Three part-time research assistants, starting March 2024, U. Pompeu Fabra, Dept. of Economics, Barcelona

7 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Pompeu Fabra University

Department

Economics and Business

Research Field

Economics » Economics of development

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Spain

Application Deadline

21 Feb 2024 - 23:00 (Europe/Madrid)

Type of Contract

Permanent

Job Status

Part-time

Hours Per Week

27,5

Offer Starting Date

7 Feb 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

HE / ERC

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Position overview

For the ERC-funded research project ‘Adaptation to Climate Change in Developing Countries’, ICREA Professor Paula Bustos seeks to hire three part-time research assistants, starting in March 2024. The research assistants will perform literature reviews, dataset statistical analysis and theoretical modelling (full details in section below).

Job location
Barcelona, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Ciutadella Campus, Department of Economics and Business. The work is to be carried at the campus.
About UPF: https://www.upf.edu/web/universitat
About the Department of Economics and Business: https://www.upf.edu/web/econ/publications

Funding body and principal investigator
EU’s Horizon Europe programme. European Research Council Consolidator grant ‘Adaptation to Climate Change in Developing Countries’, 2024–2029.

This project will study the adjustment mechanisms to reduced agricultural productivity in developing countries due to climate change.

Prof. Paula Bustos (PhD Harvard) is an ICREA Research Professor at UPF, researcher at the Institute of Political Economy and Governance (IPEG), Research Fellow and Chair of the Women in Economics Committee at the European Economic Association, CEPR Research Fellow, co-leader of CEPR-STEG Theme 4: Trade and spatial frictions, and Member of the Barcelona School of Economics Academic Council. Her empirical research in international trade and development economics focuses on the effects of trade liberalisation on technology adoption and the skill composition of exporting firms; the effects of new agricultural technologies on structural transformation, and the effects of climate change on labour and capital flows in developing countries.

https://sites.google.com/view/paula-bustos-economist/homepage

Requirements

Research Field

Economics

Education Level

Bachelor Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Job description: 

Conduct comprehensive literature reviews and producing summaries of related work.

Organization and statistical and analysis of large micro-data sets.

Theoretical modelling and knowledge of state-of-the-art models of international trade and economic geography.

Attention to detail and documenting the research tasks performed are a crucial part of the job. It is expected that the candidate conducts independent literature reviews and incorporates and adheres to state of the art empirical and computational standards.

Reporting line: this position reports to the principal investigator of the project.

Requirements

EXPERIENCE

Required: experience with working with data for scientific research.
Desired:

• Experience in empirical analysis of micro-data.
• Previous positions as a research assistant in academia or similar research environments.

QUALIFICATIONS 

Required: Bachelor's in Economics, Statistics, Applied Mathematics or related fields.
Desired: Completed Master’s degree in Economics or a related field,
especially courses in international trade, economic geography and development economics.

SKILLS / KNOWLEDGE
Required: 

• IT: Advanced or proficiency level of Excel.
• Scientific software: Advanced or proficiency command of MATLAB and Stata.
• Languages: Advanced level in English, both spoken and written (CEFR: C1 or C2; IELTS: minimum 7.0; TOEFL minimum 101).

Desired:

• Scientific software: Working knowledge of R and Python.
• Knowledge: Numerical optimization and estimation techniques.

Additional Information
Benefits

Type of contract:Open-ended, in accordance with decree RD 32/2021 of 28 December, 2021.
Incompatibilities: This contract might be incompatible with other contracts.
Employer: Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
Starting date: March 2024.

Expected remuneration
Annual gross salary: 25394,86 euros(group 2, level S). Part-time, 27.5 hours/week.
The expected funding for these contracts is for six months

Selection process

Selection criteria: overview of the process

1.7 February: Job vacancy advertisement is posted in the Department of Economics and Business (Universitat Pompeu Fabra): https://www.upf.edu/web/econ/research-project-positions
Job opportunities > Research Project Positions > Research Support Positions
Position reference: ECON-PSR-INDF-2024-07.

It is also posted in EURAXESS.

2. 21 February: Application period ends.

3. 22 February: Publication of the list of admitted and excluded candidates. The reason for exclusion is provided, and candidates have five days to submit any missing or incomplete information and/or documents.
Please be aware that provisionally excluded applicants will not be notified; applicants are asked to check the list, which will be available on the above-mentioned website.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted via email to arrange the online interview; each shortlisted candidate will be given the detailed rating which will be used by the selection committee to assess their fit to the required and desired experience, qualifications and skills/knowledge.
Before or after the interview, if the committee deems it necessary, one or two referees will be contacted, with prior permission of the applicant; candidates might also be required to take a test in order to assess their level of skills and/or knowledge.

4. 1 March: Publication of the selection process results. Allegations can be submitted in the following 5 working days.

The candidates with the highest score in the selection process will be awarded the job. The minimum score needed to pass the selection process is 70 points.

General rating system
Experience: 40%
Qualifications: 20%
Skills/knowledge: 40%

Selection Committee
President: Paula Bustos.
Committee members: Libertad González and Martí Mestieri.
Head of the Department of Economics and Business at UPF: Daniel Serra.

Documents and application

Documents

• CV in English (maximum: two pages).
• Motivation letter in English explaining the applicant’s interest in and fit for the position.
• Scan copy of the university degree, and master’s if applicable. The chosen candidate will have to submit a sworn translation if their diploma is issued in languages other than Catalan, Spanish or English.
• Names, positions and contact details of 2 referees (NB no referee will be contacted without the candidate’s prior permission).
   

Submitting an application

• A zip file containing all the application documents should be sent to Ms. M. Novoa via email ([email protected] ), with the subject line ECON-PSR-INDF-2024-07. Please name the zip file ECON-PSR-INDF-2024-07_Lastname_Firstname.
• The application submission deadline is 21 February 2024, 23:00pm (UTC+1). Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

Data protection

Please refer to: https://rat.upf.edu/en/ll014

Additional comments

Documents for processing the contract

The following documents are necessary to process the contract:

• EU citizens: Spanish ID or foreigners’ identification number (NIE) and passport; Spanish Social Security number; Spanish bank account number. 
• Non-EU citizens: valid Spanish work permit; foreigners’ identification number (NIE) and passport; Spanish Social Security number; Spanish bank account number. 

More information
Please send any inquiries about this vacancy to:    
Mariona Novoa            
Department of Economics and Business
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
[email protected]

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

3

Company/Institute

Department of Economics and Business

Country

Spain

Geofield

Where to apply

E-mail

[email protected]

Contact

City

Barcelona

Website

https://www.upf.edu/web/econ

Street

Ramon Trias Fargas, 25

Postal Code

08005

STATUS: EXPIRED