Job Description

CREAF is looking for a support technician to work in the eMINING (From waste to wealth: implementing wastewater and sewage sludge elemental phytomining), with ref. 101335145 funded by European Research Council.

The project is aimed at recovering heavy metals from effluents and sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants, and evaluate the economic viability, scalability potential and implementation of the experimental design in wastewater treatment plants. To do so, eMINING will perform different experiments in which different plant species will be evaluated based on their potential to uptake heavy metals from water and sewage sludge.

The position involves field, laboratory work, writing reports, and setting up and executing experiments with plants in wastewater effluents and sewage sludge at the Urban River Lab (Montornès del Vallès).

A full-time contract is offered (37.5 hours per week) with planned incorporation on 1st November 2026 and a duration of 18 months, with the possibility of extension if required and if the budget allows. The offered salary is € 24.646,91 gross per year (corresponding to category T4B).

MAIN FUNCTIONS

• Setting up and executing the experiments at the Urban River Lab.
• Cleaning, grinding and acid digestion of plant samples.
• Plant and water analysis in the laboratory.
• Providing reports to evaluate the performance of the experiments.
• Providing clean and validated final datasets to the research team investigators.
• Attending meetings with stakeholders.

REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Environmental Sciences, Biology, Environmental Biology, Forestry Engineering or a related field.
• Experience and interest in research (e.g. BSc or MSc thesis).
• Experience performing experiments with plants, or working in wastewater treatment plants.
• Good botanical skills (plant identification)
• Versatility and willingness to collaborate with all members of the team.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Good command of English and Catalan, both spoken and written. A good level of Spanish is highly desirable.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.

ASESSABLE CONDITIONS

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Ecology, Conservation or Environmental Sciences.
• Priority will be given to candidates with a recognized and certified disability of 33% or higher, provided that the disability is compatible with the proper performance of the position.

SELECTION PROCES AND CRITERIA

1. Applicants should submit: Applicants must apply for the offer and attach the requested documentation, CV, the contact details of two former supervisors, and cover letter (maximum 500 words), by Octuber 10th, 2026. Applications submitted to any portal other than the CREAF job board and the instructions included therein will not be accepted.
2. Pre-selection: determination of compliance with the minimum requirements of the offer.
3. Selection: preselected candidates will be scored based on objective criteria. The candidates presenting the highest scores will be invited to a physical or remote interview (depending on country of residence).
4. Final decision: the decision will be communicated to the candidate with subsequent publication in the CREAF job openings section.

JOB OFFER IN PDF