The European Central Bank has launched: Traineeships in Macroprudential Policy and Financial Stability.

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Your team

You will be part of the Directorate General Macroprudential Policy and Financial Stability. Our Directorate General has approximately 100 staff providing analyses and policy advice on issues relating to financial stability, financial regulation and macroprudential policy. 

In particular, we identify and measure systemic risks, develop financial regulation and macroprudential measures and assess their impact on the financial system. We work on policy strategy and coordination, as well as the challenges facing the banking and non-banking financial sectors. We are also working on a financial system-wide assessment of risks and vulnerabilities resulting from the current financial, economic and geopolitical environment. We are looking for trainees in the Systemic Risk and Financial Institutions Division, the Market-based Finance Division and the Financial Regulation and Policy Division.

In the area of systemic risk and financial institutions, we analyse developments in the euro area banking sector and broader financial system from a systemic risk perspective. We coordinate the production of the ECB's Financial Stability Review. We also propose and assess structural macroprudential policy measures for systemic banks.

In the area of market-based finance, we assess systemic risks arising from the activities and behaviour of non-bank financial intermediaries and market participants. We also monitor and assess financial stability risks in financial markets and coordinate the Directorate General's market intelligence activities.

In the area of financial regulation, we analyse regulatory policy issues from a financial stability and financial integration perspective. We conduct impact analyses on regulatory developments to assess the effectiveness of adopted or proposed reforms from a macroprudential perspective. We also contribute to European and international discussions on regulatory and supervisory issues. In addition, we contribute to the ECB's work on sustainable finance, non-bank financial intermediation and the structural transformation of the financial system caused by the evolution of private digital money (such as crypto-assets and stablecoins).

In your role as a trainee, you will be part of a team of approximately 20 members of staff responsible for policy-relevant analysis, model development and the coordination of the ECB's views on the issues outlined above. You will work closely with our experts, contributing to projects that are relevant to the division to which you are assigned.

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:

• participate actively in the general work of the division to which you are assigned, including (i) contributing to analyses for regular internal and external publications such as the Financial Stability Review, (ii) contributing – through data collection, research assistance and programming – to analytical projects on current questions of interest to the Directorate General, and (iii) helping to prepare presentations for management and senior management;
• maintain, update and further develop databases for systemic risk identification and macroprudential policy analysis, as well as for analysis of developments in the financial sector and the real economy;
• develop visualisation tools and programs/code for efficient data processing, while helping to ensure that users can access complex datasets.

The position offers you excellent opportunities to become familiar with the area of macroprudential policy and financial stability through varying tasks and projects. You will be able to develop your potential and quickly have a real impact on the work of the division to which you are assigned. As a trainee, you will have the opportunity to work in a team alongside committed and qualified colleagues and leaders in the field of financial stability. 

You will be able to attend a wide range of seminars and access the ECB's library as well as its computing, programming and statistical resources. You will have the opportunity to network, engage with other employees and increase your personal awareness and business knowledge. 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: 

• a bachelor's degree or higher in finance, economics, statistics, mathematics, engineering, business administration, physics, computer science or a related discipline;
• an advanced knowledge of MS Office, in particular Excel;
• experience in preparing, handling and analysing datasets based on various data sources;
• 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: 

• a master's degree, or studies towards a master's degree that are close to completion, in finance, economics, statistics, mathematics, engineering, business administration, physics, computer science or a related discipline;
• knowledge of financial sector analysis and financial policy and regulation, and/or knowledge of macroeconomics;
• knowledge of bank balance sheet and bank-specific data analysis, and/or knowledge of non-bank financial institutions;
• a good analytical ability and familiarity with macroeconomic, banking and financial market data;
• sound IT and programming skills and knowledge of programming languages and econometric software (e.g. SQL, R, MATLAB, Stata, Python and/or EViews);
• experience in one or more of the following fields: econometrics (e.g. macroeconometrics, microeconometrics, time series analysis, financial econometrics, panel data econometrics, machine learning), modelling and programming; 
• experience with a broad range of standard databases of macroeconomic and financial data (e.g. Refinitiv Datastream, Bloomberg, Refinitiv Eikon, Haver Analytics, Refinitiv Lipper, EPFR Global).

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 aims of this position.

Closing date: 13.09.2022

Grant  The trainee grant is €1,070 per month plus an accommodation allowance (see further information section)

Further information

Traineeship of between three and 12 months in total.

The earliest starting date will be mid-January 2023, and additional dates will be available throughout 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 an online interview. 

If you are not selected for this position but are still considered suitable, you will be placed on a reserve list for 12 months from the closing date for applications, from which you might be considered for similar positions within the ECB.