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Announcement for the Selection of a Postdoctoral Fellow in a Thematic Project of CCARBON_CEPID

Field of knowledge: Pasture Management and Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

FAPESP process: 2021/10573-4

Project title: Center for Carbon Studies in Tropical Agriculture (CCARBON)

Working area: Pasture management, GHG emissions, livestock production on pastures.

Number of places: 1

Principal investigator: Carlos Guilherme Silveira Pedreira

Instituition: ESALQ/USP

Location: Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

The Center for Carbon Studies in Tropical Agriculture (CCARBON), a center of excellence linked to the University of São Paulo (USP), headquartered at the "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture (ESALQ/USP), in Piracicaba – SP, and accredited by the Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Centers Program (CEPID) of the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), in light of:

• The mission to develop innovative solutions and strategies in sustainable carbon-based tropical agriculture to mitigate climate change and improve living standards and conditions,

hereby announces this call for applications to award one (1) FAPESP Postdoctoral Fellowship to work within the scope of the CCARBON project, specifically in the thematic area of Animal: How can pasture management help mitigate GHG emissions in pastoral livestock systems?

1. Purpose

This announcement aims to select one (1) FAPESP Postdoctoral Fellow to work in the Animal Thematic Project, whose goal is to conduct research to better understand the impact of GHG emissions and carbon sequestration in intensive ruminant production systems, including improved pasture management practices and strategic solutions to minimize nitrogen fertilizer use through the introduction of legumes and bioinputs into the system. CCARBON's research objectives will be achieved through interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary activities, which define the desired candidate profile based on the following responsibilities, which will be expected of the postdoctoral fellow:

1.1. The candidate should be highly motivated and capable of working collaboratively in a team.

1.2. The candidate must design, implement, and execute field experiments with pasture and animal management, involving the following activities:

a) Establishment and maintenance of pastures;

b) Soil sampling for analysis;

c) Soil correction and fertilization;

d) Management of the animals used in the experiments;

e) Agronomic evaluations of the pasture: setting management strategies in experimental units, measuring canopy height and light interception, implementing experimental protocols to determine forage mass, accumulation, and morphological composition, leaf area index, leaf photosynthesis, tiller dynamics and density;

f) Greenhouse gas emissions assessments in pastures.

1.3. The candidate will be responsible for training and leading the working team (undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students) in both field and laboratory activities, as well as preparing interim and final reports. Therefore, the candidate must demonstrate both theoretical and practical autonomy in agronomic methods for pasture evaluation and field experiments, as well as in other scientific areas, ensuring the quality and precision of experiments.

1.4. Additional desired qualifications include laboratory skills for feed analysis, data analysis, calculations for GHG inventories, and specific knowledge about environmental impacts.

1.5. The candidate must comply with the ethical standards for environmental and animal experimentation.

2. Fellowship Value and Duration

2.1. The selected candidate will be hired for 24 months, receiving a FAPESP Postdoctoral Fellowship in the amount of R$12,000.00 per month, along with a Technical Reserve equivalent to 10% of the fellowship value, intended to cover expenses directly related to research activities.

2.2. Documentation requirements as outlined in the FAPESP Fellowship Guidelines will be observed for the hiring of the fellows.

3. Application Process

3.1. To apply for the CCARBON-CEPID fellowship, candidates must send an email with the following documents:

i) A cover letter explaining interest in the position and briefly describing previous experience, highlighting practical experience in conducting grazing experiments with pasture agronomic evaluations, as well as interdisciplinary aspects involved in this type of field experimentation (maximum 2 pages);

ii) Curriculum summary (maximum 4 pages – follow FAPESP's curriculum summary model - https://fapesp.br/sumula);

iii) Undergraduate and graduate transcripts;

iv) Copies of diplomas (front and back) for bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. If the candidate does not yet hold these diplomas, they must submit a declaration confirming the awarding of the degree;

v) Three recommendation letters, requested by the candidate from their references, to be sent directly by the referees in PDF format. These letters should highlight the candidate's practical experience in conducting grazing experiments and agronomic evaluations of pastures, as well as other qualifications desired for the fellowship.

3.2. All documents must be sent in PDF format to the email cgspedreira@usp.br. In the email subject line, please include: "CCARBON Postdoctoral Application - Candidate's Name". Missing any of the required documents will result in the candidate's disqualification. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The deadline for submission is October 29, 2024.

4. Eligibility

4.1. Brazilian and international candidates are eligible. International candidates must be aware that, if selected, they will need to present at the time of signing the grant agreement: a Temporary Research or Mercosur Visa, a residence permit, and a copy of the National Migratory Registration Card (CRNM) obtained from the Federal Police in Brazil.

4.2. The candidate must hold a Ph.D. degree obtained within the last six years from a recognized graduate program, either in Brazil or abroad. If the degree was obtained abroad, it must be recognized by the responsible institution in this selection process.

4.3. The candidate must have academic training in agronomy, animal science, or related areas, with an emphasis during their master's and doctoral programs on the thematic area of "Forage Production and Pasture Management". Candidates who do not meet this requirement will be automatically disqualified.

4.4. Only candidates who submit all required documentation within the application period will be considered for the selection process.

5. Selection Criteria

5.1. The curriculum evaluation will be based on the cover letter, curriculum summary, academic transcripts, diplomas, and the three recommendation letters provided by the candidate and their referees at the time of application. This will be an eliminatory step.

5.2. Proven experience in multidisciplinary field experiments involving pasture and livestock management is essential. This step, along with the interview, will be eliminatory in the selection process.

5.2.1. Experience will be assessed based on the candidate's curriculum profile, cover letter, research conducted during their master's and doctoral programs, recommendation letters outlining the candidate's competencies in animal grazing experimentation and forage plant agronomic evaluations, and during the interview.

6. Schedule

 Any other special conditions of the project or requirements of FAPESP not mentioned in the previous items will be communicated to the selected candidates.