Postdoctoral Research Grant
Project title: Family in an Aging Society: Legal Support for Caretaking Through the Demographic Winter – AG&CARE
Project reference: 2024.16704.PEX
A call for applications is open for a Postdoctoral research grant under the project “Family in an Aging Society: Legal Support for Caretaking Through the Demographic Winter – AG&CARE”, with the reference 2024.16704.PEX, funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, under the following conditions:
1. Scientific Area: Public Law
2. Admission requirements:
PhD in Law or equivalent;
Fluency in English;
At least one publication in a peer-reviewed journal (Scopus-indexed journals are given special weigh).
3. Other requirements: (requirements that can be valued)
Doctoral thesis in the area of the call, namely non-traditional family rights;
Basic knowledge of Portuguese is a plus.
4. Work plan:
Research:
– Conducting in-depth legal analyses of Portuguese and US laws applicable to non-conjugal unions, which are still largely understudied. The aim of the postdoctoral research is to support the drafting of the new registration law for Portugal. The postdoc research will result in drafting an article on a comparative legal analysis of laws protecting non-conjugal unions in the US and Portugal, gathering the main insights of the research carried out at NOVA (for 10 months);
– The gathering, organization and analysis of primary sources by accessing, data from the National Statistics Institute of Portugal, Legislation and Transcripts of Parliamentary debates published in the official Portuguese national Journal “Diário da República”, and any US equivalents, such as data from the US Bureau of Statistics;
– The study of pertinent secondary sources to complement the analysis of primary materials and remain informed about recent publications;
– The authoring of interim and final drafts of a peer-reviewed scholarly article on ‘Demographic Challenges, Non-Conjugal Relationships, and Policy Responses – a comparative study of Portugal and the US’.
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- Completion of the first draft of the research article (August 5, 2026, submitted to supervisors and potential US-based team member).
- Completion of the second draft of the article, incorporating feedback from supervisors and team members (December 1, 2026, submitted to project consultant and other experts identified by the PI on the same day).
- Final draft incorporating consultant feedback and expert peer review of earlier draft (January 31, 2027).
- Correspondence and follow up with the project’s consultant for their input on the article draft by the postdoc, with a focus on the Portuguese legal framework and proposed registration law.
- Submission of the article to a relevant internationally peer-reviewed journal, such as the International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family.
Communication / Dissemination:
- Participation in weekly meetings of the research team every Friday since the start of the project until the end of the project.
- Posting updates on the presentation to conferences and publication of the peer-reviewed article prepared by the postdoc on social media accounts.
- Publication of announcements on the publication of the postdoc article 6-8 months after the funding ends.
- Publication of the scholarly article.
5. Applicable legislation and regulations: Pursuant to the NOVA University Lisbon Research Grant Regulations, approved by Order no. 9484/2023 of 14 September 2023, as well as the Research Grant Holder Statute, approved by Law no. 40/2004, of 18 August, as amended and republished by Decree-Law no. 202/2012, of 27 August and by Law no. 12/2013, of 29 January, Decree-Law no. 89/2013, of 29 January.º 40/2004, of 18 August, amended and republished by Decree-Law no. 202/2012, of 27 August and by Law no. 12/2013, of 29 January, by Decree-Law no. 89/2013, of 9 July and by Decree-Law no. 233/2012, of 29 October (available at https://dre.pt/dre/legislacao-consolidada/lei/2004-58216179)
6. Place of work: The work will be carried out at the Nova School of Law, under the scientific supervision of Professor Nausica Palazzo.
7. Duration of the grant: The scholarship will last for ten months, expected to begin on 1 April, with no possibility of renewal.
8. Amount of the monthly maintenance allowance: The amount of the scholarship corresponds to €1.851€, according to the table of values defined in Annex I of the NOVA University Lisbon Research Scholarship Regulations, approved by Order no. 9484/2023 of 14 September 2023, and payment is made monthly by bank transfer.
Selection methods: (define % of parameters to be assessed)
The selection methods to be used will be as follows:
Education and Professional profile – 30%
Quality of publications, with a special emphasis on publications in the area of non-traditional family rights – 40%
Previous experience in research projects and management skills – 20%
Language skills – 10%
10. Composition of the Selection Panel:
President of the Jury:
Nausica Palazzo
Effective members:
Veronica Corcodel
Orlando Scarcello
Alternates:
Claire Bright
11. How the results are publicised/notified:
The final results of the assessment proposed by the jury will be notified to the candidates by email, no later than 90 working days after the deadline for submitting applications, and they will be able to access the minutes and the shortlist, and comment within 10 working days on the draft decision in the context of a prior hearing of interested parties, under the terms of the Code of Administrative Procedure. At the end of the period set for the hearing of interested parties and in the absence of any response, the shortlist will become final. Candidates may lodge a complaint against the final decision within 15 working days (to the email address used for notification), or appeal to the highest executive body of the funding organisation within 30 working days of notification of the final decision, addressed to (the Directorate or CEDIS) via the email address cedis@novalaw.unl.pt.
12. Application deadline and form of submission: The call for applications will be open between 22 January and 6 February.
13. Applications must be formalised by sending an email to concurso.bolsas@novalaw.unl.pt, mentioning the grant reference “Postdoctoral research grant no. 1/2026.” in the subject line of the email.
14. The application must consist of a single PDF file, including:
a. Motivation letter (up to one page);
b. 2-page CV (including email address and telephone number);
c. Documents attesting to academic degrees obtained and grades received in all subjects taken.
(For academic degrees awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it is compulsory to present the registration of the recognition of the academic degree and the conversion of the final classification to the Portuguese scale (process regulated by Decree-Law no. 341/2007, of 12th October), or alternatively, to obtain equivalence/recognition of the academic degrees (process regulated by Decree-Law no. 283/83, of 21st June).
DISCLAIMER: This document is an unofficial translation of the Portuguese official announcement, provided for reference only. Although we have done our best to provide an accurate translation, should any discrepancies arise, the official version shall prevail.
Lisbon, January 20th, 2026
Margarida Lima Rego, Dean
