The recruitment and selection of research staff of the Institute of Thermomechanics of the CAS is based on the principles of Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment (OTM-R) and governed by the Internal Regulation No. 109/2023 on the Procedures for the Recruitment and Selection of Researchers. Here you will find a summary of the principles of our recruitment and selection process:
Who are “research staff”?
Research staff (also researchers) are staff carrying out research in the Institute’s research units (scientific departments, joint research centres and laboratories) and holding one of the following positions (grades):
| Grade | Position | Min. academic degree | Description |
| V1 | Research Assistant | Bc. or equivalent | Researcher (including a first-stage researcher) conducting research under supervision. |
| V2 | Ph.D. student | Ph.D. or equivalent | Doctoral candidate conducting research under the supervision of a PhD thesis supervisor or co-supervisor.
Note: The Institute is a non-university public research institution and does not award doctoral degrees. Staff in this position must be enrolled in a PhD programme at a university, but will be supervised or co-supervised by a staff member of the Institute. |
| V3 | Postdoctoral researcher | Ph.D. or equivalent | Conducts research under the supervision of senior researchers or with a degree of independence. The maximum duration of a postdoctoral appointment is limited to 5 years after the award of the doctoral degree. |
| V4 | Associated Scientist | Ph.D. or equivalent | A researcher who has not been appointed to grade V5 or V6 within 5 years of the award of the doctorate. |
| V5 | Research Scientist | Ph.D. or equivalent | Conducts independent research, solves complex problems, publishes regularly in peer-reviewed journals and is usually the principal investigator on research grants. |
| V6 | Senior Research Scientist | Ph.D. or equivalent | Same as V5 + contributes significantly to the development of his/her field of research at international level. |
Recruitment of PhD students (V2)
Recruitment and selection of candidates for the post of a PhD position is carried out by the Committee for Doctoral Studies, which is an advisory body to the Director of the Institute. The Director decides on the admission of candidates to the post on the basis of the Committee’s recommendation. The Committee consists of the Chairman, the Secretary and the heads of all scientific departments.
Recruitment of research staff other than PhD students (V1 and V3-V6)
Vacancies are filled through a selection procedure except for the specific cases described in Sec. 2.3 of the Internal Regulation No. 109/2023. Calls for applications are published at least 3 weeks before the deadline for applications in the Careers section of the Institute’s website and/or through other channels (Selection Procedures on the CAS website, Euraxess, ResearchJobs etc.). A selection committee will be appointed by the Director and its composition will be included in the job advertisement.
Selection
During the selection process, the members of the Selection Committee are obliged to declare any possible conflict of interest in relation to any of the candidates. In such a case, the evaluation of the candidate by that member will not be taken into account in the selection process. The selection process will typically include the following steps:
- The selection committee checks the completeness of applications and can ask candidates to provide missing documents/information. Incomplete applications are not considered for selection.
- Pre-screening of applications. The candidates are checked against the minimum requirements/eligibility. Ineligible candidates are not considered for selection.
- The candidates are rated against the job requirements and shortlisted for interviews. During this step, candidates can be asked to provide additional information.
- The shortlisted candidates can be invited for an interview (presence-based or online). During this step, the candidates can be asked to provide letters of recommendation.
- The selection committee ranks the interviewed candidates and submits its report with the ranking to the Director of the Institute.
The following basic principles are observed by the selection committee during the selection process:
- No discrimination (on the grounds of sex, pregnancy or parenthood, sexual orientation and gender identification, racial or ethnic origin, nationality, citizenship, social origin, language, disability, age, religion, belief or world view, property, marital or family status or obligations, membership of and activity in political parties or political movements, trade unions or employers’ organizations)
- Recognition of diverse careers (including careers outside academia)
- Recognition of mobility (including geographical, interdisciplinary or inter-sectoral)
- Recognition of merits (candidate’s overall experience, creativity, ability to work independently etc.)
- Equal opportunities (no preferential treatment given to any group of candidates)
Appointment
The Director has the authority to determine the winning candidate, taking into consideration the recommendation of the Selection Committee. The Director may decide to upgrade the employee’s grade if the successful candidate meets the qualifications for a higher grade. A job offer e-mail is sent to the winning candidate detailing the remuneration terms and employee benefits. In the event that the candidate selected by the Director for recruitment does not accept the offer of employment or does not take up the post, the Director may decide to forward the offer to the next candidate in the order of preference.
Communication & Privacy
All applicants shall be informed of major changes in the selection procedure and of the outcome of their application after the selection procedure.
The personal data of applicants are processed on the basis of consent to the processing of personal data pursuant to Article 6(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the purpose of a specific recruitment or selection procedure. Applicants’ personal data will be processed only to the extent necessary and only for the duration of the recruitment or selection process for the job in question. Applicants’ personal data will not be passed on to third parties without their consent.
Remuneration
The wages are defined by the wage regulation and are comparable to those in other public research institutions in the Czech Republic. The wage is determined by the Director on the basis of the quality of the successful candidate and taking into account the available budget or project funding rules. The wage consists of a fixed and a variable performance-related component. Bonuses are awarded at the discretion of the Director, taking into account the recommendations of the research department head. Additional bonuses are awarded for publications in impact factor journals, participation in research grants, management tasks etc.
Complaints
Complaints about the course of the selection process among applicants are resolved by the Director of the Institute.
Links:
Internal Regulation No. 109/2023 on the Procedures for the Recruitment and Selection of Researchers
Open positions in the Institute