Economist Graduate Programme 2023

European Central Bank wide
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General Information

Type of contract Two-year fixed-term contract starting on 1 September. It may be extended for one additional year upon successful completion of the programme.

Who can apply? EU nationals

Salary E/F (bracket 1 - step 1) full time monthly net salary: €4,611 plus benefits, for further information see what we offer.

Working time Full time

Place of work Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Closing date 03.01.2023

Your team

We are looking for up to four highly talented recent graduates with postgraduate degrees, preferably PhDs, for the ECB’s Graduate Programme in Economics. 

We will give you a challenging two-year assignment in one business area matched to your fields of expertise, your interests – which you can indicate during the application process – and our organisational needs. During the two-year assignment you will spend a six-month period in the Directorate General Research.

Your successful completion of the programme will be assessed by the Graduate Programme Committee on the basis of performance reviews and your project paper, which you will prepare and submit before the end of the second year. 

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

The Graduate Programme offers you excellent development opportunities, valuable experience and an insight into the ECB’s tasks and working methods. It could be your starting point for an exciting career at the ECB.

Your assignments can be in the following business areas at the ECB: Economics, Monetary Policy, International & European Relations, Macroprudential Policy & Financial Stability and Research. In these areas we perform analytical and policy work in the field of economics, as well as working to optimise the analytical framework and tools. We lay the groundwork for policy decisions and communications by providing high-quality analysis and advice. We contribute to the intellectual leadership of the ECB, represent the ECB in external fora and maintain productive relationships with stakeholders.

We will assign you an experienced colleague as a mentor to provide you with support, advice and guidance on participating successfully in the programme. You will also get a tailor-made training programme that includes a number of in-house and external training opportunities.
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: 

Desired: 
  • a sound knowledge of macroeconomics, international economics, monetary economics and/or international finance, including banking, financial markets and financial intermediation;
  • advanced knowledge of MS Office applications, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint;
  • advanced knowledge of time series or panel econometrics;
  • strong programming skills, especially experience with MATLAB, STATA, Python and R.

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’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 motivated to be a part of our team and to use your skills and competencies to achieve the objectives of this position.


Further information

This is a two-year fixed-term contract which we aim to start from 1 September 2023 and to last until 31 August 2025. It may be extended for one additional year upon successful completion of the programme. 

While on the Graduate Programme you can apply for vacancies that are advertised both internally and externally. 

Upon successful completion of the programme and subject to business needs, participants are eligible to be directly appointed to positions as Economists.

You can find additional information on the Graduate Programme on our website (https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/what-we-offer/graduate/html/index.en.html ).

Application and selection process

The recruitment process for this position will be conducted remotely. The recruitment process for this position will include a written exercise, a presentation and interviews.

If you are not selected for this position but are still considered suitable, you will be placed on a reserve list (see step 4 of How we hire), from which you might be considered for similar positions within the ECB.

Find out how to apply for a position at the ECB and read more about joining us.