The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) is seeking outstanding, highly
motivated candidates with an excellent scientific track record for a new Junior Group
Leader position in the following areas of specialization:
- Bioengineering for Personalized Medicine (New diagnostic, modelling and
prognostic systems to segment and identify the most appropriate treatment for each
patient).
- Bioengineering for Advanced and Emergent Therapies (Bioengineering to develop
therapies for human use based on genes (gene therapy)), cells (cell therapy) or
tissues (tissue engineering) and including products of autologous, allogeneic or
xenogeneic origin. Also new therapeutic strategies and their development that
contribute to offer opportunities for some diseases that so far lack effective
treatments.
Other relevant candidatures in different areas of IBEC research program will also be
considered.
Applicants are expected to develop an ambitious project for their future group and to
contribute to IBEC strategy based on excellent science, internationalization, translation and
talent.
Candidates profile:
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.
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; inclusion; excellent communication and
networking.
Selection process:
Candidatures will be first evaluated remotely by interdisciplinary, internal and external
experienced experts.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to Barcelona in November 2023 to be interviewed by a
Selection committee composed by members of the IBEC’s International Scientific
Committee (ISC). 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.
What we offer:
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 International Scientific
Committee. 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. Induction programme to facilitate incorporation at IBEC and
additional support is provided for foreigners to obtain Visa-working permit and to install in
Barcelona.
Furthermore, 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.
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.
For candidates with children that come from outside Barcelona, we offer babysitting
services during the interview, so you don’t have to worry about anything else than doing a
good interview. Contact us if you are interested in this service.
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.
IBEC´s Commitment on equal opportunity:
Our strength and excellence as an international transdisciplinary Research Institute are
based on diversity. Being an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to diversity
and inclusion, so that we support employees irrespective of their gender, nationality,
religion, disabilities, age, sexual identity or cultural and socioeconomic background.”
IBEC, as a signatory of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA),
will consider, especially for early-stage investigators, much more the scientific content of
research outputs, than publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which it were
published.
Protection of personal data:
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.
Who we are?
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.
How to apply:
Applications should be submitted online no later than 26th June, 2023 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: 26th April
- Call deadline: (31st May) Extended deadline: 26th June
- Remote evaluation: 27th June – 21st July
- Invitation to shortlisted candidates to the interview phase: 27th – 28th July
- Interview in Barcelona: 8th and 9th November
- Start of position with employment contract: As of 1st July 2024
For further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at gl.application@ibecbarcelona.eu
