Research support technician 2025 / CP / 059

Organisation / Company : University of A Coruña

Research Field : Juridical sciences » Social law, Criminology, Sociology, Political sciences

Researcher Profile : First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions

Country : Spain

Application Deadline : 9 Apr 2025 - 15 : 00 (Europe / Brussels)

Type of Contract : Permanent

Job Status : Part-time

Offer Starting Date : 1 May 2025

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme

Reference Number : 2025 / CP / 059

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Job title : PRISON TRANSPARENCY PROJECT (PTP)

PROJECT DESCRIPTION :

The Prison Transparency Project (PTP) is an international initiative funded by Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Its primary goal is to share information and conduct a comparative study of prison transparency systems in Argentina, Canada, and Spain.

The PTP aims to carry out a seven-year (2023–2030) collaborative and comparative study on prison transparency across seven carceral systems in Canada, Argentina, and Spain, taking into account the specific contexts of Quebec and Catalonia. The project examines both formal mechanisms and informal practices that promote the flow of information inside and outside prisons, whether for accountability purposes or to defend the rights and freedoms of incarcerated individuals. The PTP is composed of an international team of researchers, people with lived prison experience, public institutions, NGOs, grassroots organizations, lawyers, journalists, and relatives and friends of incarcerated individuals. ECRIM (ecrim.es) coordinates the Spanish research and working team.

Among the PTP’s main objectives are collecting prison transparency-related data over the project’s seven-year span through surveys, interviews, independent reports, and official data. This data will form the core of the research, enabling an understanding and comparison of prison transparency systems. By collaborating with community organizations that support incarcerated individuals, PTP members prioritize the most relevant aspects for data collection and analysis.

The project also aims to compare access-to-information systems across different countries (Argentina, Canada, and Spain) and specific political and governmental cultures (e.g., Quebec, Catalonia); to document diverse strategies for addressing transparency in different local and international contexts; to support the creation of transnational networks of activists, formerly incarcerated individuals, relatives, and prison monitoring organizations; to provide training and support to formerly incarcerated individuals and university students in research and public communication; and to share findings through multiple channels, including podcasts, seminars, publications, and community activities.

TASKS TO BE CARRIED OUT :

• Technical support in the development of the research tasks of the projects (elaboration of working documents and research reports, referencing, collaboration in the preparation of academic articles and papers).
• Support in field work research on prison transparency in Spain (participation in the design of research instruments, data collection, quantitative and qualitative data analysis).
• Assistance in international and national coordination tasks (participation in project meetings, liaison with international research teams, collaboration in organizing academic activities, assistance in communication tasks, liaison with non-academic partners).
• Assistance in the dissemination of research results at the national and international level (collaboration in the presentation of findings in academic events, collaboration in the preparation of non-academic publications, collaboration in the organization and communication of activities, via social media, blogs and websites).

LOCATION AND WORKING HOURS :

Law School. Monday to Friday, from 10.00 to 13.30h

MERITS :

• Degree / graduate degree in law, criminology, political science or sociology.
• Experience in research and community engagement in the field of criminology, penology, law, sociology or political sciences.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA :

BLOCK 1. ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING. Maximum 25 points.

• Degree in a related discipline : 2 points per degree.
• Official postgraduate qualifications (master degree) in the field of legal or social sciences : 5 points per qualification.
• Additional non-official degrees in the academic fields of this project (criminology, criminal law, prison law, criminal procedural law, administrative law, penology, criminal policy, sociology of control, social research techniques, etc.) : 1 point per degree.
• Internship experience and participation in teaching innovation projects related to prison studies : 0.5 points per academic year.

BLOCK 2. EXPERIENCE IN RESEARCH AND TRANSFER IN THE FIELD OF LAW, CRIMINOLOGY OR SOCIAL SCIENCES. Maximum 25 points.

• Participation in funded research projects on topics related to this call : International projects : 0.75 point per month; national / subnational / local projects : 0.25 points per month.
• Participation in other funded research projects : International projects : 0.5 point per month; national / subnational / local projects : 0.10 points per month.
• Fieldwork experience in conducting qualitative research on prison and detention practices : 1 point per month.
• Publications in academic journals on topics related to this call – both already released and accepted publications : Peer-reviewed journals : 1 point per publication. Other publications : 0.8 points per publication.
• Other academic publications – both already released and accepted publications : 0.4 points per publication.
• Presentations at academic conferences on topics related to this call : International conferences : 0.5 points per presentation; national conferences : 0.25 points per presentation.
• Participation in organizing committees of academic events (seminars, conferences, workshops) : 0.20 points per event.
• Verifiable professional experience in prison systems, migration control, or social research (quantitative or qualitative) : 2 points per year.
• Verifiable professional supporting research and / or university teaching : 1 point per year.
• Volunteer work (or equivalent) in community organizations working on prison, migration detention and human rights : 0.5 points per year.
• English skills : B2=2.5 points; C1 or higher=5 points.
• French skills : B2 or higher=2.5 points;
• Galician skills : CELGA 4 or higher : 2.5 points.
• Catalan skills : B2 or higher=2.5 points;

An interview will be held with the 3 candidates with the highest scores, provided that there is a difference of less than 25 points between them.

Based on the aforementioned requirements and assessment criteria, a prioritized order of candidates will be established. The candidate with the highest score will be awarded the contract. With the rest of the candidates, who reach a minimum of 30 points (at least, 10 in block 1 and 5 in block 4), a waiting list will be drawn up for eventual recruitment purposes, exclusively for this position, in the event of resignation, dismissal or leave due to temporary incapacity of the selected person.

APPLICATIONS :

Applicants are required to describe the entire range of qualifications and criteria mentioned in this job announcement. Applications shall be drawn up in accordance with the scheme and assessment concepts presented below. All qualifications must be specified by referring to the tasks performed in previous positions and the length of these academic or professional appointments. Applicants who do not comply with this application structure requirement will be excluded from this call.

WHERE TO APPLY : UDC online services site.

Applications should be addressed to the Office of the Vice-Rectorate for Research and Transference, and include the call reference.

DEADLINE : 5 working days from the day following the publication of the call on the official bulletin board of the UDC online services site.

Additional comments:

• Copy of national identity document.
• Responsible declaration that the requirements of the call are fulfilled.
• If you are a candidate from abroad Spain, please contact for instructions on how to apply to this call.