CONTRACTS
Summary of the hiring process
Each interested researcher must contact the centre's management staff in charge of managing calls, who can advise on the process of selecting the type of contract.
The following image summarizes the hiring process:
** USE THIS IMAGE AS INSPIRATION TO EXPLAIN THE PROCESS**
The management of the call process will be carried out using Sateco
- Researcher: Hiring proposal via Sateco - Submit position, choosing the type of position. Submission for validation (see LINK section)
- KMT: Review of the hiring proposal. Validation of it or suggestions for changes.
- KMT: Generation of the proposal to retain credit, and sending it to the researcher.
- Researcher: Signing of the proposal to retain credit.
- KMT: Processing of the credit retentions, and corresponding reports (production circumstances)
- KMT: Publication of the call.
- KMT: Review of applications and publication of the provisional list of admitted candidates. (Opening of the amendment period)
- KMT: Review of amendment requests and publication of the definitive list of admitted candidates. (Processing of Declaration of Absence of Conflicts of Interest, when applicable)
- Researchers: Evaluation of applications, using Sateco.
- KMT: Validation of the minutes. Submission to the Selection Committee via the USC signature portal.
- KMT: Proposal of selection by the Committees. Submission to the chairs of the Committees via the signature portal.
- KMT: Grant proposal, signed by Management
- KMT: Publication of the selection and grant proposals.
- USC: Hiring proposals and signing of the contracts.
The following table shows the estimated times for the process:
| Phase | Regular Call | Urgent Call |
|---|---|---|
| Application | 5 working days | 3 working days |
| Publication provisional list | 3 working days | 3 working days |
| Amendments | 2 working days | 2 working days |
| Publication definitive list | 3 working days | 3 working days |
| Publication of hiring proposal | 3 working days | 3 working days |
| Appeal for reconsideration | 1 month | 1 month |
| Contentious-administrative appeal | 2 months | 2 months |
General Principles
The selection of staff will guarantee the constitutional principles of equality, publicity, merit and ability, and will be carried out by means of a public call, so as to allow a transparent, open, competitive professional development based on pre-established and public rules, and comparable at an international level.
| Principles of the hiring processes |
|---|
| Transparency throughout the process |
| Impartiality, suitability, professionalism and responsibility of the members of the selection bodies |
| Independence and discretion based exclusively on technical criteria in the performance of the selection bodies |
| Adequacy between the selection process and the functions or tasks to be carried out |
| Other criteria and general principles established in the Basic Statute of the Public Employee and in the Science Law, as well as in the collective agreements applicable to the labour staff and in their development regulations, in particular those referring to equal opportunities and the trend towards parity in selection bodies |
Contracts
There are two types of contracts, temporary and permanent.
To propose a permanent contract it is necessary to create and approve a line associated with the hiring in an Integrated Program. The creation of the line is a process that may take around one week. CiTIUS human resources staff can assist in the process (citius.rrhh@usc.gal).
The salaries associated with the different types of hires can be consulted at the following link.
The USC contract calculator allows calculation of the costs associated with the different types of personnel contracts. Below we list the different types of contracts according to the Personnel Categories:
Professional subgroup 1
Research staff in initiation (Introduction to research)
Research staff in initiation will perform research functions that allow them to obtain the appropriate research professional practice at the level of studies or training object of the contract, prior to the doctoral stage. The principal investigator must prepare an individual training plan specifying the content of the professional practice, and will assign a supervisor who has adequate training and experience to monitor the plan and ensure correct fulfilment of the contract's purpose. On completion of the contract the person will have the right to a certificate of the practice carried out.
Required qualification: Licenciatura, engineering, architecture, bachelor's degree or equivalent. + Have completed undergraduate studies within the three years prior to the contract start date, or five years in the case of people with disabilities. + Not have professional experience at USC in the field of research for more than 3 months nor at another centre, under this contractual modality for more than one year.
The contract will be of fixed duration and full-time or part-time. The remuneration corresponds to the Minimum Interprofessional Salary (SMI) (in 2026: €1,237.84). In the case of part-time dedication, this will be 50% or 75% of the working day that is established as full dedication (35 h/week).
The duration of the contract may be, as a minimum 6 months and as a maximum 12 months. Only one 6-month extension is allowed (6 months + 6 months). If the contract is for a number of months greater than 6, it may not be extended.
Enrollment in a doctoral program implies termination of this contract.
The salary conditions for this staff can be seen below:
Predoctoral research staff in training
Required qualification: Licenciatura, engineering, architecture, degree of at least 300 ECTS credits (European Credit Transfer System) or less than 300 ECTS with a university master's degree, or equivalent. Applicants must be admitted into a specific doctoral program.
Dedication will be full-time. Remuneration increases according to the contract year (in 2026):
- 1st and 2nd year: €1,357.66
- 3rd year: €1,454.64
- 4th year: €1,818.29
This contract may include the following supplements:
- Objectives supplement: compensates the fulfilment of certain objectives established beforehand. Requires a prior proposal report and a final compliance report. Can be paid quarterly, semiannually or annually. Maximum limit: 40% of the gross annual remuneration.
Research collaborator staff
The functions of collaborator staff will consist of carrying out research tasks within the framework of specific research projects and their classification will be made according to the criteria of accredited training and experience for the position.
Required qualification: Licenciatura, engineering, architecture, bachelor's degree or equivalent.
Dedication may be full-time or part-time; in the latter case it will be 25%, 50% or 75% of the working day that is established as full dedication. Full-time remuneration (in 2026): €1,799.22.
This contract may include the following supplements:
- Project supplement: This supplement is personal in nature and is linked to the characteristics of the call of the project that finances the contract and its remuneration conditions, provided the call allows remuneration higher than that corresponding to the associated research staff established by the USC.
- Objectives supplement: compensates the fulfilment of certain objectives established beforehand. Requires a prior proposal report and a final compliance report. Can be paid quarterly, semiannually or annually. Maximum limit: 40% of the gross annual remuneration.
The relationship may be formalized according to the following cases:
- Employment regime and due to production circumstances: the contract duration may be, at most, 1 year (if it is for a shorter time, a single extension may be made, up to 12 months maximum)
- Associated with the execution of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan: the contract may last until the end of the funding.
- Permanent Hiring case for which the creation and approval of a line in an Integrated Program will be necessary (see previous section)
The salary characteristics of this type of contract can be seen below:
Postdoctoral research staff
The following categories of postdoctoral researchers are contemplated:
- Postdoctoral research staff - access modality according to the Science Law, pending articulation by the USC.
- Postdoctoral research staff – consolidation modality according to the Science Law, pending articulation by the USC.
- Associated research staff.
Research support staff
Research support staff may be hired, with external or own funding within the framework of R&D plans and projects. If the relationship is formalized under an employment regime and due to production circumstances the contract duration may be, at most, 1 year. The duration may be indefinite in the case of execution of public plans and programs of scientific and technical research or innovation.
The following categories of research support staff exist:
- Senior research technician
- Senior management technician
- Mid-level research technician
- Specialist research technician
The salary conditions for this staff can be seen below:
At the moment, the proposal for hiring research support staff is done manually. For this, contact citius.rrhh@usc.es.
Hiring proposals
Hiring proposals
The hiring proposal will generally include the following information:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Number of positions offered | 1 or more positions |
| Type of research staff | Associated, collaborator, initiation, predoctoral, research support staff, permanent |
| Percentage of dedication | Full Time, 75%, 50%, 25% |
| Dates | Expected start date/ Expected end date |
| Remuneration | Remuneration, dedication, project or objectives supplements |
| Work to be carried out | Description of the work to be carried out |
| Functions to be performed | Enumeration of the functions to be performed |
| Schedule | Work schedule |
| Workplace | Generally CiTIUS, but it could be another USC centre |
| Selection committee | At least three members proposed by the principal investigator: Chair, Secretary, Member. Principle of Parity |
| Merits to be evaluated | As described in the following subsection |
The CiTIUS HR unit will carry out the following verifications:
| Verification |
|---|
| Adequacy of the type of contract to the needs defined by the PI |
| Duration of the budgetary activity covering the contract duration |
| Adequacy of the proposed remuneration to the characteristics of the type of contract |
| Request for the corresponding reports |
For contracts due to production needs the approval, signed or given by e-mail, of the person designated from the CiTIUS HR management team is required.
Evaluation merits
The merits to be evaluated are divided into two categories: general merits and specific merits
The general merits should represent between 30 and 40 points of the total score.
Their purpose is to align the degree-related merit to the qualification required as a prerequisite. Included here:
| General merits | Considerations |
|---|---|
| Qualifications | The greatest weight of the scores should be given to the required qualification |
| Degree, licentiate, architecture, engineering or equivalents: Points for degree or licentiate greater than for doctorate or master's | |
| Doctorate: Points for degree or licentiate less than or equal to points for doctorate | |
| Academic record | A minimum may be included, or the scoring to be used |
| Creditable work experience | Accreditible professional experience in universities, public bodies or private companies |
| Foreign languages | “Knowledge of…” would not count. It must be a level certification |
| Galician language | |
| Driving licence |
The specific merits contribute between 60 and 70 points to the total score. Included here:
| Specific merits | Considerations |
|---|---|
| Creditable work experience | specific experience in a given field |
| Creditable specific training | specific training in a given field |
| Scientific publications | |
| Participation and attendance at conferences | |
| Research stays | |
| Reference letters | |
| Optional interview | maximum 25 points. A threshold may be established |
It should be taken into account that terms such as “knowledge” or “skills” are merits that are difficult to score objectively.
In the case of predoctoral contracts and initiation contracts the merit scheme would be:
| Type of contract | Average grade of undergraduate and master academic record | CV/Creditable Training | Personal interview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Predoctoral contract | 40 points | CV: 35 points | 25 points |
| Initiation contract | 40 points | Creditable training: 35 points | 25 points |
Types of Contracts
EXPLAIN TYPES OF CONTRACTS AND ACCESS TO THE FORMS
Publication and dissemination
The publication of calls will be carried out at least on the University's Electronic Noticeboard and in the CiTIUS talent section of the website.
For the case of doctoral positions of more than one year or contracts associated with European projects they will be published on EURAXESS or another portal considered appropriate for the internationalization of the process.
It is also planned to disseminate staff calls on the CiTIUS website.
Reception and acceptance of applications
Once the procedure is open, applicants submit their application through the USC electronic headquarters. Each centre, through its enabled centre manager, has access to the applications according to its open call(s): https://sede.usc.es/formularios/solicitudes/CITIUS_contratacion.htm https://sede.usc.es/formularios/solicitudes/CITIUS_emendacontratacion.htm
Candidate evaluation
Selection committees constituted in a face-to-face or remote meeting will draw up minutes in which the selected persons will be recorded in order according to the score and the justification for each of them.
The selection committee is responsible for communicating to the different candidates the result of the evaluation process. You can download a model minutes here.
It is possible to include a table to specify the criteria used in the evaluation of merits. An example is shown here:
At this point it is important to record in a detailed, objective and clear way in the minutes the justification of the evaluations and scores awarded to each candidate.
If the process includes an interview, candidates should be informed of their evaluations, indicating whether they passed the threshold to be interviewed.
A waiting list may be established or the position may be declared vacant.
Resolution and hiring
According to the evaluations made, the selection committee issues a resolution with its motivated hiring proposal.
According to the resolution issued by the committee, the centre management issues a resolution with the hiring proposal.
Once the centre management's resolution with the hiring proposal has been issued, the complete file of the call is shared with the Subarea of Calls and R&D Human Resources Programs of the USC. From here, within a few days, the personnel service will contact the selected person for signing the contract and its start.