PhD traineeship in Macroprudential Policy and Financial Stability

General Information

Type of contract  PhD traineeship 

Who can apply?  EU nationals eligible for our traineeship programme 

Grant  The trainee grant is €2,120 per month plus an accommodation allowance (see further information section) 

Working time  Full time Place of work  Frankfurt am Main, Germany 

Closing date  25.03.2025

Your team

You will be part of the Policy Design Team in the Macroprudential Policy Division of the Directorate General Macroprudential Policy and Financial Stability. Our Directorate General has around 150 members of staff who analyse and provide policy advice on issues relating to financial stability, non-bank financial intermediation, financial regulation and macroprudential policy. 

In your role as a PhD trainee, you will be part of a team responsible for conducting policy-relevant research into, and model-based analyses of, macroprudential policy design and financial stability. Working closely with financial stability experts in your team, you will contribute to the development and application of macro-financial agent-based models to answer topical policy questions. For example, this could involve assisting with modelling the effects of macroprudential policy on financial stability and the broader economy, or the interactions between capital requirements, borrower-based measures and monetary policy. In addition, you will have the opportunity to work with experts across the entire Division on a regular basis, as well as to interact with other experts in our Directorate General. 

The PhD traineeship is aimed at students with a strong quantitative background and an interest in policy-relevant applied research.

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 PhD trainee in the Policy Design Team you will:

• further develop, design and calibrate agent-based models which incorporate multiple financial institutions to assess macroprudential policy effectiveness and interactions with other policies, such as monetary policy, also building on the modelling infrastructure already available in the division;
• contribute to the regular policy analysis of the Division using the results from the model development and implementation.

The position offers you excellent opportunities to work closely with our experts and support them in research projects and operational work, such as the preparation of policy-related analyses for the ECB’s Executive Board. This will enable you to develop your analytical abilities, enhance your quantitative skills and gain an insight into the ECB’s research activities and policymaking processes. 
The PhD traineeship will also expose you to new ideas and stimuli that can provide valuable experience for your future career. In particular, you will have access to internal seminars and conferences organised by the ECB, as well as the ECB’s library and its computing, programming and statistical resources. The position provides a great opportunity to engage with topical policy and research questions, and to learn how analytical models can be applied to policymaking. 
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 master’s degree and at least two years of PhD studies in the field of economics, quantitative economics, finance or a related discipline;
• experience with the development, calibration and simulation of agent-based economic models in one or more of the fields relevant for this role (macro-financial analysis, macroprudential policy, financial markets, banking models, monetary policy and/or macroeconomics);
• significant experience with programming in MATLAB; 
• a sound understanding of the economic issues relevant for the team;
• 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: https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages...

Desired: 

• a sound understanding of, and experience with, other software programs used to develop agent-based modelling, such as Julia (e.g. Agents.jl), Python (e.g. Banca d’Italia’s Black-it), C++ or R;
• experience with the estimation and calibration of macroeconomic models. 

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.

Further information

Initial PhD traineeship of 6 months, with a possible extension to up to 12 months in total. The earliest starting date will be June 2025.

Other details on the conditions applicable to traineeships at the ECB can be found on our website: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/what-we-offer/traineeship/html/index.e...

Application and selection process

The recruitment process for this position will include an online interview. 

Further information on how to apply is available on our website: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/before-you-apply/how-to-apply/html/ind...

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 other traineeship positions within the ECB.

 

Traineeship in procurement in the Directorate Administration

General Information

Type of contract  Traineeship 

Who can apply?  EU nationals eligible for our traineeship programme 

Grant  The trainee grant is €1,170 per month plus an accommodation allowance (see further information section) 

Working time  Full time 

Place of work  Frankfurt am Main, Germany 

Closing date  25.03.2025

Your team

You will be part of the Premises Division in the Directorate Administration within the Directorate General Corporate Services. Our Directorate oversees the ECB’s technical infrastructure, facilities and security management services. The Premises Division performs real estate management, space and workplace allocation management, construction project management services, facility operation and maintenance and audio media services. We also coordinate the ECB’s art-related activities. We have a small data management and analytics team that analyses data from various databases, with a focus on facility management and technical documentation for our buildings.

In your role as a trainee in the Premises Division, you will be part of the cross-functional procurement team that supports our efforts to continuously improve and optimise our buildings and services. You will work closely with colleagues from any of the Directorate Administration’s three divisions on procurement-related activities.

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:

• conduct research and draft reports;
• compile and analyse procurement-related data;
• prepare and deliver presentations related to your team’s activities;
• participate in all aspects of procurement procedures;
• contribute to public procurement procedures, for example by carrying out market research;
• support the Procurement team with the collection, maintenance, cleansing, analysis and processing of procurement data;
• establish and maintain relations with all parties involved in procurement procedures, both inside and outside the Division.

The positions offer you excellent opportunities to make a meaningful contribution to activities that enable the institution to deliver on its mandate. 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 business or public administration, law, facility management, architecture, engineering, art, risk management, mathematics, real estate management, statistics, econometrics, environmental protection, communications, information technology, procurement or another relevant field;
• a general interest in European affairs, central banking and matters of relevance to the Premises Division;
• 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: https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages...

Desired: 

• an advanced knowledge of the MS Office package;
• knowledge of, and some experience in, one or more of the following: service management, quality assurance, process management, environmental standards, contract management, business and data analysis; 
• the ability to interpret data and an analytical/innovative mindset; 
• familiarity with the requirements of European public procurement rules.

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.

Further information

Initial traineeship of 6 months, with a possible extension to up to 12 months in total.

Other details on the conditions applicable to traineeships at the ECB can be found on our website: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/what-we-offer/traineeship/html/index.e...

For additional information on this specific vacancy, you can speak to Volker Teige, on +49 (0)69 1344 8352 on Wednesday 11 March between 14:00 and 15:00 or Tuesday 18 March between 09:00 and 09:45.

Application and selection process

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. 

Further information on how to apply is available on our website: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/before-you-apply/how-to-apply/html/ind...

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 other traineeship positions within the ECB.

 

Traineeship in the Art team – Premises Division

General Information

Type of contract  Traineeship 

Who can apply?  EU nationals eligible for our traineeship programme 

Grant  The trainee grant is €1,170 per month plus an accommodation allowance (see further information section) 

Working time  Full time 

Place of work  Frankfurt am Main, Germany 

Closing date  25.03.2025

Your team

You will be part of the Premises Division of the Directorate Administration in the Directorate General Corporate Services. The staff members in our Directorate oversee the ECB’s technical infrastructure, facilities and security management services. The Premises Division is responsible for providing real estate management, space and workplace allocation management, construction project management services, operation and maintenance (technical facility management), and audio media services and coordinates the ECB’s art-related activities. We also have a small data management and analytics team that analyses data from various databases with a focus on facility management and technical documentation for our buildings.

In your role as a trainee in the Division’s Arts team, you will be part of a team responsible for coordinating the ECB’s art-related activities.

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 in the Premises Division, you will support our efforts to continuously improve and optimise our buildings and services. You will work under supervision and your tasks may include:

• conducting research and drafting reports;
• compiling and analysing data related to the ECB art collection;
• preparing and delivering presentations related to your activities and the activities of your team;
• support the Art team in managing the ECB’s contemporary art collection; 
• support the work of the ECB’s Art Committee;
• support the Art team’s work on internal and external art projects and exhibitions;
• perform administrative tasks, such as managing the art inbox, maintaining the art database, and managing art documentation and filing systems;
• produce art valuation and reconciliation reports and support the annual art inventory exercise; 
• draft art-related articles for internal communications to raise awareness of the work of the Art team; 
• organise guided art tours on the ECB’s premises and maintain museum passes; 
• manage internal and external artwork loan agreements, including the transfer of contracts to the ECB’s archives;
• support the curatorial direction of artwork in ECB workspaces. 

The position offers you excellent opportunities to make a meaningful contribution to activities that enable the ECB to deliver on its mandate. 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 architecture, art, art history, communications or another relevant field;
• a general interest in European affairs, central banking and matters of relevance to the Premises Division;
• 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: https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages...

Desired: 

• knowledge of, and some experience in, one or more of the following fields: service management, quality assurance, process management, environmental standards, contract management or art exhibitions; 
• an analytical/innovative mindset.

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.

Further information

Initial traineeship of six months, with a possible extension to up to 12 months in total.

Other details on the conditions applicable to traineeships at the ECB can be found on our website: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/what-we-offer/traineeship/html/index.e...

For additional information on this specific vacancy, you can speak to Volker Teige on +49 (0)69 1344 8352 on Tuesday 11 March between 10:00 and 11:00 or Friday 14 March between 15:00 and 16:00.

Application and selection process

The recruitment process for this position will include an online interview. 

Further information on how to apply is available on our website: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/before-you-apply/how-to-apply/html/ind...

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 other traineeship positions within the ECB.

 

Traineeship in the Directorate Risk Management

General Information

Type of contract  Traineeship 

Who can apply?  EU nationals eligible for our traineeship programme 

Grant  The trainee grant is €1,170 per month plus an accommodation allowance (see further information section) 

Working time  Full time Place of work  Frankfurt am Main, Germany 

Closing date  25.03.2025

Your team

You will be part of the Directorate Risk Management, a dynamic team of professionals developing and maintaining the financial risk management frameworks that govern the Eurosystem’s monetary policy operations and the ECB’s investment operations. The Directorate helps the ECB to achieve operational resilience by implementing sound practices covering non-financial risk, business continuity and critical incident management.

You will be working in one of the Directorate’s two divisions, both of which deal with financial risk management issues:

• Risk Analysis monitors the compliance of monetary policy and investment operations with their respective risk management frameworks. It also models, analyses and reports on financial risks.
• Risk Strategy designs and maintains the risk management frameworks and policies governing Eurosystem credit operations and non-standard monetary policy measures.

In your role as a trainee in the Directorate Risk Management, you will gain hands-on experience of the IT applications, tools and databases that are used to analyse credit risk, market risk and other types of risk (such as climate-related risk) related to issuers of financial instruments and the Eurosystem’s counterparties.

You will also work closely with colleagues from different teams within the Directorate and other ECB business areas, in particular the Directorate General Market Operations and the Directorate General Information Systems.

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 in the Risk Analysis Division you will:

• learn about the different risk management frameworks that govern the ECB’s asset purchase programmes and the management of the ECB’s foreign reserves and investment portfolios;
• contribute to monitoring and reporting tasks that are performed on a daily, weekly and monthly basis;
• collect and process data used in our regular financial risk management tasks;
• participate in projects and conduct ad hoc analyses to further improve financial risk management processes.

As a trainee in the Risk Strategy Division you will:

• learn about the risk management policies and frameworks governing the Eurosystem’s credit operations and non-standard monetary policy measures, including eligibility requirements, valuations and haircuts;
• contribute to assessing and mitigating credit risk, market risk and climate-related risk in the Eurosystem’s credit operations;
• perform regular monitoring and reporting tasks and ad hoc analyses to enhance financial risk management processes;
• collect and process data used in our regular financial risk management tasks;
• contribute to presentations and documentation for Eurosystem committee and working group meetings.

The position offers you excellent opportunities to learn more about financial risk management at the ECB and how the Eurosystem functions. 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

• a bachelor’s degree or higher in finance, economics, business administration, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) or another relevant field;
• a keen interest in financial risk management and monetary policy;
• the ability to process, analyse, interpret and visualise data;
• familiarity with one or more of the following tools: Python, MATLAB, SQL, Stata, R, Java, C, Ruby, VBA, Tableau;
• a good knowledge of the Microsoft 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: https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages...

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.

Further information

Initial traineeship of 6 months, with a possible extension to up to 12 months in total. Different starting dates are possible from 1 July 2025.

Other details on the conditions applicable to traineeships at the ECB can be found on our website: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/what-we-offer/traineeship/html/index.e...

Application and selection process

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

Further information on how to apply is available on our website: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/before-you-apply/how-to-apply/html/ind...

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 other traineeship positions within the ECB.

 

Traineeship in Operational Risk and Business Continuity Management

General Information

Type of contract  Traineeship 

Who can apply?  EU nationals eligible for our traineeship programme 

Grant  The trainee grant is €1,170 per month plus an accommodation allowance (see further information section) 

Working time  Full time Place of work  Frankfurt am Main, Germany 

Closing date  25.03.2025

Your team

You will be part of the Directorate Risk Management, a dynamic team of professionals developing and maintaining the financial risk management frameworks that govern the Eurosystem’s monetary policy operations and the ECB’s investment operations. Moreover, the Directorate supports the ECB in achieving operational resilience by implementing sound non-financial risk, business continuity and critical incident management practices.

In your role as trainee you will be part of the Operational Risk and Business Continuity Section, which is currently working on several emerging risks and opportunities. These include: the adoption of AI; cloud computing; the response to geopolitical tensions; and compliance with environmental, social and governance-related regulations.

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 in our Section, you will: 

• provide support with tasks relating to all three of the Section’s core disciplines (operational risk, business continuity and critical incident management); 
• maintain systems containing operational risk and business continuity-related information; 
• be responsible for maintaining the external loss database, as well as data relating to the ECB-wide mass notification tool and associated alert exercises; 
• monitor the news to keep abreast of external threats; 
• support resilience exercises and tests; 
• contribute to regular risk and control self-assessments, including preparing an enterprise risk and resilience dashboard for the decision-making bodies and senior management of the ECB; 
• support ad hoc projects that may arise during the course of your traineeship. 

This position offers you excellent opportunities to gain hands-on experience in a team that fosters organisational resilience and acts as a second line of defence against non-financial risks. In this role you will be able to develop strong analytical and communication skills by interacting with a variety of stakeholders across the ECB. 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 non-financial risk management, business and/or public administration, auditing, information technology or another relevant field;
• experience of analysing data and producing reports;
• knowledge of organisational resilience, operational risk, business continuity or crisis management;
• good skills in data processing in MS Excel and data visualisation in MS PowerPoint;
• a good knowledge of the rest 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: https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages...

Desired: 

• experience of using Visual Basic for Applications in MS Excel; 
• a basic understanding of the functioning of the ECB, the European System of Central Banks and the Single Supervisory Mechanism. 

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.

Working modalities

You will occasionally be expected to work at the ECB’s recovery site to enable the ECB to maintain its business continuity capability.

Further information

Initial traineeship of between three and six months, with a possible extension to up to 12 months in total.

Other details on the conditions applicable to traineeships at the ECB can be found on our website: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/what-we-offer/traineeship/html/index.e...

Application and selection process

The recruitment process for this position will include an online interview. 

Further information on how to apply is available on our website: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/before-you-apply/how-to-apply/html/ind...

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 other traineeship positions within the ECB.