– Compliance with the Marie Sklodowska-Curie mobility rule (as defined in MSCA Cofund Guide for Applicants 2018): candidates may not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in France for more than twelve months in the three years immediately before the date of recruitment (doctoral thesis starting date). Compulsory national service and/or short stays such as holidays in France are not taken into account.

– Student eligibility criteria: at the date of recruitment, early-stage researchers must be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers (career breaks excluded) and have not yet been awarded a doctoral degree.

– The candidate must be, at the time of recruitment, in possession of/or finalising a master degree or equivalent degree, which would formally entitle the candidate to embark on a doctorate.

– The candidate must be available for employment at the defined programme start date.

– The working language of the ESRF and ILL is English and the thesis is expected to be written in English. The candidate must have a demonstrable level of English. A proof of upper-intermediate level could be advantageously included in the application; this should take the form of one of the recognised international qualifications (minimum CEFR B2, Cambridge English First (FCE), Cambridge Bulats >60, PTE Level 3, IELTS 5-6.5, TOEFL >72, TOEIC >750). Applicants originating from native-English-speaking countries can apply without the need for proof of level. An official degree (including postgraduate) conducted in English as the only language will be also accepted as a proof of level. Students with a high level of English but without the above listed qualifications may still apply and their level of English will be checked during the interview.

– Specific doctoral school requirements in terms of marks, experience, or any other matter that is a prerequisite to enrolment to the doctorate programme must be met.

– The candidate must have submitted a complete application through the ESRF recruitment web portal. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

An application comprises the following elements:

– Curriculum vitae

– Cover letter presenting the motivation of the candidate and candidate’s assets for the post (knowledge, skills and personal qualities)

– Contact details for two or more referees

– Proof of upper-intermediate level in English (see eligibility criteria)

The students will be employed with research training contracts, initially for one or two years, depending on institute, extended to the full duration of the PhD project, three years for students registered at UGA, on condition that the student receives a positive evaluation by their ESRF/ILL supervisor at the end of the first term.

Students will be paid a gross monthly salary of 2,458 € (i.e. an average net monthly salary around 1,860 € before taxes), averaged over three years (value from May 2018 to be revised with the institutes’ general salary policy). This salary includes a living allowance and the employee contributions to the French national social security system and to a complementary health insurance.

Employees have a minimum 26 days paid leave per year in addition to French national holidays. Students employed from outside of France are allowed one day of extra holiday per year called “travelling time” to compensate for travel time to return to their native country once a year.

As employees of the facilities, students will benefit from exceptional working conditions and advantages such as a subsidised restaurant on site, works committee, subsidised public transport subscriptions.

The working language of the ESRF and ILL is English. A course of French lessons is optional for new employees.

Further details: ESRF recruitment portal (for both ESRF and ILL InnovaXN PhD offers).

An overview of the PhD projects will be kept here: PhD projects. Please read the Guide for applicants before applying.

For direct access to the job listing including PhD posts: https://esrf.gestmax.eu/search

Planned advertisement periods are Feb-Mar 2020 for projects starting September 2020 and Feb-Mar 2021 for projects starting in September 2021.