RESEARCH ASSISTANT – 1 (one) vacancy Call for applications CES/29/2026-RA-TRACE The Centre for Social Studies (CES) – Associate Laboratory - University of Coimbra (Portugal), opens a call for applications for one (1) Research Assistant in the project TRACE – Tracing Queer Citizenship over Time: Ageing, ageism and age-related LGBTI+ politics in Europe – Grant Agreement 5, funded by the European Union within the scope of the European Research Council (ERC), and coordinated at CES by Ana Cristina Santos.
CES provides a stimulating intellectual environment in social sciences and humanities.
The project is part of Thematic Line 2 "Democracy, Justice and Human Rights” of the Centre for Social Studies.
a.
Project Description:TRACE – Tracing Queer Citizenship over Time: Ageing, ageism and age-related LGBTI+ politics in Europe.
In recent years, ageing has been considered a priority area in both governmental policies and research agendas.
Sitting at the intersection between Gender and LGBTI Studies, on the one hand, and Age, Ageing and Life Course Studies on the other, and bringing together distant memories and the current daily management of intimate life, TRACE sociologically explores the impacts in later life of growing up in a time when legal recognition was not available for LGBTI+ people.
TRACE pays particular attention to issues related to health and well-being, care and intimacy.
Taking queer citizenship as a set of criteria through which democracies can be evaluated, TRACE also explores the extent to which the EU has influenced local political and socio-legal advancements in LGBTI+ rights, narratives and experiences over time.
To respond to this aim, TRACE develops an innovative age-sensitive, analytical lens focused on ageing, ageism and age-related LGBTI+ politics through which progress and backlash in countries that experienced substantial changes in their intimate citizenship regimes are investigated.
Expected duration of the project: 48 months, started on January 1, 2023. b.
Scientific field: Social Sciences and/or Humanities: Anthropology, Archival Studies, Documentation and Information Sciences, History, Sociology;
other fields in Social Sciences and/or Humanities.
c.
Work plan, tasks: The selected candidate is expected to have the following responsibilities: • To contribute to the implementation of the Portuguese Queer Archive being developed within the project, with both digital and material dimensions.
• More specifically, under the supervision of the PI, the selected candidate will collect, organise, catalogue, analyse, and prepare materials, in Portuguese and in English, including journals, zines, bulletins, books, photographs, posters, letters, banners and a variety of additional objects collected, produced and/or donated for the archive from a vast array of sources;
• The selected candidate will prepare the materials to be preserved for the future as well as available for consultation (digital and/or in-presence, according to the PI’s decision) before the term of the contract;
• The selected candidate will prepare a selection of materials to feature temporary exhibitions and other forms of dissemination and communication;
• The selected candidate will support the PI and team in identifying, and collecting new materials for the archive;
• The selected candidate will support the PI and team in organising the collection and collecting materials donated or shared, in physical and digital formats, under established protocols with partner organisations and individuals;
• The selected candidate will be available to support the PI and the research team in the organisation of events organised by the project, and other required dissemination, communication and networking activities;
• All of the above tasks require proficiency in written and spoken Portuguese and English.
d.
Applicable Legislation and Regulations:Labour Code Law No. 7/2009, of February 12th (and subsequent amendments).
e.
Workplace:The tasks will be performed at the Centre for Social Studies facilities or in other locations when necessary for the good implementation of the work plan, under the scientific supervision of the Principal Investigator, Ana Cristina Santos.
f.
Duration of the contract: A full-time temporary contract (termo certo) will be signed with the duration of 6 months, to be renewed in case of scientific need, financial availability, and positive assessment of the work developed.
Moreover, according to Article 112 of the Labour Code, paragraph 2 a), a trial period of 30 days is established.
The contract will be foreseeably starting in December, 2026. g.
Application dates: Opens on: October 26, 2026 Closes on: November 9, 2026 After November 9, 2026, 23h59 Lisbon time, applications will not be considered for evaluation.
h.
Application process: Applications must include: • a letter of intent/motivation in English with the reference CES/17/2026-RA-TRACE, e-mail and phone number;
• detailed Curriculum Vitae in Portuguese, highlighting the items most relevant to the topic of the call;
• copy of bachelor’s degree certificate and other relevant documents for eligibility purposes (candidates must meet the Mandatory