PUBLIC NOTICE OF SELECTION FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF 5 (FIVE) RESEARCHERS TO SUPPORT THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OF THE NATIONAL ANTI-PANDEMIC CENTER (CNAP) - DEADLINE 22.11.2024.

CUP n. E63B22000020001

 

THE SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR

CONSIDERING the Council Regulation (EU) 2020/2094 of December 14, 2020, establishing a European Union Recovery Instrument to support the recovery of the economy after the crisis COVID-19;

CONSIDERING the Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and Council of February 12, 2021, establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF Regulation) with the specific objective of providing Member States with financial support in order to achieve the interim milestones and targets for reforms and investments set out in their recovery and resilience plans;

CONSIDERING the Council Executive Decision 10160/21, July 6, 2021, on the approval of the assessment of Italy's recovery and resilience plan (Session No. 3808, July 13, 2021);

CONSIDERING the Decree-Law No. 59 of May 6, 2021, converted, with amendments, by Law No. 101 of July 1, 2021, on “Urgent Measures Related to the Supplementary Fund for the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and Other Urgent Measures for Investment.”

CONSIDERING, especially, the article 1, paragraph 2 letter e) of the Decree-Law No. 59 of 2021.

CONSIDERING the decree of the Minister of Economy and Finance of July 15, 2021, adopted in execution of the article 1, paragraph 7, of the aforementioned Decree-Law No. 59 of 2021 and the project sheet “Innovative Health Ecosystem”, under the ownership of the Ministry of Health, provided in Annex 1 of the aforementioned decree, among whose macro-actions of intervention is the creation of an anti-pandemic hub;

CONSIDERING the Decree-Law No. 77 of May 31, 2021, converted, with amendments, by Law No. 108 of July 29, 2021, on “Governance of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and Initial Measures to Strengthen Administrative Structures and Accelerate and Streamline Procedures”;

CONSIDERING the decree of the Minister of Health of April 29, 2022, on the allocation of interventions and sub-interventions of the National Plan for Complementary Investments (PNC), for which the Ministry of Health is identified as the “Proposing Administration”;

CONSIDERING the Law No. 234 of December 30, 2021, entitled “State budget for the financial year 2022 and multi-year budget for the three-year period 2022-2024,” and, in particular, the article 1, paragraphs 945, 946, 947, 948, 949, 950;

CONSIDERING the Bylaws of the “Biotecnopolo di Siena” Foundation approved by Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers dated May 20, 2024, published on the institutional website of the Foundation and, by notice of publication, in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Italy No. 134 of June 10, 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the “Bylaws”), which replace the Bylaws approved by Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers dated July 11, 2022;

CONSIDERING the article 2, paragraph 3 of the aforementioned Bylaws, which states that the Foundation performs anti-pandemic Hub functions through its own and dedicated articulation called “National Antipandemic Center-CNAP”;

CONSIDERING the Resolution No. 9_2024 of July 3, 2024, by which the Foundation Board approved the regulations for the organization and operation of the "Biotecnopolo di Siena" Foundation and its CNAP articulation in accordance with article 13, paragraph 2 letter t) of the Bylaws, together with the organizational model and personnel requirements as provided for in article 13, paragraph 2 letter u) of the Bylaws;

CONSIDERING the Resolution No. 10_2024 of July 3, 2024, by which the Foundation Board approved the Regulation on the Recruitment and Personnel Management of the "Biotecnopolo di Siena" pursuant to article 13, paragraph 2 letter t) of the Bylaws, which governs the recruitment procedure for personnel of the Foundation and its CNAP articulation; 

CONSIDERING the CNAP's need to recruit 5 (five) researchers to initiate the experimental activities functional to the advancement of Its ongoing scientific research projects;

CONSIDERING the guidelines of the National Complementary Plan for the Recovery and Resilience to Innovative Health Ecosystem Initiatives that establish the use of the Standard Tables of Unit Costs adopted by Interministerial Decree No. 116 of January 24, 2018, for reporting personnel expenses in research, development and innovation projects;

DETERMINE

Art. 1 (Positions)

1. A public notice of selection, based on qualifications and interviews, is hereby published for the recruitment of 5 (five) researchers.
2. The researchers will join the Research area, part of the Scientific Direction, and will work in a multidisciplinary team on projects dedicated to monoclonal antibody and vaccine research and development.
3. The researchers will have access to state-of-the-art laboratories where experiments are conducted aimed at the identification, isolation, and characterization of monoclonal antibodies and vaccines for subsequent development and clinical trials using the latest techniques in cytofluorimetry, cell biology, molecular biology, immunology, microbiology, biochemistry, and confocal microscopy among others.
4. The researchers will be primarily responsible for the design and execution of experimental studies for their respective area of expertise, data collection and analysis, and preparation of papers, project reports, and scientific articles.
5. Specifically, the researchers will:

• Collaborate effectively with other groups pertaining to the Research area in designing and setting up experiments for assigned scientific projects.
• Document, interpret and communicate experiments in their area of responsibility with the goal of advancing monoclonal antibody and vaccine development by demonstrating high standards of scientific rigor, including compliant documentation and, when necessary, adherence to formal quality standards.
• Contribute to the training and supervision of laboratory staff and any students during undergraduate training.
• Contribute to the proper maintenance and use of laboratory equipment.
• Develop and perform methods for B-cell isolation and monoclonal antibody identification.
• Develop and perform in vitro and ex-vivo assays for monoclonal antibody and vaccine development.
• Develop, optimize and perform serological assays to support preclinical studies.
• Perform basic molecular biology techniques, including, for example, PCR and cloning.
• Support in vivo experiments conducted in the collection and analysis of samples.
• Stay up to date with the scientific literature and the state of the art of scientific techniques, methodologies and approaches.
• Translate research results into scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals and carry out scientific dissemination activities.
• Contribute to the preparation of periodic reports to monitor the progress of CNAP's project objectives.

Art. 2 (contract details)

The selected applicants will be hired on a fixed-term employment contract, qualification as "impiegato" according to the chemical, chemical-pharmaceutical CCNL, with work location in Siena.

Article 3 (minimum requirements for admission)

The applicants must meet the following requirements for admission to the selection process:

1. Ph.D. in immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, cell biology, chemistry, or similar disciplines.
2. Work experience as a post-Doc of not less than 1 (one) year at universities, research institutions or private companies.
3. Experience in at least one of these areas: cell sorting; cytofluorimetry; B-cell immunology; expression, screening and characterization of monoclonal antibodies; expression and characterization of antigens for vaccine development; microbiology; molecular biology; confocal microscopy; cell biology; animal models.
4. Experience in setting up, developing, and optimizing laboratory protocols designed to ensure standardized and reproducible procedures for experiments of diverse natures.
5. No criminal convictions and no pending criminal proceedings that prevent, in accordance with the relevant provisions in force, the establishment or maintenance of an employment relationship with a public administration given the nature of FBS as a private law foundation supervised by the Ministry of University and Research, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy.

Admission requirements must be met on the date of the application deadline.

Article 4 (preferential qualifications)

In the evaluation of applications, the following shall constitute preferential qualifications:

1. Advanced knowledge of the English language, written and spoken.
2. Previous experience in the field of infectious disease research and vaccinology research.
3. Working experience in biosafety level 2 and 3 laboratories; please note, however, that willingness to receive specific training is required for those without this type of experience.
4. Basic knowledge of bioinformatics and computational biology.
5. Experience in scientific project management including organizational and monitoring aspects.
6. Track-record of scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals in the area of expertise.

Article 5 (submission of job applications - deadlines and procedures)

1. The job application must be submitted exclusively electronically by filling out the appropriate online form “Apply” accessible on the institutional website of the "Biotecnopolo di Siena", “Work with Us” section, in response to this selection notice no later than 24:00 hours on 22.11.2024.
2. Interested parties may submit their applications by producing:

• a copy of the curriculum vitae with authorization to process personal data in accordance with Italian and European data protection regulations;
• a cover letter where the candidates also elaborate about the fulfillment of the requirements set in the articles 3 and 4 of the present notice;
• a copy of a valid and validly signed identity document.

3. For information, please write an email to risorseumane@biotecnopolo.it

Article 6 (inadmissibility of applications and grounds for exclusion)

1. Applications submitted in ways other than those set forth in article 5 shall not be considered.
2. Applicants who do not meet one or more of the requirements indicated in article 3 of this notice shall be excluded from the selection process.
3. The Foundation may order the exclusion of candidates at any time during the selection process if it is established that they do not meet the minimum requirements for admission.
4. Any exclusion from the selection process will be communicated to the interested party in a timely manner.

Article 7 (evaluation committee)

1. An evaluation committee will be appointed by subsequent determination of the President.
2. The committee shall establish the criteria and procedures for a comparative evaluation of applications to be carried out on the basis of:

• an examination of the minimum requirements and qualifications;
• an interview.

3. The committee shall carry out a preliminary verification of the completeness and formal regularity of the job applications and, subsequently, an assessment of the requirements and qualifications indicated in articles 3 and 4 of this notice.
4. In second instance, the committee proceeds to conduct an in-depth interview to assess the skills of the candidates whose profiles correspond to the requirements and qualifications indicated in this notice, in order to assess aptitudes and previous experience, as well as knowledge of the English language.
5. The committee assigns an overall score to each candidate given by the sum of the score related to the assessment of requirements and qualifications and the score related to the interview.
6. The evaluation activities are formalized in appropriate minutes.
7. The Foundation reserves the right, at any time, to modify, suspend or not proceed with this selection procedure if circumstances arise that, in its sole discretion, are judged to be hindering its continuation.

Article 8 (selection outcome)

1. Upon completion of the evaluation activities, the committee shall draw up a ranking list of candidates based on the overall score awarded at the outcome of the evaluation activities.
2. Candidates placed within the first five positions of the ranking list will be invited to enter into an employment contract with the "Biotecnopolo di Siena" in accordance with the contractual provisions in force at the time of employment.
3. In the event of resignation or forfeiture of candidates placed within the first five positions, the Foundation reserves the right to draw from the ranking list up to and no beyond the tenth position to fill the positions referred to in this notice that have become vacant, within a maximum period of 12 months from the publication of this notice.