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
22.02.2023
Your team
You will be part of the Directorate General International and European Relations. Comprising around 120 staff members, our Directorate General prepares the policy positions of the ECB, the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks on international and European issues (except the macroeconomic policies of the euro area or EU Member States).
In your role as a PhD trainee, you will be part of a team in the International Policy Analysis Division. The Division prepares policy positions, analyses and briefings on issues of systemic relevance for the global economy and for the international monetary and financial system. Relevant topics include global financial markets, commodities, exchange rates, international spillovers and globalisation.
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 you will work closely with ECB staff members on some of the following tasks:
- carrying out a research project;
- presenting the results of your research at internal seminars;
- drafting a paper for publication in the ECB’s Working Paper Series or academic journals;
- contributing to the analytical work of the Division.
The PhD trainee position offers you excellent opportunities to work alongside highly qualified experts in the fields of international macroeconomics and international finance under the guidance of a mentor. You will be able to develop your potential and quickly contribute to the work we do. 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 economics, finance, statistics, data science or a closely related field;
- a sound understanding of international macroeconomics, monetary economics and international finance, including financial markets;
- familiarity with programming, statistical and econometric software packages (e.g. MATLAB, Dynare, Python, R, Stata, EViews and Julia);
- 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.
Desired:
- a sound knowledge of econometric techniques (e.g. vector autoregressions, non-linear vector autoregressions or panel econometrics);
- experience using macro-modelling tools (e.g. dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models and/or heterogeneous agent models), macro-financial applications and/or non-linear solution methods.
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
PhD traineeship of between 3 and 12 months in total.
Application and selection process
Further information on
how to apply is available on our website.
The recruitment process for this position will include an online interview.
You are also requested to submit a short project proposal (maximum two pages) on any core area of international economics or finance, or a current topic. Examples include:
- international issues related to the digitalisation of money;
- the implications of commodity price volatility;
- issues related to monetary policy spillovers and their impact on exchange rates or international capital flows;
- geopolitics and its impact on financial globalisation.
Please note that your proposal may partly build on your own past research or studies.
As an essential part of the selection procedure, your proposal should be for a project that is both interesting and well-defined methodologically. Please upload your proposal (with your name in the file name) as a .pdf file together with your application.
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.
