Junior Group Leader position within the BIST- la Caixa initiative in Chemical Biology

Postdoctoral and senior researchers with excellent scientific record in the topic Chemical Biology are invited to apply for a Junior Group Leader position in IBEC’s non-tenure-track open call for 2020.

The position is in the framework of the Chemical Biology Initiative, launched by the  Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology (BIST), with the support of ”la Caixa” Foundation. BIST is a scientific foundation of seven of Catalonia’s research centres of excellence. Its main objective is to build new scientific collaborations among these centres. Building on the expertise already present at the BIST Institutes, which include the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), the BIST – la Caixa initiative in Chemical Biology aims to develop a novel, synergic and interdisciplinary research programme.

Applicants are expected to develop an ambitious project at the interface between bioengineering, chemistry and biology for their future group and to contribute to IBEC strategy based on excellent science, internationalization, translation and talent.

Candidatures will be first evaluated remotely. Apart from outstanding scientific output, the candidates must prove that they are active in the application of competitive proposals as principal investigators. Any mobility experience, e.g. a stay in another country/region, will be considered as a valuable contribution.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to Barcelona in October 2020 to be interviewed by a Selection committee composed among others by members of the by IBEC’s Scientific Advisory Board. Candidates will present their work, their scientific quality, feasibility of the proposed scientific approach, potential impact of the research, future research plans and their ability to carry out efficient leadership and management. A site visit to IBEC facilities will take place during the interview day.

Desirable competencies and skills:

Leadership and people management; critical judgment in identifying and executing research activities; strategic vision for the future of the research field; income and funding generation; Knowledge generation and transfer; collaboration; excellent communication and networking.

Principles of the Selection Process:

IBEC values diversity and aims for a representative gender balance at all levels of staff. We seek to increase the percentage of female group leaders, so qualified women are therefore strongly encouraged to apply. IBEC is committed to actively looking for female candidates for

Senior positions ensuring that at least 40% of shortlisted applicants invited to interview have to be women with comparable level of CVs as the male candidates. At the end of the evaluation process, in case of equal merit, priority will be given to female candidates.

Our Recruitment and Selection Policy is based on the OTM Strategy (Open, Transparent and Merit-based recruitment) www.ibecbarcelona.eu/jobs/ and accept applications without distinction on any grounds. Candidates with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Our commitment to OTM-R principles can also be found in our Gender and Diversity plan.

The successful candidate will be appointed for an initial 4-year period. At the end of the fourth year, the Junior Group Leader will be evaluated by the ISC. A positive evaluation will allow the candidate to extend their appointment for another 4 years.

Junior Group Leaders at IBEC are offered a start-up package and provided with suitable laboratory space, access to the state-of-the-art core facilities at IBEC and access to outstanding predoc students and postdoc researchers. Moreover, they are assigned a research project manager to support them with the management of their projects and interaction with IBEC’s friendly and researcher-oriented administrative staff. Emphasis is given to supporting their participation in competitive calls to start their own research line. Furthermore, IBEC adopts family-friendly policies to facilitate optimal work life balance for the successful candidate.

Alongside this programme, Junior Group Leaders have the opportunity to improve their career development through a wide range of professional training and coaching, and access to IBEC’s international network of with world-class research centres, universities, hospitals and industry. They also have the possibility to apply to IBEC calls for permanent group leaders.

IBEC ensures that applicants’ personal data are processed as required by EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Spanish Law 3/2018 on Data Protection.

Personal data shall thus be processed solely for the purpose of the selection procedure.

The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) in Barcelona develops interdisciplinary research of excellence in the fields of biomedical engineering and nanomedicine, from basic research to medical applications. Its mission is to consolidate a strong international position in these fields while creating knowledge, contributing to a better quality of life, improving health and creating wealth.

IBEC is located within the Barcelona Science Park and the Besós Campus of the Technical University of Catalonia. IBEC has 22 research groups and a team of researchers and support services of 370 people from 30 different countries.

IBEC was founded in 2005 by the Generalitat de Catalunya, the University of Barcelona and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya– BarcelonaTech with the mission to develop international high quality interdisciplinary research that, while creating knowledge, contributes to a better quality of life, improving health and creating wealth. IBEC aims to consolidate a strong international position in the fields of nanomedicine and bioengineering, as well as to increase the portfolio of technology transfer services available to the industrial sector and the healthcare system.

IBEC is part of a new wave of research initiatives, with shared interests and points of view concerning how to advance the frontiers of knowledge in experimental science to benefit clinical and biomedical research. The common denominator shared by these new initiatives is their focus on the enormous challenge of how to make life science quantitative on any scale, taking full advantage of the unprecedented power of the convergence between nano, bio and ICT.

The vision promoted at IBEC is to exploit and connect the multidisciplinarity of its groups, aligning their complementary capacities through four broad areas of expertise: Nanomedicine, Cell Engineering, Mechanobiology and ICT for Health.

To this end, IBEC focuses its scientific and technological work around three core application areas: Bioengineering for future and precision medicine (technology that goes beyond the existing paradigm of hospital care); Bioengineering for active ageing (meeting the needs of an ageing population); and Bioengineering for regenerative therapies (regeneration of damaged tissues or organs, or to develop cell therapies).

IBEC excellence was recognized by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness by its award as Severo Ochoa Research Centre in the 2014 call, which labels IBEC as one of Spain top research centres at the highest international level in terms of research, training, human resources, outreach and technology transfer. The award was renewed in the 2018 call.

Applications should be submitted online no later than 31^st May, 2020 at: https://careers.ibecbarcelona.eu/

Required information to be included in the online application tool includes information about candidate’s CV and achievements and the contact of three referees, a research proposal for the initial 4-year appointment period (using the normalized template from the online application tool), and a self-assessment of his/her leadership potential and added value to IBEC.

Useful dates:

• Call open: 2^nd April
• Call deadline: 31^st May
• Remote evaluation: 1^st June – 5^th July
• Invitation to shortlisted candidates to the interview phase: 6^th – 10th July
• Interview in Barcelona: 26^th and 27^th October
• Fellowships start: As of 1st January 2021