Postdoctoral Junior Leader Fellowships for Researchers

Candidates should be experienced researchers whose performance is outstanding in terms of the originality and significance of their contributions in their scientific discipline. They must also have the leadership potential to head their own research group.

By offering a complementary training programme, these fellowships are intended to establish comprehensive training encompassing scientific, technical, and complementary skills that will help them to tap into their potential as independent researchers in the new generation of science leaders.

The call for applications is intended for researchers who finished their doctoral degree two to seven years prior to the application deadline and fulfil the requirements for mobility between countries.

Funding Information 

• The maximum payment amount will be €320,100, broken down as shown below:
  • Three maximum annual payments of €102,500 which include:
    • Labour costs (salary included): a maximum of €64,000 to cover the total labour costs of the host institution hiring the fellow. This amount includes Social Security contributions and any other payments made by the employer, as well as the fellow’s annual gross salary.
    • In any case, the minimum annual gross salary to be offered to the fellow by the host institution must be €47,000€.
    • If the total labour costs exceed the maximum amount offered by the ”la Caixa”
    • Foundation, the host institution will cover the excess.
  • Annual research project costs of €38,500, which include:
    • Purchase and maintenance of scientific equipment and consumables;
    • Travel expenses and daily allowance;
    • Registration fees for scientific congresses, seminars and conferences;
    • Management fees for industrial and intellectual property rights related to the project;
    • Patenting costs;
    • Personnel hiring costs linked exclusively to the fellowship project;
    • Expenses related to the mandatory secondment;
    • Overheads;
    • Other expenses directly related to running of the research project.
• This amount will be managed by the host institution for the benefit of the fellow and it must be justified separately.
  • Gross annual family allowance of €1,200 for each of the researcher’s dependent children. The family allowance will be determined at the beginning of the fellowship and will be reviewed during the fellowship period, this allowance being receivable from the month following the birth or adoption of the child. If both parents obtain a postdoctoral Junior Leader fellowship, this allowance will be only granted to one of the parents
  • Mobility allowance (moving and housing) of €5,400 gross to be paid at the start of the fellowship if the fellow changes the host institution to carry out the postdoctoral Junior Leader fellowship and this change implies a moving of the place of residence. To be eligible for this allowance, the selected host institution must be located at a distance greater than 50 km with respect to the initial host institution.
• These amounts will be gross and included under the total labour costs for each fellow incurred by the host institution hiring them. In addition, these amounts will be subject to any tax retention legally required.

Eligibility Criteria 

• Nationality
  • Postdoctoral researchers of any nationality are eligible to apply for the postdoctoral Junior Leader Fellowship–Retaining programme.
• Research training
  • Those who obtained their doctoral degree (PhD) two to seven years prior to the application deadline are eligible. For such purposes, candidates must have obtained their doctoral degree between 3 rd October 2017 and 3 rd October 2022, both inclusive. The date of the defence for the doctoral thesis will be understood as the date the doctorate (PhD) was obtained. Therefore, a document must be provided where the date of the thesis defence is certified.
  • Should an applicant hold more than one doctorate (PhD), the above-mentioned period will be calculated for the first degree earned.
  • In the event of an interruption of the research activity between the date of obtaining the doctoral degree, the period in which the doctoral degree must have been obtained may be extended beyond seven years on the following causes:
    • Illness or accident that led to sick leave of three months or more. An extension may be given for the duly justified number of months.
    • Maternity: An extension of 1 year can be given for each child born after the PhD defence date. If the candidate can justify longer maternity leave, the eligibility period will be extended to cover the documented leave taken until the call deadline.
    • Paternity: An extension of 1 year can be applied for each child born after the PhD defence date.
    • Compulsory National service: An extension may be applied for the demonstrated number of months.
  • All cases must be duly demonstrated by means of an official supporting document.
  • Mobility
    • Candidates who wish to join a Spanish centre or university must have resided or have carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than twelve months in the three years immediately prior to the application deadline. Short stays, such as holidays, in a country other than their usual country of residence (where they carry out their main activity), will be considered as time spent in their usual country of residence.

For more information, visit ”la Caixa” Foundation.