The European Central Bank has launched:  Traineeships (bachelor's/master's and PhD level) in the EU Institutions and Fora Division.

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Your team

You will be part of the EU Institutions and Fora Division in the Directorate General International and European Relations. Our Directorate General has 120 staff preparing policy positions of the ECB, the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks on European and global issues.

You will join a team of about 20 members of staff responsible for maintaining working relations with and monitoring the activities of other EU institutions. These include the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, especially the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), as well as associated fora such as the Eurogroup, the Economic and Financial Committee, the Economic Policy Committee and the Macroeconomic Dialogue. 

We prepare briefings and conduct analytical work on topical policy issues with an institutional dimension, such as deepening Economic and Monetary Union, completing the banking union and capital markets union, and the EU's post-pandemic economic policies, including the Next Generation EU instrument. Our work also covers the EU climate policy and digital finance agendas, the ECB's accountability obligations towards the European Parliament and European public opinion. In addition, our Division coordinates activities related to ECB Banking Supervision's accountability to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. We also coordinate the ECB's preparations for meetings of the Eurogroup and the ECOFIN Council as well as their preparatory bodies.

The ECB is an inclusive employer and we strive to reflect the diversity of the population we serve. We encourage you to apply irrespective of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other characteristics.

Your role

As a trainee, you will:

• monitor and analyse issues relating to EU integration and governance, the ECB's accountability and the EU's internal and external policies from a central banking and/or banking supervision perspective;
• prepare briefing notes for senior ECB staff and decision-making bodies on issues falling within the Division's remit;
• monitor and analyse the activities of other EU institutions, including the Council of the EU, the European Commission and the European Parliament;
• conduct research and analytical work and/or contribute to publications on topics related to the Division's work;
• present at internal seminars organised by the Division.

This position offers you an excellent opportunity to work under the guidance of an experienced mentor in a team of highly qualified experts in the fields of political economy, international macroeconomics and finance. You will be part of a multicultural team that strives for continuous innovation to make a positive impact on the lives of European citizens. 

Qualifications, experience and skills

Essential:

• for a traineeship paid at €1,070, a bachelor's degree or higher in economics, political science, European studies, finance, law or another relevant field, ideally with a focus on political economy or institutional economics;
• for a traineeship paid at €1,940, a master's degree in economics, political science, European studies, finance, law or another relevant field and at least two years of PhD studies in one of these subject areas, ideally with a focus on political economy or institutional economics;
• a sound understanding of the functioning of EU institutions and fora as well as a good knowledge of the EU's institutional set-up and policy affairs;
• a sound understanding of economics and central banking, including a good knowledge of the foundations and functioning of Economic and Monetary Union; 
• a good knowledge of the MS Office package;
• an advanced (C1) command of English and an intermediate (B1) command of at least one other official language of the EU, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Desired: 

• experience using statistical/econometric software packages such as R or Stata and/or data visualisation software such as Tableau;
• a publication record related to issues falling within the Division's remit.

You are curious and eager to learn, and want to further develop your ability to analyse complex information. You are keen to collaborate with others, pursue team goals and learn from other people's diverse perspectives. You strive to know and anticipate stakeholder needs, and will signal any need for change and propose alternative solutions.

You are motivated to contribute to the ECB's mission, to serve the citizens of the EU as a member of a public institution and to work with colleagues from all over Europe. You are keen to be part of our team and to use your skills and competencies to achieve the objectives of this position.

Who can apply:

EU nationals eligible for our traineeship programme.

All candidates should:

• be a national of a Member State of the EU or of an acceding country;

• be at least 18 years old;
• have completed at least a first cycle qualification (minimum bachelor's degree);
• be fluent in English and in another official language of the EU.

Following their most recent qualification candidates should:

• have a maximum of 12 months' professional experience;
• have been a trainee for no more than six months;
• not have been an ECB trainee or have worked for the ECB previously.

Closing date: 14.03.2022

Further information

Traineeship/PhD traineeship of between six and 12 months in total. The starting date will be in autumn 2022 or early 2023. 

Application and selection process

Further information on how to join us is available on our website.

The recruitment process for this position will include a pre-recorded video interview in the pre-selection phase and – if you are invited to participate in the subsequent selection phase – an online interview via Webex.