General Information
Type of contract
Fixed-term contract, which may be extended subject to individual performance and organisational needs
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.
Role specialisation
IT Application Development
Working time
Full time
Place of work
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Closing date
15.03.2021
Your team
You will be part of the team in the Directorate General Information Systems that is preparing the possible launch of a Eurosystem project to develop a digital euro. In your role as IT Application Development Specialist, you will be working with those in the team responsible for analysing all business, economic and technical needs related to the digital euro project and for developing prototypes. This work will be used in the preparation of policy decisions for consideration by the ECB’s Governing Council, which will decide on whether to launch the digital euro project towards mid-2021. The project team would also support the bodies eventually in charge of the project and be responsible for project delivery and project-related communications with all external stakeholders involved in related technical and policy issues, and work closely with the Directorate General Market Infrastructure and Payments.
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 your gender, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability or other characteristics.
Your role
As an IT Application Development Specialist, you will:
- monitor technological developments and analyse their potential relevance for the digital euro project;
- develop and improve working prototypes;
- contribute to the preparation and execution of functional and/or technical testing as part of acceptance testing procedures (e.g. by drafting or reviewing test scenarios/cases, or by providing support for these tasks);
- liaise with suppliers and service providers, and assess the solutions they offer from a technical point of view;
- prepare and perform requirements analyses and cost-benefit analyses;
- contribute to the preparation of project documentation and possible delivery to future participants, users and decision-making bodies;
- conduct research on technological topics that are relevant to the project, including the upscaling of centralised infrastructures, the use of distributed ledgers and privacy-enhancing techniques;
- participate in European and international research groups, helping to organise workshops or similar events and providing technical support.
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 project team, you will also have the opportunity to deepen your knowledge of the payments needs and preferences of citizens and businesses, and to enhance your understanding of technological topics such as cryptography, centralised payment systems and distributed ledger frameworks. 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 equivalent in business administration, economics, STEM (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) or another relevant field (click here for details on degree equivalences);
- in addition to the above, a minimum of one year of experience working in one or more of the following fields:
- cryptography, privacy-enhancing techniques or machine learning, including their application in the field of payments;
- distributed ledger systems (e.g. blockchain), including knowledge of major distributed ledger frameworks;
- hands-on experience in the field of retail payments, including the functional and/or technical design of digital currencies;
- experience presenting complex functional and/or technical topics in a clear and concise manner to internal and external audiences;
- knowledge and experience of at least one general-purpose programming language for fast prototyping, such as Python or JavaScript;
- 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:
- basic knowledge of the functioning of market infrastructures, payment services and central banking.
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 part of our team and to use your skills and competencies to achieve the objectives of this position.
Working modalities
We are willing to discuss part-time arrangements.
Further information
Fixed-term contract of one year. Temporary appointments may be extended or made permanent subject to organisational needs and budgetary constraints. This may result in a staff member with a non-convertible fixed-term contract being offered a convertible contract in accordance with the ECB Conditions of Employment.
For additional information on this specific vacancy, you can speak to the hiring manager, Julie Anne Dubois, on +49 (0)69 1344 17184 between 11:00 and 13:00 on Tuesday, 9 March.
Application and selection process
For further information on how to join us,
read more.
The recruitment process for this position may include a pre-recorded video interview in the pre-selection phase and – if you are invited to participate in the subsequent selection phase – a written exercise, a presentation and interviews.