’s People Department will support you to get the residence and working permits.

Instructions to Apply

If you wish to be considered for this position and believe you meet the requirements, please send your CV and motivation letter.

Equal treatment and opportunities are guaranteed for all candidates in the selection process, avoiding any stereotypes, attitudes, or obstacles based on gender, origin, age, ideology, or other potentially discriminatory conditions. Furthermore, commitments to the inclusion of vulnerable groups are considered, with priority given in the first round to disabled candidates.

Timings in the Recruitment Process

30 natural days: Publication and diffusion of the job advertisement on IRTA’s website and/or social media.

5 following working days: Distribution of the pre-selected CVs to the Recruitment Committee for their evaluation.

20 following working days: Interview and/or tests to the most suitable candidates based on the job position.

Start of contract: Second half of January 2025 (approximately)

⁽¹⁾ The financial remuneration of the PhD Candidate contract may not be less than 56% of the salary established for the category of Research Collaborator F of the Collective Agreement of the IRTA during the first two years, 60% in the third year and 75% in the fourth.