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
22.03.2023
Your team
You will be part of the Public Communications Division in the Directorate General Communications. Our Directorate has approximately 250 staff, who are responsible for communicating with the public and media about the ECB’s work and mission. We manage digital communications, media relations and public communications and we also lead the ECB’s efforts to engage effectively with staff. We are currently working on making the ECB more accessible to different audiences and engaging directly with the general public. We will achieve this through televised interviews with live audiences, a multimedia campaign, a blog, as well as setting up an “ECB Speakers’ Bureau” and redesigning our Visitor Centre.
In your role as a trainee, you will be part of one of the following three teams:
- The Campaigns and Civil Society team has around ten members who prepare multimedia campaigns, televised interviews, online quizzes for the wider public and academic competitions for students. The team also engages with civil society organisations through seminars on topics like climate change and the digital euro.
- The Blog and Speakers team has around four staff who work closely with ECB experts, including Executive Board members. This team researches suitable topics for ECB blog posts, arranges training for authors and is establishing an “ECB Speakers’ Bureau” which will encourage, empower and equip staff to be ambassadors of the ECB, its messages and its values.
- The Visits, Enquiries and Protocol team has around eight members and works closely with the public, from international visitor groups to the local community. They design and arrange on-site and virtual experiences, such as visits and lectures, reply to requests for information from the public and host local events.
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 Campaigns and Civil Society team you will:
- organise innovative and impactful communications campaigns for the general public, especially young people;
- liaise with a communications agency;
- contribute to implementing our civil society engagement strategy, including planning and organising dialogue sessions with representatives of European civil society organisations;
- research possible multipliers and stakeholders and establish relations with them;
- research target audiences and topics for our initiatives;
- identify and report on trends and developments in public debate on economic and monetary policy in the euro area.
This position offers you excellent opportunities to experience a wide range of different techniques for engaging with the public and particularly young people.
As a trainee in the Blog and Speakers team you will:
- research policy-relevant topics and compile information for blog posts targeting a variety of different audiences, including experts, students, academics and other readers interested in economics;
- coordinate the production of visuals, infographics and images for the blog;
- liaise with a communications agency;
- coordinate training sessions for writers;
- respond to queries from different stakeholders at all levels in the ECB;
- draft content to support staff members’ speaking engagements.
This position offers you excellent opportunities to experience preparing content and speaking material for engaging with the broader public on technical topics, particularly those interested in economics.
As a trainee in the Visits, Enquiries and Protocol team you will:
- assess and reply to enquiries by the general public on the ECB’s tasks and functions;
- gather knowledge and information for handling public enquiries;
- plan and coordinate visits to the ECB Visitor Centre and tailored lectures with ECB experts;
- host visitor groups and give presentations of the ECB’s work, both onsite and virtually;
- analyse the topics raised by the public in enquiries and during visits.
This position offers you excellent opportunities to experience engaging with people from all over the world directly – both in person and online – on a broad range of topics.
All three positions offer you excellent opportunities to join a fast-paced environment, gain an insight into a broad range of communications activities and to come up with creative solutions to problems. You will work closely with other teams in the Directorate General Communications and other areas of the ECB as well as external stakeholders, including other EU institutions, civil society organisations, universities and social media influencers. 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 communications, economics, international relations, business administration, political science, marketing, public relations or a similar field;
- a strong interest in, and understanding of, the ECB’s mission, combined with the ability to describe this mission in clear and simple terms;
- experience of producing communication materials, both written and visual;
- an ability to simplify complex concepts and texts;
- 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:
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
Traineeship of six months, with the possibility of extension up to twelve months in total.
For additional information on this specific vacancy, you can speak to Zoë Sprokel, on +49 (0)69 1344 95452 between 15:00 and 16:00 on Tuesday, 14 March.
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 and a remote written exercise.
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.
