ESCB/IO Market Infrastructure Expert (digital euro)

Fin. Markets & Market Infrastructure Ops
Market Infrastructure & Payments
3426
You can no longer apply

General Information

Type of contract Short-term contract, which may be extended to up to 36 months subject to individual performance and organisational needs

Contract end date 30.06.2023

Who can apply? EU nationals working for national central banks of the ESCB, international governmental organisations or other employers performing central banking or banking supervision tasks within the framework of the Eurosystem

Salary F/G (bracket 1 - step 1) full time monthly net salary: €6,909 plus benefits, for further information see what we offer.

Role specialisation Market Infrastructure

Working time Full time

Place of work Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Closing date 07.05.2021

Your team

You will be part of the team preparing the possible launch of a Eurosystem project to develop a digital euro. The digital euro would be an electronic form of central bank money accessible to citizens and firms – like banknotes but in a digital form. 
In your role as Market Infrastructure Expert, you will be part of a Eurosystem team that analyses all business, economic, legal and technical needs related to the digital euro project investigation phase. 
The objectives of this project investigation phase (which at the time of publication of this vacancy notice was subject to approval) are, amongst other things, to determine: (i) which use cases the product/service would serve and how a digital euro would look in terms of its functional design; (ii) depending on the design, what changes to European legislation might be required or beneficial; (iii) what business model would be established at the front end to ensure that supervised intermediaries actively offer the product/service; (iv) which features would be key to make euro area citizens take up a digital euro as a widespread means of payment, complementing cash and private means of payment; (v) what would a reasonable amount of digital euro in circulation be (also bearing in mind financial stability concerns); (vi) which tools could influence or control the amount of digital euro in circulation; and (vii) if the ECB’s Governing Council were to decide to move towards an execution phase, who would the service providers be, how much it would cost and how long would it take for payments to be possible with a digital euro.
As a member of a Eurosystem team, you will benefit from the diversity of perspectives that this provides. The team would be responsible for executing the tasks and producing the deliverables foreseen in the project investigation phase plan and would support the Eurosystem project governance 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 Market Infrastructure Expert, with a view to facilitating decision-making by the ECB’s Governing Council and supporting Eurosystem project governance bodies, you will assume one or more of the following responsibilities:
  • engage and collaborate within the Eurosystem to define the use cases and feed into policy/design decisions for a digital euro; 
  • conduct analytical work and engage actively with payment service providers to determine the business model for the partnership with front-end providers of a digital euro; 
  • draft user requirements for a digital euro based on the above two work streams, considering user feedback from a broad range of stakeholders collected during the project;
  • conduct analytical work and stakeholder management to determine the requirements that possible future service providers (both front-end and back-end) should meet;
  • contribute to the planning and risk monitoring of the project;
  • support work assessing the impact of a digital euro on the economy and on the integration and innovation of the retail payment system.

The position offers you excellent opportunities to explore ongoing technological innovation in the financial industry, particularly in the field of payments. As a member of the team, you will also have the opportunity to improve your knowledge of the payment needs and preferences of citizens and businesses, your awareness of the industrial organisation of the payments market and its relevance for the economy, and your understanding of ongoing technological innovation in the field of payments. 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 or equivalent in business administration, economics, finance, law, STEM (science, technology, engineering or mathematics), political science, computer science or another relevant field (click here for details on degree equivalences);
  • in addition to the above, a minimum of three years of professional experience in one or more of the following fields:
    • analysis or development of payment systems and services;
    • legal advice related to payment systems and services;
    • financial stability analysis;
  • sound understanding of central bank digital currencies or of the business and technical features of retail payment solutions;
  • analytical and drafting skills;
  • experience in presenting complex functional and/or technical topics in a clear and concise manner to internal and external audiences;
  • 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: 
  • professional experience in the facilitation of policy decision-making and implementation;
  • understanding of the factors determining the payment habits of citizens and merchants, as well as the business choices of payment service providers;
  • knowledge of payment technologies and the use cases they may support; 
  • experience in eliciting and expressing use cases and user requirements;
  • project management experience.
You engage collaboratively with others. You pursue team goals and learn willingly from other people’s diverse perspectives. You signal any need for change by explaining it and proposing alternative solutions. You analyse complex information effectively and can evaluate different views to arrive at solutions. You know and anticipate stakeholder needs.

You are motivated to contribute to the ECB/Eurosystem’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 aware of your strengths and areas for development and know what motivates you to perform at your highest level.

Working modalities

We are willing to discuss part-time arrangements.

Further information

The contract offered will be short-term ESCB/IO, the appointment being for 24 months as of the exact starting date of the selected person, extendable to up to 36 months.

For additional information on this specific vacancy, you can contact Jose Ignacio Terol Rodriguez (Adviser) at ignacio.terol@ecb.europa.eu.

Application and selection process

For further information on how to join us, read more.

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

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